JUDGE DENIES KARMELO ANTHONY’S BID FOR A NEW TRIAL, LEAVING 35-YEAR SENTENCE IN PLACE

TEXAS — Karmelo Anthony, 19, will remain sentenced to 35 years in prison after a Texas judge rejected his request for a new trial in the case involving the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in April 2025.

Judge Michael Chitty denied the motion following a two-day hearing in Collin County. In his ruling, the judge said he had reviewed the court record, evidence, legal arguments and filings submitted by both sides before determining that a new trial was not warranted.

Anthony’s legal team had raised several issues surrounding the original proceedings. Among them was a dispute over an informal agreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys concerning potentially sensitive information about Anthony and Metcalf that could be presented to the jury.

His new attorneys argued that the circumstances surrounding that agreement affected key decisions made during the trial, including whether Anthony should testify in his own defense.

Anthony was convicted of murder in June 2026 and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His defense maintained that he stabbed Metcalf in self-defense, but jurors ultimately rejected that argument and found him guilty.

The case has attracted widespread national attention, with intense public debate surrounding the evidence, the circumstances leading to the confrontation and the legal strategy used by both sides.

Despite the judge’s latest decision, Anthony’s legal fight is not necessarily over. His attorneys have indicated that they intend to continue pursuing an appeal, potentially taking their arguments to the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas.

For now, however, the ruling leaves Anthony’s 35-year prison sentence intact.

The next major question is whether his appellate team can persuade a higher court that errors in the original proceedings were serious enough to justify overturning the conviction or ordering a new trial.