Karmelo Anthony’s defense lawyers lost their motion for a retrial on Saturday following a two-day court hearing in Texas last week.
The development comes two months after the 19-year-old black man was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf, a 17-year-old white athlete, at a Texas high school track meet in April 2025.
Judge Michael Chitty rejected the defense’s retrial request after reviewing the evidence and arguments, but he did not elaborate further.
Chitty was appointed to oversee the retrial motion after Anthony’s attorneys on Wednesday successfully removed Judge John Roach, who presided over the trial, from hearing their request for a new trial. They argued Roach should not have done a television interview in which he publicly agreed with the jury’s guilty verdict two days after the end of the trial. That came 28 days before the deadline for the defense to file a motion for a new trial.
Regarding Chitty’s decision over the weekend, the defense is expected to appeal.
“Our commitment to our client has not changed,” lead counsel Russell Wilson said. “We will continue to advocate vigorously on his behalf through every lawful avenue available.”
Meanwhile, state prosecutors hailed the judge’s decision while respecting the appeals process.
“We respect, and expected, the court’s decision denying the motion for a new trial,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said. “The jury’s guilty verdict stands, and we remain confident in the process. Every defendant has the right to appeal, and our thoughts and prayers remain with the Metcalf family in the painful wake of last week’s hearing.”
During the two-day hearing last week, the prosecutors revealed a trove of disturbing texts sent by Anthony on the day of Metcalf’s murder. In one text, the defendant said he wanted to “lick their blood off the blade” after stabbing someone. In another, he wrote, “I’m lowkey on the verge.”
The texts were not disclosed during the trial due to a mutual agreement between both sides to keep questions about Anthony’s character out of the case. Prosecutors pointed to the messages as evidence that Anthony was spiraling in the hours leading up to Metcalf’s death.
Last year, Anthony allegedly stabbed Metcalf with a pocketknife during a confrontation that started over a seating dispute in the stadium bleachers. The defense claimed he was acting in self-defense. The jury rejected that argument. Anthony did not testify during the trial.
Lawyers on both sides told jurors the case had nothing to do with race, but the case drew national attention for that very reason.
JUDGE REMOVED FROM KARMELO ANTHONY CASE AS DEFENSE SEEKS RETRIAL IN TEXAS TRACK-MEET STABBING
Questions about the jury’s impartiality were raised when it was reported that there were no black jurors assigned to the trial. In fact, the trial judge excused three prospective black jurors before the trial.
In a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club radio show, Texas state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in the state’s competitive Senate race, pointed to the absence of black jurors as proof that the “system is not working for black Texans.” Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) took issue with Talarico’s conclusion, suggesting the Texas Democrat “sides with the killer” over the victim because of race.