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With closing arguments looming on Tuesday, Karmelo Anthony’s protection rested with out calling him to testify — a transfer that got here as authorized analysts questioned whether or not his self-defense declare will persuade jurors.
Anthony is charged with homicide within the April 2025 stabbing loss of life of 17-year-old Memorial Excessive Faculty athlete Austin Metcalf throughout a confrontation at a Texas highschool monitor meet. Anthony admits he stabbed Metcalf however claims he acted in self-defense.
Anthony’s protection rested its case on Monday, setting the stage for closing arguments when courtroom resumes at 9 a.m. native time Tuesday.
The case has drawn nationwide consideration, fueled by debate over Texas self-defense regulation, questions surrounding race, competing narratives about what occurred beneath a Memorial Excessive Faculty workforce tent and demonstrations exterior the Collin County courthouse.
Karmelo Anthony sits along with his protection attorneys in a courtroom sketch from his homicide trial. (Pat Lopez)
Ritter: Protection faces uphill battle
Because the protection case neared its conclusion Monday, an sudden delay in proceedings fueled hypothesis about what was taking place behind the scenes.
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Prosecutors are proven seated in a courtroom sketch in the course of the homicide trial of Karmelo Anthony in Collin County, Texas. (Pat Lopez)
Talking on Fox Information’ “The Story,” authorized analyst Joshua Ritter advised one chance was that Anthony and his attorneys had been discussing whether or not he ought to testify.
A cut up of Karmelo Anthony (left) and Austin Metcalf. Anthony is accused of stabbing Metcalf to loss of life throughout an April 2, 2025 monitor meet in Frisco, Texas. (FOX4; Jeff Metcalf)
“Maybe they’re speaking to Karmelo Anthony about whether or not or not he needs to testify,” Ritter, a legal protection lawyer and Fox Information contributor, stated on Monday.
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No plea settlement materialized, and the protection in the end rested with out calling Anthony to the witness stand.
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Ritter advised the protection might have been reassessing its technique after a number of days of prosecution testimony.
“We’re listening to that the protection case might not be going as that they had hoped and deliberate,” Ritter stated.
In accordance with Ritter, protection attorneys may have been looking for a closing alternative to strengthen Anthony’s place earlier than the case reached the jury.
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Protection lawyer Mike Howard delivers opening statements throughout Karmelo Anthony’s homicide trial in a courtroom sketch from the Collin County courthouse. (Pat Lopez)
“Maybe they’re searching for some last-ditch effort to attempt to spare him a lifetime in jail,” he stated.
Ritter later provided a blunt evaluation of the competing instances introduced to jurors.
“The prosecution case went very strongly. The protection case does not appear to be it is going effectively,” Ritter stated.
Rotunno: Self-defense declare might not maintain up
Ritter was not the one Fox Information authorized analyst who questioned the energy of the protection’s case.
Talking on Fox Information’ “America Experiences”, legal protection lawyer and Fox Information contributor Donna Rotunno stated testimony introduced in the course of the trial strengthened her perception that Anthony’s self-defense declare faces important obstacles.
WATCH: Self protection declare is not going to ‘maintain water’ in Karmelo Anthony case: Donna Rotunno
“I by no means thought that this case rose to the extent of self-defense,” Rotunno stated. “This can be a unhappy, terrible, tragic circumstance the place a teenager made a extremely horrible resolution, however choices have penalties.”
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Rotunno pointed to testimony from a number of pupil witnesses, together with one witness who agreed beneath questioning that Anthony had provoked the confrontation.
“That one query may actually flip the tide right here,” Rotunno stated.
Rotunno additionally dismissed protection efforts to spotlight testimony that the knife Anthony carried was authorized beneath Texas regulation as a result of its blade measured lower than 5 inches.
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A courtroom sketch depicts Karmelo Anthony and his protection workforce as jurors view surveillance video throughout Anthony’s homicide trial within the deadly stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a Frisco, Texas, monitor meet. (Pat Lopez)
“Whether or not you could possibly have the knife legally does not imply that you could possibly use it in the way in which that it was used,” she stated.
Addressing testimony that athletes from completely different faculties generally work together at monitor meets, Rotunno stated jurors are prone to focus much less on whether or not Anthony was permitted beneath the Memorial Excessive Faculty tent and extra on how he responded after being repeatedly requested to go away.
“He clearly did not wish to go away,” Rotunno stated. “I feel they’re attempting to indicate that he knew precisely what he was doing when he put his hand inside that bag.”
Demonstrators confirmed help for Karmelo Anthony exterior the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, on the primary day of jury choice in his trial on June 1, 2026. (Derek Shook for Fox Information Digital)
Demonstrators present help for Austin Metcalf exterior the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, on the primary day of jury choice in Karmelo Anthony’s trial on June 1, 2026. (Derek Shook for Fox Information Digital)
What jurors heard
Prosecutors known as 21 witnesses, together with pupil athletes, cops, investigators and the medical expert.
A number of college students testified that Anthony was repeatedly requested to go away the Memorial Excessive Faculty tent earlier than the confrontation escalated. Witnesses recalled Anthony telling Metcalf, “Contact me and you will find out” and “If you’d like me to maneuver, you must transfer me.”
Austin Metcalf, a junior at Memorial Excessive Faculty in Frisco, was stabbed within the chest at a monitor meet, allegedly by 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, a student-athlete from Frisco Centennial Excessive Faculty. (Jeff Metcalf/Unknown)
A number of college students testified that Metcalf didn’t seem like searching for a combat. One witness recalled Metcalf saying, “I am not going to combat you at a monitor meet.”
Protection attorneys countered by highlighting testimony that athletes from completely different faculties routinely mingle at monitor meets, that Anthony was smaller than Metcalf and that witnesses gave differing accounts of the bodily interplay instantly earlier than the stabbing.
Nationwide consideration and courthouse tensions
The trial has unfolded amid demonstrations exterior the Collin County courthouse. Supporters of Anthony have gathered all through the proceedings carrying indicators studying “Justice for Karmelo Anthony.”
Outdoors the courthouse Monday, Subsequent Era Motion Community President Dominique Alexander urged Anthony supporters to not be “baited” into confrontations.
“We don’t help chaos. We don’t help intimidation. We don’t help threats,” Alexander stated.
The protection has argued Anthony feared for his security when he stabbed Metcalf. Prosecutors contend the proof exhibits Anthony escalated a verbal dispute right into a lethal encounter.
WATCH: Father speaks out after son was stabbed to loss of life at monitor meet
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The case now rests on competing variations of what occurred beneath the Memorial Excessive Faculty tent and whether or not jurors consider Anthony’s actions had been justified.
Fox Information’ Brooke Taylor, Peter Cuddihy and Lindsey Reese contributed to this report.
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