Prosecution Rests in Karmelo Anthony Trial

Last week the jury was selected in the Karmelo Anthony trial and some were concerned there would be no black jurors. But the trial got underway Thursday with opening arguments, which were limited to 20 minutes for each side.

Collin County District Attorney Bill Wirskye began by talking about the evidence in this trial. He said it would show that Anthony provoked another young man he didn’t know into touching him. 

Wirskye said Anthony used a hidden knife, opened his hand, plunged into Metcalf’s chest, causing his death, and then ran away. He called it a “provoked unjustified murder.” 

“This case has nothing to do with race. This case is not self-defense,” Wirskye said. 

The defense version of events sounds a lot like the defense you sometimes here after a police shooting where the question is whether or not the shooting was justified. Of course in this case, the murder weapon was a knife.

“There’s been a lot of noise around this case,” said Defense Attorney Mike Howard. “A lot of completely false information.”…

Howard claims there was no dispute. Anthony stayed seated the whole time as Metcalf came up to his right shoulder and Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter, stood in front of him. According to the defense attorney, Anthony put his hand in his bag as Metcalf made the first contact. Anthony made the split second decision to act as the group was “turning on him.”

“He reacts in a split second of fear and chaos,” Howard said.

As I pointed out before, this isn’t a normal murder trial where the prosecution is trying to prove guilt and the defense is trying poke holes in the prosecution’s case. Karmelo Anthony admitted to killing Austin Metcalf moments after it happened in the presence of a school resource officer. When he heard that officer making a radio call to say he had the alleged suspect, Anthony interjected, “I’m not alleged. I did it,” So this trial is really about the self-defense claim. Can Anthony and his team of attorneys establish that he was not the aggressor here but merely used deadly force to stop an attack against him by others?

The main testimony in the prosecution’s case took place Friday and Saturday. All of the people who were under the tent when the stabbing happened told the same story. Metcalf asked Anthony to move out from under their team tent (he went to a different high school). Anthony refused and dared someone to try to move him, placing one hand in a backpack.

Multiple student witnesses from Memorial High School testified that Anthony was the aggressor. They stated that Anthony entered their team tent to escape the rain and refused multiple requests to leave. The situation quickly escalated as Anthony verbally provoked Metcalf, stating, “Touch me and see what happens.” Witnesses noted Anthony kept his hand hidden inside his backpack, warning that he had something. When Metcalf finally pushed or shoved Anthony’s shoulders, Anthony immediately stood up and stabbed him in the chest.

Testimony continued on Saturday with more eyewitnesses, most of them teens who were teammates of Austin Metcalf. One 15-year-old whose name has not been released because of his age, said it was murder, not self defense.

“We all told him to leave,” the teen said, referring to Anthony.

He testified that Anthony got “irritated” and “tried to provoke us” as he was asked to leave. 

He remembered seeing Metcalf falling down the bleachers with blood on his chest…

“Did Karmelo Anthony act in self-defense or commit murder?” the prosecutor asked.

“He committed murder,” the teen said.

Another 16-year-old testified that Anthony got angry when he was asked to leave and that Metcalf replied to those provocations by saying “I’m not going to fight you.”

A 16-year-old student athlete who knew Metcalf from middle school took the stand next. He said he was sitting under the Memorial tent that day and scrolling on TikTok. He recalled Anthony sitting down next to him and saying something like, “Crazy weather, huh?”

He said another teammate noticed Anthony and asked him, “Who’s this guy?” The teen said Anthony replied, “I’m a nobody.” The teammate replied, “If you’re a nobody, then get out of our tent.” The teen testified that Anthony responded, “F— y’all.”

The teen testified that Anthony repeated, “F— y’all. I’m not going to leave. Y’all are a bunch of pu–ies. Y’all not going to do anything.” He said Anthony also threatened, “Touch me and see what happens.” Metcalf told him, “I’m not going to fight you.”

Other accounts say that Metcalf was more specific.

The witness said he turned around and saw his teammates “telling this random guy to get out of our tent.”

He described Karmelo as “stubborn” and said he did not want to leave the tent. Like previous witnesses, the 16-year-old recalled hearing Karmelo say “touch me and see what happens,” though he did not see the actual stabbing.

The witness testified that Karmelo challenged Austin to a fist fight, and Austin replied, “No, I’m not going to fight you at a track meet.”

I’m highlighting that one moment because it really seems to undermine the defense case that Austin was the aggressor. It was Karmelo making the challenges and Metcalf refusing to escalate to violence.

The prosecution case ended with testimony from the medical examiner who showed photos of Metcalf’s heart from the autopsy. She described the injury as not survivable.

Because the knife wound was through the heart, Ventura told the jury that she removed the heart and studied it. She noted that the wound was oval-shaped and 2 inches in length, describing it as “gaping.”

Ventura told the jury that knives can make two types of wounds: wounds shaped like slits and wounds shaped like ovals. Austin’s wound was shaped like an oval.

She said the path of the wound went through the cartilage of the sternum, penetrated the heart in the right ventricle, and completely went through the heart wall…

According to NBC 5’s Maria Guerrero, who is inside the Collin County courthouse, several jurors appeared to have emotional reactions to the autopsy photos.

The prosecution rested their case. After a break, the defense began calling its own witnesses. I think it’s fair to say those witnesses were not entirely helpful to Karmelo Anthony’s case. A coach from Anthony’s school testified that he shouldn’t have been under a tent at the time of the stabbing.

Linwood testified that he was outside the stadium at the time of the murder, and acknowledged that there was a “no weapons policy” at track meets. Linwood agreed that there was a “zero tolerance” policy regarding weapons.

“I assume it was shocking to know that one of your athletes stabbed someone in the chest,” Wirskye said.

“Yes, sir,” Linwood said.

Linwood testified that Karmelo should have been on the field warming up during the April 2 track meet, and agreed that he should not have been on the bleachers.

The defense also called a graduate of Anthony’s high school who knew him and had played on the football team with him.

The witness said he had previously gone under Memorial High School’s tent with Karmelo.

“You seem laid back. If someone asked you to leave would you?” Wirskye asked.

“Yes, sir,” the witness answered.

“Ever carry a knife to a track meet?” Wirskye asked.

“No, sir,” the witness answered.

Again, these are the defense witnesses.

The trial is continuing today but I’ll have an update on that tomorrow.

Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.

Help us fight back against the Democrats and Soros-backed DAs that refuse to enforce our laws to hold criminals accountable. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.