Jury selection begins in Karmelo Anthony murder trial in Collin County

Jury selection will open the next stage of one of Collin County’s most closely watched cases when Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial begins in the 296th District Court before Judge John R. Roach Jr. at 9 a.m. Monday, June 1. Prospective jurors will be questioned and screened for bias before a panel is seated, a process now carrying unusual security and media restrictions because of the case’s intensity.

Anthony was 17 when Austin Metcalf, also 17 and a junior at Frisco Memorial High School, was stabbed during a Frisco Independent School District track and field championship at David Kuykendall Stadium on April 2, 2025. A Collin County grand jury indicted Anthony on June 24, 2025 for first-degree murder. If convicted, he faces five to 99 years, or life, in prison.

Court records and witness accounts say the confrontation began after an argument in the bleachers or near a team tent. Those same records say Metcalf pushed or grabbed Anthony before Anthony stabbed him once in the chest. Anthony has maintained from the start that he acted in self-defense, and after the stabbing he reportedly told officers, “I was defending myself,” while also asking whether Metcalf would survive and whether the incident might be considered self-defense.

Judge Roach tightened courtroom, media and security rules in April 2026, citing the need to protect jurors, witnesses and Anthony’s right to a fair trial. Photography, video, audio recording and livestreaming will not be allowed in the courtroom, and the order also limits how many media members can enter and bars interviews with jurors, prospective jurors and witnesses. Staged entry times were ordered for media, family members and the public.

The case has shaken Frisco and drawn attention far beyond Collin County. District Attorney Greg Willis said after the indictment that the case had “shaken” the community and that the justice system should move steadily and with principle. The Metcalf family has faced multiple swatting calls since the killing, while Anthony’s family has also faced threats. In April 2025, they held a news conference with spokesperson Dominique Alexander of the Next Generation Action Network, arguing that online misinformation and harassment had endangered them.

Austin Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, has described his son as an honor student, leader, all-district linebacker, team MVP and National Honor Society member with a 4.0 GPA who was drawing college interest. Hunter Metcalf accepted a posthumous diploma for Austin at Frisco Memorial’s graduation ceremony in May 2026, a reminder that the case continues to touch classrooms, stadiums and families across Frisco even as the courtroom process begins.