A Texas teenager has been convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing a 17-year-old athlete from a rival high school team during a track meet in suburban Dallas.

Karmelo Anthony, now 19, was found guilty after a jury rejected his claim that he acted in self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in April 2025. Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before reaching their verdict.

The confrontation began when Anthony was sitting beneath a tent belonging to Metcalf’s team during a rainy high school track meet. Witnesses testified that Metcalf and other students repeatedly told Anthony to leave the area.

According to a police report, Anthony reached into a bag and told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens.” Witnesses said Metcalf then pushed Anthony, who pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

Prosecutors argued that Anthony was the aggressor and that the stabbing did not qualify as self-defense. Prosecutor Bill Wirskye told jurors that the case was ultimately about accountability and argued that Anthony had no legal justification for responding to a shove with a knife.

“This is not self-defense,” Wirskye said during closing arguments.

Defense attorney Mike Howard presented a different account, arguing that Metcalf had initiated the physical confrontation and that Anthony was legally entitled to defend himself. Howard told jurors that Texas law does not require someone to wait until they are struck before responding to an imminent threat.

Anthony did not testify during the trial. During the sentencing phase, his mother was the only defense witness. She told jurors that her son was sorry and asked them to show him mercy.

Austin Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, addressed Anthony in court after the sentence was announced. He said his son’s death had never been about race and criticized efforts to turn the case into a racial conflict.

The case attracted widespread attention on social media, where the killing was frequently discussed in racial terms. Anthony is Black, while Metcalf was white. Attorneys for both sides told jurors that race was not the issue in the confrontation.

The jury had also been given the option of convicting Anthony of the lesser offense of manslaughter, but chose murder instead.

The nearly weeklong trial attracted large crowds to the Collin County courthouse in McKinney. Security was heavy, while supporters and members of the public gathered outside as they waited for the verdict.

The killing occurred in Frisco, a rapidly growing Texas city where both teenagers lived. Their families have described them as good students who had plans to attend college.

Several student witnesses testified about the moments leading up to the stabbing. One witness recalled Metcalf telling Anthony that he had nothing in his backpack before the confrontation escalated.

The case has drawn continued attention because both teenagers were high school athletes whose confrontation began at an otherwise routine school sporting event.

SOURCE: Associated Press, June 10, 2026.