A 75-page court filing tied to Karmelo Anthony’s murder case contains years of alleged messages, photographs and videos that jurors did not hear about before convicting him in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf.
The filing was discussed publicly during Anthony’s August hearing seeking a new trial, when prosecutors detailed material gathered from police reports, school records and Anthony’s cellphone. New reporting published September 8 provided additional excerpts and descriptions from those records, including messages attributed to Anthony containing racist and homophobic language.
TMZ, citing records obtained by the Daily Mail, reported that some of the messages date to 2021, when Anthony was approximately 13 or 14. Other material comes from the months leading up to the April 2, 2025 confrontation at a Frisco, Texas, track meet that ended with Metcalf fatally stabbed.
Jurors did not hear that background before finding Anthony guilty of murder in June 2026 and sentencing him to 35 years in prison. Prosecutors and Anthony’s original defense attorneys had an agreement that kept damaging background information involving both Anthony and Metcalf outside the trial while the jury focused on what happened during their brief confrontation at the track meet.
The Filing Contains Years of Alleged Messages and Threats
The September 8 reporting includes messages attributed to Anthony containing derogatory comments about Black women and gay people. TMZ reported that one set of homophobic messages dates to 2021. Prosecutors had already described similar material during Anthony’s August new-trial hearing, including a note recovered from his phone containing racial slurs and stereotypes and a message in which he wrote that he hated gay people.
The filing contains substantially more than those comments. CBS News Texas reported that prosecutors described texts in which Anthony discussed fights, claimed to have struck other students and talked about robbing someone for $300. The court also heard about threatening messages involving guns and knives and an allegation from a girlfriend concerning stalking behavior on the morning of April 2, 2025.
The murder case itself centered on the confrontation at the track meet. The Associated Press reported that student witnesses described an argument after Anthony sat beneath a tent belonging to Metcalf’s school team and was repeatedly told to leave. Witnesses said Metcalf pushed Anthony after the exchange escalated, and Anthony then pulled a knife from his bag and stabbed him in the chest. Anthony argued that he acted in self-defense, but the jury rejected that claim.
Photos and Videos Reportedly Show Anthony With Guns
The filing also contains photographs and videos involving firearms. TMZ reported that a May 2024 photograph shows Anthony posing with what appears to be an AK-47-style rifle, while another image or video from later that year shows him holding a handgun.
Another reported video, dated January 4, 2025, allegedly shows Anthony pointing a gun toward a house before running away. Prosecutors also previously described messages involving firearms, including a conversation in which Anthony allegedly said he would have a gun in his pocket at a party. Other messages reportedly referred to him having a gun and knife at school after his girlfriend went into his bag.
The reporting does not establish that any firearm pictured or discussed in those records had a connection to Metcalf’s death. The April 2025 confrontation involved a knife, and the firearm material was presented during the later court proceedings as part of Anthony’s background rather than as evidence that a gun was involved in the murder.
Jurors Did Not Hear the Full Background of Either Teen
The decision to exclude background evidence applied to both sides. Prosecutors and Anthony’s original defense team had what attorneys later described as a private agreement to keep character evidence involving Anthony and Metcalf away from jurors. CBS News Texas reported that material involving Metcalf included a graffiti incident, use of racial slurs and allegations involving bullying or assault.
Attorneys said the restrictions were intended to keep the trial centered on the encounter beneath the tent rather than turn it into a broader examination of either teenager’s past. Lawyers also told jurors that Metcalf’s death was not about race, even as the case generated extensive racialized commentary online. Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white.
The agreement later became part of Anthony’s effort to overturn his conviction. His new attorneys argued that uncertainty about what prosecutors would be allowed to introduce if Anthony took the stand affected his decision not to testify. Prosecutors disputed that argument and defended the restrictions imposed during the original trial.
Judge Michael Chitty denied Anthony’s request for a new trial on August 22. His attorneys said afterward that they would continue challenging the conviction through the Fifth Court of Appeals and pursue other available legal remedies. Anthony’s murder conviction and 35-year prison sentence remain in place.