*Karmelo Anthony has lost his bid for a new trial in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, leaving the 19-year-old’s murder conviction and 35-year prison sentence intact as his legal team considers its next move.
Retired Kaufman County District Judge Michael Chitty denied Anthony’s motion Saturday after reviewing arguments that included an unusual dispute over a behind-the-scenes “gentleman’s agreement” between prosecutors and Anthony’s original defense attorneys.
“Upon reviewing the motion, the record, the evidence and argument, the briefs, and the relevant case law, the Court has determined the motion should be denied,” Chitty wrote in his order, according to ABC News.
The ruling means the guilty verdict and sentence remain in place. Anthony’s attorneys can still appeal.
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Why Anthony’s Lawyers Wanted Another Trial
A Collin County jury convicted Anthony of murder in June after roughly three hours of deliberation. The same jury later sentenced him to 35 years in prison for stabbing Metcalf during a high school track meet in Frisco in April 2025.
Anthony admitted stabbing Metcalf but maintained that he acted in self-defense. Prosecutors rejected that argument, describing the killing as unjustified.
As EURweb previously reported, jurors ultimately rejected Anthony’s defense and convicted him of murder.
But Anthony’s new attorneys later argued that what happened outside the jury’s presence deprived him of a complete defense.
Central to their motion was Anthony’s decision not to testify.
His post-trial attorneys claimed he was “coerced” into waiving that right because of a dispute surrounding an unrecorded agreement between the original defense team and prosecutors. That arrangement was intended to keep certain character evidence involving Anthony and Metcalf away from the jury and focus the trial on what happened during their confrontation.
The ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ Becomes the Issue
During a two-day hearing on Anthony’s motion, attorneys revisited discussions that had taken place behind closed doors during the murder trial.
Post-trial defense attorney Russell Wilson argued that Anthony chose not to testify because he believed prosecutors might not honor the agreement and could question him about previous behavior if he took the stand, according to WFAA.
Prosecutors disputed that characterization.
Collin County First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye testified that the defense had agreed to the arrangement and that prosecutors honored it. He said the goal was to avoid historical character evidence and concentrate on “what happened under the tent.”
Wirskye also acknowledged the extraordinary atmosphere surrounding the case.
“I knew this case was going to be racially charged, divisive, and media would make it about race,” he testified, according to WFAA.
Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white. During the trial, however, both prosecutors and defense attorneys told jurors that the confrontation itself was not about race.
A Different Judge Made This Decision
Anthony’s new-trial request also challenged courtroom restrictions imposed during the original proceedings, arguing that limits on public access contributed to an unfair trial.
Adding another layer, Judge John Roach, who presided over Anthony’s murder trial, did not decide the new-trial motion.
Roach was removed from further proceedings after Anthony’s attorneys questioned his impartiality, citing post-verdict comments and a public letter he issued after the trial. Judge Sid Harle ruled there were grounds for recusal because Roach’s impartiality “might reasonably be questioned.”
Chitty was subsequently assigned to the case and independently considered Anthony’s request for a new trial.
That distinction matters: Roach’s removal did not overturn the jury’s verdict or automatically entitle Anthony to another trial.
The Conviction Survives — for Now
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said prosecutors expected the ruling.
“The jury’s guilty verdict stands, and we remain confident in the process,” Willis said in a statement reported by ABC News, while acknowledging Anthony’s right to appeal.
For Anthony, Saturday’s decision closes one avenue for immediately reopening the case, but not necessarily the legal fight itself.
His self-defense argument failed before the jury, and his first attempt to secure a new trial has now failed before a different judge. Unless a future appeal changes the outcome, Anthony remains convicted of Metcalf’s murder and continues facing the 35-year sentence imposed in June.
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