A grand jury indicted an 18-year-old suspect in the stabbing death of Frisco, Texas track star Austin Metcalf on Tuesday for first-degree murder.
“For several weeks, my team has been presenting evidence to the grand jury. “Today, I summarized that evidence and asked the Grand Jury to return a first-degree murder indictment against Karmelo Anthony, which they did,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis stated.
“With that indictment, the case now moves formally into the court system,” according to him. “From this point forward, we will continue to do our part — fully and fairly — to seek justice under the law. The trial schedule will be determined by the court. But when the time comes, we will be prepared.”
Austin’s father, Jeff Metcalf, told Fox News Digital that he is pleased to see the legal process underway, but that nothing will bring his son back.
“I am pleased that we are moving forward,” he told me. “The first-degree murder indictment has now entered the court system. I am confident that justice will be served for Austin Metcalf. I look forward to the upcoming trial. But it will not bring my son back.”
In response to the indictment, Anthony’s lawyer, Mike Howard, released a video statement on his firm’s website.
“Today’s indictment is an expected and routine step in the legal process,” he said, adding that an indictment is issued in almost every felony case.
It’s “only in a trial that the full story can be heard, and that impartial justice can be done.”
“We expect that when the full story is heard, the prosecution will not be able to rule out the reasonable doubt that Karmelo Anthony may have acted in self-defense,” he told reporters.
Anthony is accused of stabbing Metcalf to death at a Frisco track meet on April 2, after a fight broke out inside Memorial High School’s tent. Anthony attended Centennial High School, also in Frisco. Both were 17 at the time.
According to the arrest report, Anthony “grabbed his bag, opened it, and reached inside it” and told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens.”
In the following moment, a witness told police that Anthony “reached into his bag and the male took a knife out of the bag and stabbed Austin.”
The witness told the officer that Anthony fled the scene after the stabbing. Metcalf died in his twin brother’s arms.
Anthony allegedly told the responding school resource officer, who handcuffed him upon arrival at the scene, that he was defending himself. The officer also found blood on Anthony’s left middle finger.
One officer on the scene identified Anthony as the alleged suspect, and Anthony made a “spontaneous statement,” according to the report: “I’m not alleged, I did it.”
After initially being held on $1 million bond, Anthony’s bond was reduced to $250,000, and he was released to home confinement. A trial date has not yet been set.
The Anthony family’s spokesperson did not immediately return a comment request.
