A Kaufman County district judge has denied Karmelo Anthony’s request for a new trial following his murder conviction in the 2025 stabbing death of fellow high school student Austin Metcalf.
District Judge Michael Chitty signed the order Saturday, August 22, two days after holding a hearing on Anthony’s motion for a new trial.
“Upon reviewing the motion, the record, the evidence and argument, the briefs, and the relevant case law, the Court has determined that the case should be denied,” Chitty wrote.
Anthony was convicted of murder following a jury trial in Collin County over the April 2025 stabbing of Metcalf at a high school track meet. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison and will be eligible for parole after serving 17.5 years.
The case drew national attention and fueled disputes over race, self-defense and what led to the fatal confrontation. Anthony, who is black, maintained that he acted in self-defense. Prosecutors argued that Anthony attacked Metcalf, who was white, under a tent at the track meet. The teenagers attended different schools.
Defense raised four grounds for a new trial
Defense attorney Russell Wilson, who took over Anthony’s case in June 2026, sought a new trial on what he described as “four grounds.”
Wilson alleged the court committed “structural error” by restricting public access to the trial, violated Anthony’s constitutional rights by denying him a “complete defense,” and improperly instructed jurors on “the applicable law.”
The defense also argued that the “cumulative effect of these errors warrants a new trial in the interest of justice.”
Chitty rejected the motion, leaving Anthony’s conviction and 35-year prison sentence in place.
The Stand With Karmelo coalition, an advocacy group supporting Anthony, said it was “disappointed” but not “deterred” by the ruling.
“We continue to maintain that serious constitutional and legal errors denied Karmelo Anthony the fair trial to which he was entitled,” the group stated.
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis’s office, meanwhile, said that prosecutors had anticipated the decision.
“We respect, and expected, the court’s decision denying the motion for a new trial. The jury’s guilty verdict stands, and we remain confident in the process,” the office said in an email.
“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,” the office added.
Anthony case enters Texas Senate race
The case has also spilled into the 2026 political campaign after Democratic state Rep. James Talarico of Austin, who is running for U.S. Senate, addressed Anthony’s conviction during an appearance on The Breakfast Club.
“Right now, we’ve got a justice system that doesn’t serve all Americans equally, and we know that black Texans have not gotten the justice they deserve in many cases,” Talarico said. “I’m not an expert on this case, but I know that there were no black members of the jury — and to me, that’s the only evidence you need to really prove that the system is not working for black Texans.”
Talarico then shifted the discussion to his 2021 House Bill 54, known as “Javier Ambler’s Law,” which prohibits law enforcement agencies from contracting with reality television programs to film officers performing their duties. The legislation followed the 2019 death of Javier Ambler during an arrest by Williamson County deputies while the reality television program Live PD was filming.
Earlier this month, Talarico also drew attention after a video from a Houston town hall showed him nodding as an attendee characterized Anthony’s conviction as a “tragedy.”
Republicans seized on the comments.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico’s opponent in the U.S. Senate race, wrote on X that “Karmelo Anthony was a violent criminal who killed Austin Metcalf in cold blood.”
“James Talarico sides with a murderer,” Paxton added.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also criticized Talarico while discussing the case in a Newsmax interview.
“[Anthony] stabbed another boy in the heart — a boy he didn’t know and with no provocation, and he killed him,” Cruz said.
“They’re cheering on the murderer, and saying it's a travesty that the murderer was convicted. Here’s a radical idea: murderers should be punished, and you know what Talarico couldn’t manage? To say that sentence,” Cruz added.
The political dispute comes as Cruz has also become involved in the Texas Senate race. Axios recently reported that a super PAC linked to Cruz plans to put more than $1.7 million behind a pro-Paxton advertising campaign amid polling suggesting the race has tightened.
Talarico’s campaign responded to the planned spending by using it as a fundraising appeal.
“This is unheard of. We cannot let Ted Cruz swoop in to buy this race for Ken Paxton,” the campaign stated in an email. “National Republicans are sounding the alarm about Texas. Ted Cruz spending money from his own war chest tells you exactly how worried they are.”
