Karmelo Anthony’s (left) trial for the murder of Austin Metcalf in Texas began.
The highly anticipated trial of Karmelo Anthony who stabbed Texas teen Austin Metcalf last year began with the shocking revelations. “I have been stabbed,” Metcalf said as he was limping towards his twin brother Hunter Metcalf and then bled to death in his arms. The stabbing video has been shown to the jurors showing Anthony trying to ditch the knife and run but he did not make it out of the stadium as the coaches stopped him. And when a police officer arrested Anthony calling him an “alleged suspect”, he said: “I’m not alleged, I did it.”Anthony has been out on bail but under house arrest. Anthony posted a $250,000 bond for his release and has since been under house arrest. He was permitted to graduate from high school and finished with a 3.7 GPA,A jury of 18, including six alternates and no black panelists, will be deciding Anthony’s fate. After the opening statements of the trial were heard, the video was shown Thursday.Anthony’s attorney, Mike Howard, argued that his client acted in self-defense, reacting to “fear and chaos.” “After Karmelo defended himself with that knife, he ran. He didn’t stab again. He dropped the knife. He didn’t stab anyone else,” Howard said.The altercation between Anthony and Austin started over a seat at a track meet but it gained national importance as Karmelo Anthony is Black. “This case has nothing to do with race,” Texas prosecutor Bill Wirskye said at the hearing. “This case is not self-defense. Unjustified provoked murder — that’s why we’re here this morning.”
Frantic 911 call by a coach
The jurors in the Karmelo Anthony trial heard a frantic 911 call from a Frisco ISD track coach after Austin Metcalf was stabbed. In the call, the background noise of the track meet could be heard while coach Joshua Redman from Liberty High School was urging Austin to hang on, to fight the wound. On the call was coach Robert Thayer. “He’s breathing,” Thayer told the 911 operator.
