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06/09 10:09 CDT Lawyer stresses self-defense in closing remarks at trial of
Texas teen's fatal stabbing
Lawyer stresses self-defense in closing remarks at trial of Texas teen's fatal
stabbing
By JAMIE STENGLE
Associated Press
MCKINNEY, Texas (AP) --- A lawyer for a Texas teen charged with murder in the
fatal stabbing of a high school athlete emphasized self-defense Tuesday,
telling jurors that the tragedy at a track meet was linked to the victim
aggressively trying to control who could be in a team tent.
"Austin Metcalf had no legal right to use force to eject Karmelo Anthony from
that tent," Michael Howard said during closing arguments. "He had no legal
right to put his hands on Karmelo."
Anthony, now 19, did not testify in his own defense over the killing of
Metcalf, whose death stunned Frisco, a booming Dallas suburb, where the two
students attended different schools. If convicted of murder, he faces up to
life in prison.
Judge John Roach Jr. told the jury that it also could consider a lesser charge
of manslaughter when deliberations begin.
Over the course of a nearly weeklong trial, Anthony's attorneys have sought to
show that he was forced to defend himself under a tent belonging to the track
team of Frisco Memorial High School, where Metcalf was in his junior year.
Several schools were competing on that rainy day in April 2025, and Metcalf and
others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an
escalating confrontation.
Trial witnesses described Anthony as the aggressor. Several students testified
that Metcalf pushed Anthony, who then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the
chest.
Prosecutors called the stabbing an unjustified attack and not a case of
self-defense.
Testimony at the trial leaned heavily on the recollections of teenagers who
described being shocked. Many questions centered on team culture at track meets
and the confrontation in the tent.
One teammate told jurors that Anthony was "distraught" after the stabbing.
Roach ordered that the names of teenage witnesses not be made public.
"I was hearing him say, ?I told him not to touch me,'" the teenager said.
The death last year quickly drew wide attention, in part because of social
media posts that amplified the case in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf
was white.
After the stabbing, Jeff Metcalf, Austin's father, condemned those who seized
on the race of the teens. Prosecutors also opened the trial by saying race had
nothing to do with the case.
