Prosecutors disclosed a cache of previously withheld evidence showing Karmelo Anthony stalked his ex-girlfriend and sent her a photo of a knife hours before he fatally stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, material the jury never saw.
Lead prosecutor Bill Wirskye told a Collin County courtroom Thursday that Anthony's former girlfriend went to his school on the morning of the stabbing and reported she was afraid of him. The state possessed text messages and other material showing Anthony's alleged fixation on violence and knives, including a message in which Anthony sent the ex-girlfriend a photo of a knife with the words "I'm low key on the verge," the New York Post reported.
None of it reached the jury. The reason, Wirskye said, was a verbal "gentleman's agreement" between the original defense team and the state to keep character evidence out of the trial, covering not just Anthony but also the victim, Austin Metcalf, and his brother Hunter Metcalf. That agreement, Wirskye told the court, was his idea: "I offered the agreement. Let's stay away from historical character and stick to the facts, what happened under the tent."
Anthony, now 19, was convicted of murder by a Collin County jury in June for stabbing Metcalf, a 17-year-old junior at Memorial High School in Frisco, during an altercation at a high school track meet. The jury sentenced him to 35 years in prison on June 9. He was transferred to the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and transported to the Pack Unit near Navasota.
His defense team filed both a motion for a new trial and a motion to recuse the original trial judge, John Roach, on July 7, less than a month after the conviction. The new-trial motion argued the proceedings were unconstitutionally closed to the public, that jury instructions limited jurors' ability to fully consider Anthony's self-defense claim, and that Roach made critical decisions outside the formal court record.
Defense attorney Russell Wilson said the off-the-record process was sweeping. "Everything was done off the record, at an astonishing clip," Wilson told the court. He described a "shadow docket" that kept critical information from ever appearing in the trial record, and argued prosecutors failed to honor the off-the-record agreement that shaped the trial's scope.
The prosecutor's disclosures Thursday painted a picture of a defendant whose behavior in the hours before the stabbing went far beyond a spontaneous fight. Wirskye described Anthony as someone whose ex-girlfriend feared him enough to go to school authorities that very morning. The text messages the state had in its possession showed an interest in fights, guns, and knives.
Wirskye's one-word assessment of Anthony's state of mind before the stabbing was blunt: "He was spiraling."
But none of that evidence made it to the twelve people who decided Anthony's fate. The gentleman's agreement kept it out, along with Austin Metcalf's juvenile criminal record, which reportedly included racist graffiti. Wirskye framed the deal as a mutual trade: both sides agreed to strip away historical character material and focus on what happened at the track meet itself.
Anthony's current defense team disputes that the agreement was honored, or that the original defense lawyers fully understood its terms. Wilson arrived at the courthouse Thursday as roughly 75 to 100 people gathered outside and told reporters the defense would present more than 40 exhibits and at least 12 witnesses to support its case for a new trial.
The hearing itself almost didn't happen under the judge who ran the trial. Judge John Roach was removed from Anthony's remaining trial-court proceedings the day before the hearing, on Wednesday, by Judge Sid Harle. The reason: a post-trial television interview in which Roach publicly endorsed the verdict.
Asked by a Dallas TV station whether the jury got it right, Roach did not hedge. "Yeah, they did," he said. "Whatever they say, they got it right." He also defended several of his trial decisions, including his dismissal of three prospective Black jurors, a move that left no Black jurors on the panel, the Washington Examiner reported.
Harle found that a reasonable outside observer could question whether Roach appeared impartial after those public comments, though he stopped short of finding Roach violated judicial conduct rules. Under Texas procedure, Roach had referred the recusal request for assignment to another judge, standard practice, and Harle granted the motion. Retired District Judge Michael Chitty was assigned to hear the new-trial motion.
One of the defense's central arguments is that Anthony's original trial was effectively closed to the public. Only 27 seats were available for members of the public, and cameras were barred from the courtroom. Wilson argued those restrictions amounted to an unconstitutional courtroom closure.
Wirskye pushed back. He said Anthony's original trial lawyers consented to the security and courtroom-access decisions, and that the parties relied on paper filings and off-the-record discussions because of threats, doxxing, and organized efforts to disrupt the high-profile case. The trial drew intense attention on social media, where racial dynamics surrounding the case were amplified, Breitbart noted.
Thursday's hearing itself reflected the ongoing tension over access. Only nine media spots were available inside the courtroom. An overflow room carried a ceremonial feed for those who could not get in. Anthony appeared in a navy suit and tie, his wrists shackled.
Texas law gives a judge 75 days from sentencing to rule on a motion for a new trial. Anthony was sentenced June 9. That clock runs out Monday.
Criminal appellate lawyer Brett Ordiway, who provided legal analysis to Fox News Digital, explained the stakes in plain terms:
"Granting that motion wipes out the conviction and the sentence altogether and gives Karmelo Anthony a new trial."
But Ordiway was not optimistic about the defense's chances.
"It is very, very difficult to win these motions in any case, and I would be surprised if they were successful here."
If Chitty does not grant the motion by Monday, it dies by operation of law. Anthony's legal fight would then shift to a direct appeal before a three-judge panel at the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, a process that can take a year or longer.
Jeff Metcalf, Austin's father, greeted prosecutor Wirskye before Thursday's hearing. He had spoken the day before on "The Will Cain Show" after Roach's removal, and his view of the case had not changed.
"It's just one step in a long journey. It doesn't really change the facts."
Anthony's defense team has assembled what observers have called a "dream team" of attorneys since the conviction. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, a prominent figure involved in the defense effort, said Roach "jumped the gun" by publicly endorsing the jury's verdict and raised questions about whether Anthony received a fair trial.
Fox News Digital reached out to Anthony's defense team for comment.
A jury heard the evidence the state chose to present, convicted Anthony, and gave him 35 years. If the system now decides he deserves a second trial, the public deserves to know why the first one was run the way it was, and who made those calls.
