The defense rested its case Monday after calling more witnesses, none of whom were Anthony.
By: Michael Cuviello, Jamie Landers, Sarah Bahari,Staff Writer
Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial resumed Monday as the defense worked to establish its self-defense claim. Proceedings have ended after District Judge John Roach Jr. adjourned the court Monday afternoon.
Trial testimony shifted to the defense phase Saturday after prosecutors rested their case. Jurors heard medical evidence that Austin Metcalf’s stab wound pierced his heart and was unsurvivable.
The defense then called witnesses, including Anthony’s coach, who said athletes commonly shared tents during track meets. Anthony did not testify in his defense. Later, a Frisco Memorial student offered a different account of the confrontation, telling jurors Metcalf grabbed Anthony before he was wounded, while also acknowledging under cross-examination that Anthony helped provoke the encounter.
The trial is expected to last through the end of the week.
Journalists from The Dallas Morning News will provide live updates throughout the day from the Collin County courthouse in McKinney.
From Saturday: Prosecution rests in Karmelo Anthony trial shaped by differing student accounts of stabbing
Anthony ineligible for death penalty
The trial has gained wide attention on social media, with some calling for Anthony to receive the death penalty. That’s not a possibility, though. Here’s why.
Anthony, like Metcalf, was 17 at the time of the stabbing. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that executing anyone for a crime committed while under the age of 18 constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment,” making Anthony ineligible for a death sentence under federal law.
If convicted, Anthony faces five years to life in prison.
Related: No, Karmelo Anthony will not get the death penalty for the Frisco stabbing. Here’s why
— Jamie Landers
Adjourned early
The defense has rested its case. Anthony was not called to testify.
Roach said closing arguments would begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
After closing, Roach said he would allow the jury to deliberate as long as they wanted. If the jury calls it a day without reaching a decision, they will be sequestered in a hotel, without their phones, until they return to the courthouse.
“We’re getting close, I’m telling ya,” Roach told jurors before dismissing them shortly after 2:30 p.m.
— Jamie Landers
Judge gives attorneys longer lunch
Following the last student’s testimony, Judge Roach excused the jury for an early lunch break, stating attorneys would use the time to determine the “best way to proceed.”
Court was expected to resume at 12:30 p.m. As of 1:20 p.m., it remained closed to reporters and the public.
About 1:10 p.m., a sheriff’s deputy escorted Anthony’s parents, who walked down the second-floor hallway holding hands, into the courtroom before closing the security line.
Media and the public were allowed back into the courtroom shortly after 2 p.m., almost three hours after they were dismissed for lunch.
— Jamie Landers
Pastor prays for Anthony, Metcalf families outside courthouse
Lorenzo Henry, the pastor of Roadside Church in McKinney, prayed for the Anthony and Metcalf families outside the Collin County courthouse during Monday’s trial proceedings.
“We have two families — one has lost a son, and one is about to lose a son,” Henry said. “We got to pray for peace.”
Henry is one of many people who have made their way to McKinney for the Anthony trial, which started last week. Dozens of Metcalf supporters — including conservative influencer Jake Lang — rallied outside the courthouse Thursday; many Anthony supporters did the same. Henry did not come to the courthouse to take sides, but gathered with a small group to pray for both families.
“There is the Metcalf family; they have suffered the loss of a son. No one should lose a son at a young age,” Henry said. “Here we have the Anthony family [which is] faced with the justice system and possibly losing their son in the process, also.”
As the case continues to draw national attention, Henry said he is praying for peace and unity in the midst of the controversy.
“God don’t allow things to happen for no reason,” he said. “It’s happened. Let’s see what He wants to come out of it. I know it’s not hatred – I know it’s not chaos.
“Don’t let this be something that divides the nation,” he added.
— Sally Avila Edwards
Defense questions Frisco police officer
In their brief questioning of a Frisco police officer who responded to the scene at Kuykendall Stadium, defense attorneys appeared to suggest that a student under Frisco Memorial’s tent may have recorded part of the altercation between Austin Metcalf and Karmelo Anthony. But the line of questioning ended without establishing whether any such video exists.
Officer Beau Riley testified that he was serving a search warrant on the morning of April 2, 2025, when he was called to the stadium over reports of a stabbing. Riley said his primary responsibility at the scene was interviewing witnesses.
Among those witnesses was Edwin Parra, a recent Frisco Memorial graduate whose testimony Saturday led to the most contentious cross-examination by the defense yet.
Defense attorneys sought to portray Parra as being much closer to Anthony than he had indicated during direct examination and questioned why he never disclosed knowing Anthony as tensions escalated before the stabbing.
