A new judge is weighing whether Karmelo Anthony deserves a new trial following his June conviction for killing fellow Texas high school student Austin Metcalf.
During the first day of hearings this week, explosive new details emerged that were previously withheld from the jury due to a “gentleman’s agreement” between the prosecution and Anthony’s original defense team.
Prosecutor Bill Wirskye said Anthony’s original defense team reached a verbal agreement with the state to keep potentially damaging evidence involving Anthony, Austin Metcalf, and Austin’s twin brother, Hunter, out of the trial.
Lead trial attorney Mike Howard testified that the agreement derailed and ultimately led to Anthony’s decision not to take the stand, despite having told the original judge there was a “99 percent chance” he would testify.
Evidence Withheld
According to CBS News Texas, 20 pages of previously suppressed records have now surfaced, detailing shocking allegations against both sides
Wirskye told the court that Anthony texted, “I’m low key on the verge,” on the morning of the stabbing. He also pointed to a separate message in which he said Anthony fantasized about stabbing someone and “licking the blood off the blade.” Wirskye further testified that Anthony had previously been placed in a behavioral program for children who “can’t keep their hands to themselves” before moving with his family to Texas
While Wirskye tried to establish a pattern of aggression, Anthony’s legal team countered with a litany of details about the Metcalf twins, chief among them allegations of racism.
Anthony’s attorneys argued that jurors never heard this evidence, which they say could have supported his self-defense claim. They pointed to school records, social media posts, and videos that they contend documented prior aggressive behavior by Austin and Hunter.
Shocking Allegations
Records introduced at the hearing showed that the twins were caught spray-painting racist and antisemitic graffiti, including the phrase “KKK kill all blacks.” Following the graffiti incident, both brothers were placed on 12 months of juvenile probation.
There were also reportedly several documented instances of Austin Metcalf using racial slurs at school, including a 2023 allegation that he bullied a Black classmate.
Defense documents detailed in reporting by CBS News Texas and other outlets paint a broader picture of alleged aggression. According to court records, Metcalf was separately suspended after he and another student were overheard discussing bringing a gun to school.
The allegations date further back to a 2018 incident in elementary school in which the twins were accused of bullying and assaulting a female classmate, resulting in Metcalf’s arrest.
In December 2021, Metcalf was banned from attending basketball games after directing profanity at female players. As recently as December 2024, he was ordered to undergo church-based counseling to address issues involving anger, lust, and addiction.
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Judge Recused
This hearing was only possible after an August 19 ruling recusing the original trial judge, John Roach, over concerns of bias. After the guilty verdict, Roach told a TV station that jurors “got it right,” adding, “Whatever they say, they got it right.”
Anthony is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence for fatally stabbing Metcalf on April 2, 2025, at Memorial High School in Frisco during a track meet.
Witnesses said an argument broke out after Metcalf and others told Anthony to leave a tent reserved for Metcalf’s team, and Metcalf pushed him.
Anthony, who was 17 at the time, was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty, arguing that he acted in self-defense.
The retrial hearing is set to continue Friday morning. The judge must make his ruling by Monday, Aug. 24.
