Karmelo Anthony allegedly was "spoiling for a fight" the day he fatally stabbed Austin Metcalf at a Frisco high school track meet. And Metcalf had a history of getting into fights and had once sprayed graffiti with “vile, racist stuff.”
Those were among the assertions made by Bill Wirskye, the lead prosecutor in the case, at a hearing Thursday. But none of that came to light during the trial in June.
The defense and prosecution, Wirskye said, agreed to focus on what happened the day of the track meet and not bring up prior behavior or character. That decision was made, he said, to protect Anthony from threats. The prosecution and defense did keep records in a paper file, not online, to limit access to information about the trial to protect Anthony and others involved in the case, Wirskye said.
“Everything was done off the record at an astonishing clip," Russel Wilson, the lead attorney on Anthony's new defense team, told the judge presiding over the hearing. "I don’t know that I’ve seen a murder case with this much off the record stuff.”
Anthony's new attorneys argue in their motion his right to a public trial was violated by the lack of access to the courtroom and an off-the-record agreement between the attorneys on both sides of the case.
Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison in June for the killing of 17-year-old Metcalf at the track meet. Anthony was also 17 at the time. Wirskye and Wilson presented their arguments to visiting judge Michael Chitty from Kaufman County in the hearing on Thursday for the defense's motion for a new trial. Mike Howard,' Anthony's trial lawyer, also testified.
Wirskye revealed information that was kept out of the trial during testimony on Thursday. Anthony's ex-girlfriend, he said, told an assistant principal at their high school she was scared of him and that he wouldn't take no for an answer less than two hours before he fatally stabbed Metcalf. Text messages on Anthony’s phone also revealed a “documented pattern” of an obsession with guns, knives and fighting, Wirskye said. Metcalf also had a history of getting into fights and had sprayed graffiti with “vile, racist stuff.”
Mike Howard, Anthony's trial lawyer, said Thursday said that there was an offense report naming Metcalf and two others related to the graffiti that was obtained during discovery. The graffiti they were accused of painting included "KKK," "Kill all Black people" and the N-word. Austin and another defendant were sentenced to 12 months probation in Denton County, Howard said.
Anthony's arrest, trial and murder conviction has drawn national attention over issues of race. Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white. Many posts on social media have racist undertones.
“We were all worried one of these racists were going to come into town and take his life,"Wirskye said Thursday.
A protest organized by a group called "Protect White Americans" — purportedly to condemn the stabbing of Austin Metcalf as an act of racial violence — had attracted more police officers and media representatives than supporters in Frisco in April 2025.
But it did lead to an angry exchange between the protest organizers and Jeff Metcalf, the father of the victim.
Jake Lang, who was among the people pardoned by President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Phillip Anderson, whose Jan. 6 case was dismissed, spoke from atop a bus in the parking lot of David Kuykendall Stadium on Saturday where the stabbing occurred.
Lang told Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, over the phone that his son’s stabbing was an act of anti-white violence. Lang said that Metcalf should be standing on the bus with Lang and Anderson.
Metcalf, who spoke to Lang via speaker phone at the protest, told Lang he doesn’t condone Lang’s politicizing Austin’s killing.
“You’re trying to create more race divide than bridging the gap,” Metcalf said.
Lang said Metcalf was weak for not supporting his cause.
“You’re creating more Austin Metcalfs with your weakness, sir,” he told the grieving father.
Judge John Roach Jr., who oversaw the original trial, was recused by another outside judge on Wednesday. Roach did an interview with Channel 8 shortly after the verdict. The defense argued Roach violated judicial conduct rules. Sid Harle, a judge from Bexar County, ruled that the interview didn't pass the test of a neutral third party's view of his impartiality.
Chitty, the retired Kaufman County judge overseeing the hearing on the motion for a new trial, has until Monday to make his ruling. An order for a new trial has to be signed within75 days of the judgement under Texas law.
This is a developing story and may be updated with more information.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