During his testimony, Parra was also asked about allegations that he appeared to be filming part of the confrontation on his phone. Parra told jurors he was “just fooling around” and never actually hit record.
The defense pressed him on what the purpose of pretending was, to which Parra repeatedly replied: “I was just being dumb.”
Defense attorney Toby Shook on Monday questioned Riley about his review of Parra’s phone. Riley testified that he examined the device’s camera roll, text messages, call history and Snapchat account at the scene as part of what he described as “an exercise in due diligence.”
Shook emphasized that Riley was not a forensic phone examiner. Riley agreed each time.
“You said you were thorough?” Wirksye asked during a brief cross.
“Yes,” the officer affirmed.
“That’s all, pass the witness,” Wirskye said.
— Jamie Landers
Related: Jurors see knife at center of Karmelo Anthony murder trial
‘Oh my God, he just stabbed him’
A 17-year-old Frisco High School student who caught a glimpse of the altercation from the field testified that he saw several people standing around Metcalf and Anthony when the altercation occurred.
“All of a sudden I saw someone get pushed or punched,” he told lead defense attorney Mike Howard on the stand, adding that he saw the student who was struck make a swinging motion with his arm.
“People started scattering and saying, ‘Oh my God, he just stabbed him,’ and we just ran,” the student said.
Roach forbade media outlets from naming minors called as witnesses.
Questioned by the defense, the teenager said he was not friends with Anthony and did not know the context of what led to the confrontation.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Bill Wirskye again challenged the recollection: “I’m not trying to embarrass you, but a lot of what you just said was guessing.”
“Yes, sir,” the student agreed.
Wirskye cited video evidence he showed the student earlier this year, footage he said showed a different version of events than what the student previously said in his police statement.
“It kind of shook you up that things weren’t quite as you remembered them,” Wirskye prompted.
“Yes, sir.”
— Jamie Landers
Related: At Karmelo Anthony trial, race takes center stage outside the courtroom
Defense resumes witness testimony
The prosecution on Monday attempted to undercut the testimony of a 17-year-old Centennial High School student who told the police directly after the stabbing that Anthony had been surrounded in the moments before he pulled the knife.
During direct examination by lead defense attorney Mike Howard, the student told jurors he was warming up on the field when he noticed a shift in demeanor among athletes gathered under Frisco Memorial’s tent.
He testified that he saw what appeared to be a shove, describing a boy — later identified as Metcalf — extending both arms and making contact with Anthony. It concerned him enough, he said, that the student recalled asking a teammate whether a fight was about to break out.
The student didn’t witness the stabbing itself, but said he later saw Anthony crying on the track while being comforted by a coach. According to the student, Anthony appeared “very, very distraught.”
“He put his hands on me, I told him not to,” the student recalled Anthony saying. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
Prosecutors challenged the narrative during cross-examination, using surveillance video to demonstrate that parts of his recollection didn’t match the timeline captured on camera.
Jurors were then shown video footage timestamped at approximately 10:00:50 a.m. Prosecutors argued the recording showed the student and his teammates warming up for their relay at the very moment the shove and stabbing occurred, instantaneously, beneath the tent.
“Boom, the shove and the stab just happened,” Bill Wirskye said while reviewing the footage frame by frame.
Wirskye pointed out that the student and his teammates did not appear to turn toward the tent until seconds later, suggesting he could not have directly observed the shove he described.
“You thought it was before the stabbing,” Wirskye said, “and you realized that the people you thought were crowding a teammate of yours were doing that after the stabbing.”
The student conceded, and Wirskye asked whether the experience had taught him something about eyewitness memory.
“Have you learned a few extra things about how your brain can play tricks on you?” the prosecutor asked.
“Yes, sir,” the student responded.
“The video is the video. The timeline is the timeline,” Wirskye told him.
— Jamie Landers
Related: No, Karmelo Anthony will not get the death penalty for the Frisco stabbing. Here’s why
Former law partners square off
The trial against Karmelo Anthony has pitted two veteran attorneys and longtime friends on opposite sides of the courtroom.
Toby Shook and Bill Wirskye have prosecuted some of the state’s most notorious criminals. They worked on a few of the cases together, and between them, helped send roughly two dozen murderers to Texas’ death row. For a while, they were partners in the same law firm, their last names on the front door of the offices of Shook, Gunter & Wirskye in downtown Dallas.
Now, Wirskye is working to convince a jury that Anthony murdered fellow student-athlete Austin Metcalf. Shook is part of the team trying to persuade the panel that Anthony stabbed Metcalf in self-defense. The two have barely acknowledged each other during the first few days of testimony and evidence in the case.
