Teen seeks new trial after dropping plan to testify in track stabbing case
Karmelo Anthony, sentenced to 35 years for killing Austin Metcalf, seeks a new trial, saying he dropped plans to testify over evidence concerns.
A Texas teenager convicted of fatally stabbing a rival school athlete is asking for a new trial, with his lawyers saying he had planned to testify in his own defense but changed his mind over concerns about his past.
Karmelo Anthony, 19, was sentenced in June to 35 years in prison for the killing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a confrontation at a track meet last year. The case has drawn attention along racial lines, with Anthony being Black and Metcalf white, and both families have faced harassment.
During a hearing near Dallas, defense attorney Toby Shook said Anthony's decision not to testify was driven by worries that prosecutors would introduce evidence they had agreed to keep out, potentially inflaming an already tense case. "It was essential that the jury hear Karmelo and hear his explanation," Shook said.
Prosecutor Bill Wirskye defended the trial as fair, saying Anthony's testimony was not part of the original agreement. Defense attorneys argue it should have been clear Anthony would want to explain his self-defense claim to jurors.
Jurors never heard that Anthony once sent a text fantasizing about stabbing someone, or that Metcalf had a history of fighting and using racist language, according to attorneys on both sides. During the trial, both sides told jurors race was not a factor, though social media amplified the case in racial terms.
Metcalf's father, Jeff Metcalf, said he supported the original agreement and that information about his son's juvenile history does not change what happened. "We all want our children to be the best they can be, and obviously, we all fall short," he said. "It still doesn't change the facts of the case."
Anthony's attorneys also argue the trial was marred by a "shadow docket" that kept character information about both sides from the public. The original judge was removed from the case this week after giving a TV interview in which he said jurors "got it right." A new judge is now considering the retrial motion.
The hearing continues, with no immediate ruling expected.