A Texas teen who fatally stabbed a rival track athlete during a meet last year was convicted Tuesday of murder.
Jurors rejected Karmelo Anthony’s claim that he stabbed Austin Metcalf in self-defense after a confrontation in Frisco, Texas, a Dallas suburb. The Associated Press reported that witnesses described a confrontation after Anthony refused to leave a tent belonging to Metcalf and his team during a rainy competition.
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Several students said Anthony reached into his backpack and pulled out a knife after being ordered to leave the tent. One witness recalled that Metcalf told Anthony, “You don’t have anything in that backpack. It’s Frisco,” according to the AP.
Anthony is facing a potential life sentence.
The case received widespread attention online over racial questions. Anthony is Black, and Metcalf was white. But both the defense and prosecutors said the stabbing had nothing to do with race.
The prosecution described the attack as a “surprise attack,” accusing Anthony of escalating the confrontation. But Anthony’s defense attorney, Mike Howard, said Anthony made the decision in a “split second of fear, chaos” after Metcalf made the first physical contact.
Others who testified said Anthony was the aggressor and recalled that when Metcalf told Anthony he needed to go, Anthony reached into his bag and said, “Touch me and see what happens,” according to the AP.
They said Metcalf then pushed Anthony, who stabbed Metcalf in the chest.
