MCKINNEY — Karmelo Anthony, the 17-year-old accused of fatally stabbing another student at a high school track meet in Frisco earlier this month, was released from jail Monday after his bond was significantly lowered.
Anthony was released from the Collin County jail about 4:20 p.m. and put on house arrest with an ankle monitor. After an hourlong hearing at the county courthouse in McKinney on Monday morning, state District Judge Angela Tucker lowered Anthony’s bond from $1 million to $250,000.
Anthony had been in custody on a murder charge since April 2, when he was arrested and accused of killing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at the District 11-5A track meet at Frisco’s David Kuykendall Stadium. Anthony has told police he was acting in self-defense.
While under house arrest, Tucker said Anthony will only be permitted to leave home with her permission — namely trips to his attorney’s office and meetings in court — and will need to be with an adult at all times. He is also not to contact the Metcalf family, including on social media.
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Factors considered in court Monday included Anthony’s age, lack of a criminal history and ties to the community, including several family members, close friends, a football coach and a manager from one of his part-time jobs who showed up to the hearing.
On the Metcalf family’s side of the courtroom, which was also full, Meghan Metcalf, Austin’s mother, bowed her head and cried as the decision came down.
Greg Willis, the Collin County district attorney, told reporters after the hearing that his office is focused on next steps: reviewing Frisco police’s investigation and presenting the case to a grand jury, which will determine whether Anthony will be indicted — and face trial.
Greg Willis, the Collin County District Attorney, speaks to reporters following a bond hearing in Karmelo Anthony’s case at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, TX on Monday, April 14, 2025. Karmelo Anthony, 17, a Frisco Centennial High School student and football player, is accused of stabbing Austin Metcalf, also 17, to death at a track meet earlier this month. (Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
“What we are concerned about as prosecutors is justice, truth and accountability, and so we will go where the facts lead us,” Willis said.
Willis said he considers the case to be a “terrible tragedy” not only for Frisco, but the Collin County community as a whole.
“It is the most unnatural thing for a parent to lose their child,” he said. “It’s permanent, it’s profound, it’s certainly premature.
“The Anthony family has had a different kind of loss, but a loss nonetheless.”
Mike Howard, Anthony’s defense attorney, said he feels the judge’s decision was fair. Howard had asked during the hearing for Anthony’s bond to be lowered to $150,000.
“It is not supposed to be an instrument of oppression,” Howard said. “It’s not supposed to keep people in jail. It’s not supposed to punish. It’s supposed to ensure that a person shows up to court, complies with all conditions and it’s supposed to keep the community safe.”
Howard declined to delve into the specifics of the case, but said there are “two sides to every story” and that after a full investigation, he is confident “the truth will come out.”
“Every Texan has the right to defend themselves when they reasonably fear for their life,” he said.
(From right) Dominique Alexander, president and CEO of Next Generation Action Network (NGAN), and Andrew Anthony, father of Karmelo Anthony, prepare to go in for a bond hearing in Karmelo’s case at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
Packed hearing
The hearing Monday morning — a little less than two weeks after the fatal stabbing — was packed. About 10 minutes before the hearing was expected to start, guards turned away a woman who identified herself as the mother of a friend to the victim, saying all of the public seating available inside the courtroom was taken.
Andrew Anthony, Karmelo’s father, was the only witness called to testify.
He said his son was born in Baton Rouge, La., but that the family moved to North Texas a few years ago for a “better life” and “better opportunities.”
Andrew Anthony said his son, a senior at Frisco Centennial High School, has worked his way to becoming captain of both the football and track teams, holds two part-time jobs and is an A-student who was making plans to go to college.
He added that his son is also a “great big brother” to three younger siblings.
After Karmelo Anthony was arrested, Andrew Anthony said he had to take an indefinite leave of absence from his job as a finance manager at a car dealership. He explained he is the sole provider for his household, with his wife being a stay-at-home mom.
As of Monday morning, an online fundraiser for Karmelo Anthony had surpassed $415,000. When asked by Collin County’s First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye why that money wasn’t already being used to get Karmelo Anthony out of jail, Andrew Anthony said the money from the site could not immediately be accessed.
Howard later clarified the funds will also be needed for Anthony’s long-term defense, including paying for experts, a team of investigators and other “man power.”
“It would be disingenuous to say there isn’t money,” Howard told the judge in his closing statement. “But it is not a bond fund. This family needs to be able to survive.”
Wirskye argued $1 million was “not unreasonable on its face,” calling the killing a “brutal murder.”
“I don’t know why we’re here,” he said of the hearing. “This crime has devastated our community. Our community needs confidence in its court system.”
After hearing from both sides, Tucker promised her decision was based on the law and the Constitution, not the court of public opinion, repeatedly stating the case had spurred “unprecedented” safety and security concerns for everyone involved.
Karmelo Anthony, who attended the hearing in a yellow jumpsuit with his wrists handcuffed in front of him, did not appear to visibly react when Tucker announced the bond reduction and firmly walked him through the conditions of his release.
“You can be over there in a box or you can be at home — do you understand me?” Tucker asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Anthony said.
The background
According to an arrest-warrant affidavit, Anthony, a Centennial student, was waiting out a weather delay under a tent designated for Frisco Memorial High School students — where Metcalf attended school — when Metcalf told him to move.
Anthony allegedly reached inside his bag and said “Touch me and see what happens,” the affidavit said. Metcalf then touched him, to which Anthony replied, “Punch me and see what happens.”
According to the report, Metcalf grabbed Anthony and again told him to move when Anthony pulled out a knife, stabbed Metcalf once in the chest and ran away.
Anthony later told responding officers he was defending himself, explaining “He put his hands on me, I told him not to” while “crying hysterically,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said Anthony also asked if Metcalf was going to be OK. Metcalf, who died in his twin brother’s arms, was pronounced dead at a hospital less than an hour after the stabbing.
Related:Family of Frisco teen arrested in fatal track meet stabbing calls for patience, prayers
In a written statement released last week, Anthony’s family said they are “sincerely saddened that a life was lost” and asked the public not to rush “to judgment before all the facts and evidence are presented.”
“This will certainly be a long road ahead,” the statement reads, “and during this challenging time, we ask for prayers for both families and we ask for your patience and respect for the legal process as we seek the truth.”
Jeff Metcalf, Austin Metcalf’s father, previously told The Dallas Morning News he feels for the family of the alleged assailant, because “his life is over, his family will be devastated also.”
Jeff Metcalf described his son to be not only an all-district linebacker and the Memorial football team’s MVP, but a member of the National Honor Society with a 4.0 GPA. He dreamed of playing college ball.
“This was going to be his year,” Jeff Metcalf said.
Staff writer Hojun Choi contributed to this report.
