Court releases graphic evidence in Karmelo Anthony stabbing trial

Graphic photos and video from the Karmelo Anthony murder trial were released to the public Friday, adding a harsher visual record to a case that already ended in a murder conviction and a 35-year prison sentence. The material came from the Collin County 296th District Court and centered on the killing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco ISD track meet.

The newly released evidence is important because it shows what jurors were asked to weigh when they returned their verdict on June 9. The images include the aftermath of the stabbing, including Metcalf’s fatal wound, a bloody coat and the knife prosecutors said was used in the attack. Other images reportedly show the scene before and after the stabbing at Kuykendall Stadium, where the confrontation unfolded on April 2, 2025.

Anthony was 17 at the time of the stabbing and 19 during the 2026 trial. Prosecutors argued that Anthony intentionally stabbed Metcalf during an altercation at the meet, while defense attorneys said Anthony acted in self-defense. The evidence release does not change the verdict, but it does strengthen the public record surrounding a case that drew intense attention because it involved a school event, a deadly encounter between teenagers and competing claims about self-defense.

The murder trial began in Collin County on June 1, with jury selection that day, a jury seated on June 3 and opening statements on June 4. The proceedings quickly became one of the most closely watched criminal cases in North Texas, with courthouse security and media access tightened under Judge John Roach. The judge’s restrictions reflected the sensitivity of the case and the pressure surrounding a trial that intersected with school safety concerns and a broader national debate about race and violence.

Frisco Independent School District had previously granted restricted access to surveillance footage from the April 2 incident, but the stabbing itself was not visible in the video shown publicly. The district said in 2025 that a wider release would conflict with student privacy and school security concerns. Friday’s release gave the public a fuller look at the physical evidence, but it still left the central legal question where the jury left it: whether the killing was intentional murder or an act Anthony claimed was self-defense.