— Jane Harper
Who is Judge John Roach Jr.?
State District Judge John Roach. Jr. is overseeing one of the most high-profile trials of his career, months before he plans to retire at the end of the year.
Roach, who has been on the bench since 2007, has a reputation for being straightforward and fair, say those who know him. The judge previously served in the Marine Corps and two terms on the Plano City Council. He felt called to serve as a judge after reading the book, The Purpose Driven Life, with his wife, Laura Roach.
Related: A look into the veteran judge of the Karmelo Anthony trial
Roach spends his free time with his three sons, playing tennis or shooting guns, his wife said. A decade ago, he competed in an Iron Man triathlon, and in 2023 the couple climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, she said.
Regulars to Roach’s courtroom likely notice one absence during this trial: the judge’s brown Boykin Spaniel named Justice. The medical service dog usually sits at the judge’s feet monitoring his blood pressure, but is sitting this trial out.
— Sana Muneer and Lola Jahant
What happened Saturday during the trial?
Saturday marked a turning point in Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial as prosecutors rested their case after jurors heard from the medical examiner who performed Austin Metcalf’s autopsy. Dr. Elizabeth Ventura testified that Metcalf’s stab wound entered his heart and was unsurvivable, though she said the autopsy could not determine how much force Anthony used.
The defense then began its case by calling Anthony’s football and track coach, Adam Linwood, who testified he was unaware of any rule barring athletes from sitting under another school’s tent. Linwood said it was common at track meets for athletes to take shelter with competitors, especially during weather delays.
The day’s biggest defense testimony came from a 17-year-old Frisco Memorial student who gave jurors a different account from several earlier witnesses. He testified that Edwin Parra called Anthony over to the Memorial tent, that Hunter Metcalf spoke to Anthony first, and that Austin Metcalf grabbed Anthony before he was wounded. But under cross-examination, the student also said Anthony provoked the confrontation.
Self-defense claim
The case against Anthony could boil down to one key question: Did the teen act in self-defense that rainy morning in April 2025?
The answer may determine whether he walks free or spends up to the rest of his life in prison.
In Texas, a person is legally justified to use deadly force under certain conditions, according to the state’s penal code.
The person must “reasonably” believe the force is “immediately necessary” to prevent death or serious bodily injury. And the force must be “proportionate” to the threat. Also, a person claiming self-defense can’t be the aggressor or engaged in criminal activity at the time, according to the code.
Related: The self-defense claim at the center of Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial
“A key consideration in self-defense cases is what would an ordinary, prudent person in the same situation do,” Dallas criminal defense attorney Nigel Redmond said. “Would they do the same thing you did if they faced the same threat?”
Self-defense also can be successfully argued if the person killed was moving aggressively toward the other person, or put their hands on them, he said.
— Jane Harper
Is the Karmelo Anthony trial being televised?
No, the trial will not be televised or streamed for the public to view.
District Judge John Roach Jr. imposed strict rules ahead of the trial, including banning cameras from the courtroom. The Collin County courthouse rules also prohibit cameras throughout the building.
“The Court finds that this case has generated substantial public and media attention and that unrestricted access or activity may compromise courtroom security, juror privacy, and the Defendant’s right to fair trial,” the judge’s order states.
Related: Will the Karmelo Anthony trial be televised? The News has answers on how to get live updates
Other rules in place, according to the order:
Attendees must remain silent and respectful while in the courtroom.
Gestures, facial expressions or other reactions to testimony or court rulings are not permitted.
Clothing or other items displaying messages, logos, symbols or images related to the case or that are considered to be distracting or potentially prejudicial are prohibited.
Signs, banners or other such materials also are not allowed in the courthouse.
— Jane Harper and Lana Ferguson
Breaking News Reporter
Michael Cuviello is a breaking news reporter for The Dallas Morning News. He previously reported for the Amarillo Globe-News, where he led on-the-ground coverage of the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest wildfire in Texas history. A graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso, he served as the sports editor for the student publication, The Prospector. Cuviello is a combat veteran who served more than a decade in the military.
Senior Breaking News Reporter
Jamie Landers is the senior breaking news reporter at The Dallas Morning News, where she covers crime, courts and capital punishment. She is a graduate of The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, where she studied journalism and political science. Jamie previously reported for The Arizona Republic and Arizona PBS.
Trending Reporter
Sarah Bahari is a trending news reporter. She previously worked as a writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered a bit of everything. She is a graduate of Kansas State University.
