MCKINNEY, Texas (AP) — A Texas teenager who fatally stabbed a 17-year-old track athlete from a rival team during a competition was convicted of murder Tuesday in a trial that drew attention far beyond the booming Dallas suburb where the two students attended different high schools.
A jury rejected Karmelo Anthony’s claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in stadium bleachers last year. Most people who testified were students who described a heated exchange over Anthony’s refusal to leave a tent that belonged to the team from Memorial High School in Frisco.
Anthony, now 19, faces up to life in prison after a brief sentencing hearing in which his mother was the only witness. His lawyer had an arm around him when the guilty verdict was announced.
Several schools were competing on a rainy April day when Anthony sat under the Memorial High tent that was perched in the bleachers. Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.
During the nearly weeklong trial, prosecutors said that Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses have testified that Anthony was the aggressor.
“This is not self-defense, folks. It’s murder plain and simple,” Wirskye told jurors during his closing argument.
Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.
Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony reacted by pulling out a knife and stabbing him in the chest.
“You don’t get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoke the shove,” Wirskye said.
The prosecutor also made a broader pitch to the jury: “Ultimately, this case is about accountability. What kind of community do you want to live in.”
Anthony did not testify and explain his version of what happened that day.