Judge removed from Texas track meet killing case as Karmelo Anthony seeks new trial

Karmelo Anthony, convicted in June 2026 and sentenced to 35 years for fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during an altercation at a Frisco, Texas track meet, won a partial courtroom victory in August when Judge Sid Harle removed trial judge John Roach from Anthony's post-conviction proceedings, finding that Roach's post-verdict comments -- saying the jury "got it right" and defending his rulings, including barring cameras and dismissing three Black prospective jurors -- created the appearance of prejudgment even though Harle found no actual misconduct. Anthony's new legal team, led by Russell Wilson, argued in a 63-page motion that Anthony's Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated (only 27 public seats and no cameras were allowed), that jury instructions improperly limited jurors' consideration of his self-defense claim, and that prosecutors reneged on an off-the-record deal to keep character evidence out, forcing Anthony not to testify. At a two-day new-trial hearing before retired Judge Michael Chitty, former defense attorneys Mike Howard and Toby Shook testified the state told them mid-trial that the character-evidence agreement wouldn't cover a testifying Anthony; prosecutors countered by presenting previously unseen evidence -- including an alleged October 2024 message from Anthony describing stabbing someone and licking blood from a blade, other messages referencing knives and guns, and testimony that Anthony's ex-girlfriend had reported fearing him the morning of the killing.

Chitty denied Anthony's motion for a new trial on August 22-23, leaving the conviction and 35-year sentence intact and sending the case to a direct appeal before the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals, a process expected to take a year or more. Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said prosecutors "expected" the ruling and remained confident in the verdict; Metcalf's father, Jeff Metcalf, said the judge's removal "doesn't really change the facts" of the case, while Metcalf's twin brother Hunter defended Austin publicly as "the biggest hugger you could ever meet" against what he called unfair media portrayals. Legal experts noted that overturning a conviction via a new-trial motion is rare and that Anthony's remaining recourse -- a formal appeal focused narrowly on legal errors -- is a slower, separate process from the new-trial bid just rejected.