The jury rejected the teen’s self-defense claim, found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to 35 years in prison.
Families on both sides remain devastated and public opinion turns against the convicted teenager.
The teen’s parents maintain he did not receive a fair trial and plan to appeal the conviction.
Source: The Dallas Morning News/Hearst Newspapers/Getty
Despite the pain and frustration this family must feel, they are resilient and determined to achieve justice.
CBS News informs that the family of karmelo antonio is speaking out publicly following the Texas teen’s murder conviction and 35-year prison sentence for the fatal stabbing of fellow student-athlete Austin Metcalf, insisting that the tragedy has left two families devastated and that “no one wins” from the outcome.
In an interview after the verdict, Anthony’s parents continued to maintain that their son acted in self-defense during the April 2025 confrontation at a Frisco high school track meet that ended with the death of 17-year-old Metcalf. An all-white Collin County jury rejected that argument after less than three hours of deliberation and found Anthony guilty of murder before sentencing him to 35 years in prison.
Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, said her son “didn’t mean to hurt anyone” and argued that he was trying to defend himself during the altercation. His father, Andrew Anthony, expressed his solidarity with the Metcalf family while acknowledging the enormous pain caused by the case.
“It’s unfortunate, it’s where no one wins. This has hurt us all. All of us, all of us.”
That being said, Anthony still doesn’t feel like his son got a fair trial.
“They did a number on us,” Andrew Anthony said. “We didn’t get justice. A lot of things that were overlooked should have been handled a certain way.”
The family also rejected what they describe as widespread public hostility surrounding the case. In a separate interview with CBS Texas, Anthony’s parents said they have continued receiving death threats even after conviction and sentencing. Andrew Anthony claimed the public still wants his family to be harmed despite the guilty verdict. The family believes public opinion turned against Karmelo long before the trial began and has vowed to continue fighting the conviction through the appeal process.
“People want us dead,” Andrew Anthony said. “After they still got what they wanted…they still want us dead. I’m going to look at my phone, people want us dead. They want our family dead.”
Although the trial has concluded, the emotional consequences remain serious for both families. The Metcalfs continue to mourn the loss of Austin, while the Anthonys face the reality that their son is beginning a long prison sentence.
“That poor kid is getting ready to experience a life he wouldn’t wish on anyone, but he deserves what he gets because we are all responsible for our actions,” (Jeff) Metcalf said. “For me, it all comes down to this: Austin will never walk through that door again and he will never give me a hug.”
As Anthony’s legal team prepares an appeal, his parents say they remain convinced the justice system got the case wrong, even when a jury reached the opposite conclusion.
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