Jury selection has ended and a jury was seated in Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial in Texas.
Anthony, 19, is accused of fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during an argument at a track meet in Frisco, Texas on April 2, 2025.
According to NBC5 News in Dallas, an all-white jury was seated on Wednesday, June 3.
Anthony was a 17-year-old student at Centennial High School student when he attended a track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco.
Around 10 a.m. it started to rain and he found shelter in the Memorial High School tent. Metcalf, a student at Memorial, told Anthony to leave the tent, but Anthony refused.
An argument ensued and Metcalf shoved Anthony. The Centennial student produced a knife from his backpack and stabbed Metcalf in the heart. Metcalf bled out and died in his twin brother Hunter Metcalf’s arms.
After fleeing the scene, Anthony approached an officer and admitted to stabbing Metcalf. When the officer referred to Anthony as the “alleged suspect,” Anthony replied, “I’m not alleged, I did it.”
Anthony asked the officer if the stabbing would be considered self-defense and if Metcalf was okay. Anthony was charged with first-degree murder.
A first-degree murder conviction carries a sentence of 5 years and 99 years in prison. But due to his age he won’t get the death penalty or life in prison.
Opening arguments are expected to begin on Thursday morning at the Collin County Courthouse, according to NBC5 News.
Anthony’s defense attorney will explain to the jury why his client was carrying a knife in his backpack at a high school track meet.
Community leaders are outraged that Anthony will be judged by an all-white jury instead of a jury of his peers. Metcalf was white and Anthony is African American.
The last three potential jurors were struck from the jury pool because they were African American teachers who teach students around the defendant’s age.
“We are deeply disturbed by what we witnessed during jury selection today,” said Minister Dominique Alexander, President and CEO of the Next Generation Action Network. “The exclusion of all qualified black jurors from serving on this case sends a troubling message to the community and raises questions that cannot be ignored. Every defendant deserves a fair trial, and every community deserves confidence that justice is being administered without bias or discrimination.”