National attention has remained fixed on the Texas murder case tied to a fatal high school track meet stabbing and the legal fight now unfolding after the verdict. That focus narrowed again in Collin County on August 20, 2026, when prosecutors described evidence about Karmelo Anthony’s former girlfriend that was never presented to jurors. The disclosure came as a newly assigned judge heard Anthony’s request for a new trial in the killing of Frisco teenager Austin Metcalf.
Prosecutors disclosed a previously unheard report at the new-trial hearing
At the August 20 hearing in McKinney, lead prosecutor Bill Wirskye said Karmelo Anthony’s former girlfriend went to his school on the morning of the stabbing and reported that she was afraid of him, according to AP’s account of the proceeding and additional reporting from the hearing. Prosecutors also said jurors never heard other material they contend showed Anthony’s interest in knives and violence. Anthony, now 19, was convicted of murder in June 2026 and sentenced to 35 years in prison in the death of Austin Metcalf, AP reported.
The evidence did not reach the jury because, prosecutors said, both sides had entered an off-the-record verbal agreement to keep broader character evidence involving Anthony, Metcalf and Metcalf’s twin brother out of the trial. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth previously reported that Anthony’s trial lawyer described that arrangement in a July 15, 2026 affidavit as a “gentlemen’s agreement” covering cellphone contents, school records and other background material.
Anthony’s new lawyers are challenging that account. They told the court the prosecution did not honor the understanding and that the dispute affected Anthony’s decision not to testify, according to AP. The judge had not ruled on the retrial request as of the end of Thursday’s hearing
The new details surfaced in Collin County, where the case has drawn sustained public attention since the April 2, 2025 stabbing at a Frisco track meet. AP reported that students testified at trial that Anthony had been told repeatedly to leave a Memorial High School tent in the bleachers before the confrontation escalated. Witnesses said Metcalf pushed Anthony, and Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest, according to AP’s summary of the trial evidence.
What is confirmed is that the former girlfriend report and other disputed background material were discussed in open court during the retrial hearing, not in front of the original jury. What is not yet known is whether the newly assigned judge will find that the excluded material, the courtroom procedures or the off-record discussions were serious enough to justify a new trial. The court also has not made findings adopting either side’s full version of the underlying dispute.
The hearing came one day after Judge John Roach was removed from further proceedings in the case. AP reported that a visiting judge ordered Roach’s recusal after Anthony’s lawyers cited a post-trial television interview in which Roach said the jury “got it right.”
The current fight is less about re-trying the April 2025 confrontation itself than about how the June 2026 trial was conducted. AP reported that Anthony’s new legal team argued the proceedings were affected by strict courtroom rules, limited public access and off-the-record decisions that they said created a “shadow docket.” Prosecutors responded that Anthony received a fair trial and that defense lawyers agreed to the procedures and evidentiary limits used at trial.
NBC 5 reported that the defense’s July filing said the agreement had shaped its entire trial strategy by limiting what jurors would hear about both Anthony and the Metcalf brothers. According to that filing, the defense believed it would be able to keep Anthony’s cellphone contents and disciplinary material out if it refrained from offering evidence it said related to alleged violence, bullying and racist behavior by Austin and Hunter Metcalf.
For residents following the case in North Texas, the practical effect is that Anthony’s conviction and 35-year sentence remain in place unless the court orders a new trial. AP reported that retired Judge Michael Chitty is now handling the motion, and no final ruling had been announced as Thursday’s hearing concluded. The next step in the case will depend on whether the court finds the newly aired disputes changed the fairness of what jurors heard.