A Texas jury has found Karmelo Anthony guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco high school track meet last year. The unanimous verdict came Tuesday afternoon after the 12-person Collin County jury deliberated for less than three hours.

Anthony, now 19, was 17 years old at the time of the April 2, 2025, stabbing at the David Kuykendall Stadium track meet. According to CBS News Texas, the trial drew national attention and sparked debate over self-defense, race, and school safety. Anthony is Black. Metcalf was white.

Anthony now faces a sentence of 5 to 99 years or life in prison. The sentencing phase was expected to begin Tuesday afternoon. Because Anthony was a minor at the time of the stabbing, the death penalty is off the table.

The verdict was announced in a tense McKinney courtroom. Before the jury entered, Anthony's attorney Mike Howard had his arm around his client, who looked visibly tense. Metcalf's parents were pulled aside and reminded not to show public emotion. Metcalf's twin brother, Hunter Metcalf, was in the courtroom for the first time. He had not been allowed in earlier because he was on the witness list. The jury did not look at Anthony as they walked in.

Anthony stabbed Metcalf in the chest with a pocketknife during a confrontation inside a team tent. According to witnesses, the argument began when Metcalf, a Frisco Memorial High School junior, told Anthony, a Frisco Centennial High School student, to move from under Memorial's pop-up tent during a downpour. When Metcalf shoved Anthony, Anthony pulled out a knife from his bag and stabbed him in the chest. Metcalf died at the scene.

Collin County District Attorney Bill Wirskye called it a "provoked, unjustified murder" and a "sneak attack" during closing arguments. "You don't get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoke the shove," he told jurors. The defense argued Anthony acted in self-defense during a "split second of fear and chaos." Defense attorney Howard told the jury Anthony was a "17-year-old dumb kid" who feared he was about to be jumped. The defense rested Monday without calling Anthony to testify.

Anthony's family raised more than $500,000 through a GiveSendGo campaign to cover legal fees, Newsweek reported. No Black jurors were selected for the trial. This is a developing story.