Karmelo Anthony, Teen Charged With Murdering Competitor At Track Meet, Released After Bond Is Reduced By 75%

Baila Eve ZismanApril 14, 2025, 11:08 pmNews >

A teenager who fatally stabbed a fellow athlete at a track meet in Collin County, Texas, had his $1 million bond reduced to $250,000 on Monday due to his age and lack of criminal history and was released from jail.

Karmelo Anthony, 17, faces a first-degree murder charge for killing Austin Metcalf, also 17, earlier this month. On April 2, a witness at the track meet reported seeing Metcalf tell Anthony to leave his team’s tent, prompting Anthony to tell Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens.” When Metcalf touched Anthony, Anthony told him to punch him. Metcalf moved to strike Anthony, but Anthony allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Metcalf in the chest.

It was reported that the two boys had not interacted prior to the incident. According to police reports, Anthony told an officer while being taken into custody, “I’m not alleged. I did it…I was protecting myself…he put his hands on me.”

Defense attorney Greg Willis told Dallas’ lead local news outlet WFAA that Anthony will not face the death penalty or life without parole if he is convicted of murder. “The Supreme Court has said not only can you not seek the death penalty against someone who committed a crime when they’re 17, you can’t even get them life without parole…that would not be something we could do even if we wanted to,” he explained.

Willis also spoke on the question as to whether the case should be moved outside of Collin County due to the publicity it has garnered and the debate it has sparked among the public: “We know his lawyers would be asking for that, but we need to just let all that play out in the courtroom… Ultimately, that’ll be the judge’s decision to make at the time of the trial, but yes, this happened in Collin County. I want Collin County citizens to be able to decide this.”

Anthony’s family has claimed that the media is spreading a false narrative. They have been raising money for Anthony’s legal defense via GiveSendGo, currently raising over $400,000.

Metcalf’s family has also started a GoFundMe, which has raised over $340,000. Metcalf’s father, Jeff, commemorated Metcalf on the site, “He was a bright young man with a great future ahead of him. He was a leader of men. His smile would light up the room…His commitment, dedication, leadership, and sheer grit made him rise to the level of success that he desired.”