Prosecution rests in Karmelo Anthony trial shaped by differing student accounts of stabbing

McKINNEY — Prosecutors rested their case Saturday after calling more student witnesses to recount the moments before Karmelo Anthony fatally stabbed Austin Metcalf at a rainy Frisco track meet.

The accounts of four students called by the state who saw the confrontation at David Kuykendall Stadium differed on some details, but all aligned on one point. Anthony was the aggressor.

But one student called by the defense suggested Metcalf’s brother played a role in starting the argument about Anthony’s presence at his team’s tent prior to the stabbing.

The defense has argued Anthony acted in self-defense, making a split-second decision in the face of a threat. Their cross-examinations have seized on the discrepancies in the students’ testimony, including what one Frisco Memorial High School student who knew Anthony told jurors about their relationship prior to the stabbing.

The case, which has drawn national attention, racially charged demonstrations and online animus, turns largely on the moments before the fatal encounter. How jurors assess the teenagers’ testimony could shape whether they view Anthony’s actions as murder or justified self-defense.

THE DAY BEFORE: Jurors shown knife allegedly used in stabbing at Karmelo Anthony trial

The state’s final witness was a Collin County medical examiner, who left little doubt about how Metcalf died. She testified that the knife’s 3.5-inch blade pierced his heart, causing an unsurvivable wound.

Anthony, now 19, faces up to life in prison if convicted. He and Metcalf were both 17 at the time of the stabbing.

Collin County Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye rested the prosecution’s case after the medical examiner’s testimony Saturday afternoon. The state called more than 20 witnesses to the stand.

Once the state rested, Anthony’s defense first called a 17-year-old student to the stand. The student said Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter, had interacted with Anthony prior to the stabbing — a detail that conflicts with most other students’ earlier testimony.

District Judge John Roach Jr. forbade media outlets from naming minors called as witnesses.

Hunter Metcalf was not called by the state to testify.

Edwin Parra, a recent Frisco Memorial graduate, was described by prosecutors Saturday as the “common denominator” connecting Anthony to Memorial’s tent.

The trial has centered on a dispute that began when Metcalf and others told Anthony to leave their team’s tent during the rain-delayed high school track meet.

TIMELINE: How the case against Karmelo Anthony unfolded

Previous testimony has indicated Anthony chose the Memorial tent because he knew Parra. Parra testified he knew of Anthony because he was dating a family friend of Parra’s at the time, but said he did not consider Anthony a friend.

Parra said he didn’t notice Anthony when he first joined his team under the tent on April 2, 2025, but told the jury Anthony “got everyone’s attention” when he inserted himself into a conversation about the school’s football team.

“Y’all are ass,” he recalled Anthony saying of the players.

When Metcalf questioned Anthony about why he was there, Parra said Anthony became increasingly agitated, allegedly saying, “You’re not going to move me; you’re a bitch,” and, “You’re going to have to move me.”

Parra said it wasn’t surprising to see Metcalf intervene: “He was always leading and protecting us.”

Parra testified the argument amounted to little more than trash talk until Anthony put a hand inside his backpack. After Anthony allegedly warned, “Touch me and see what happens,” Metcalf shoved him in an effort to move him from the seat, he said.

The students’ descriptions of the incident differed at times, including whether Anthony was under or outside Memorial’s tent and what exactly he and Metcalf said to each other before the stabbing.

Through tears, Parra described seeing what appeared to be a hole in Metcalf’s chest as he ran to find coaches who could help.

Toby Shook, one of Anthony’s defense attorneys, challenged Parra’s characterization of his relationship with Anthony, presenting a series of photographs, text messages and social interactions that suggested the two teenagers had spent more time together than what Parra described.

JURY SELECTION: Jurors seated in Karmelo Anthony murder trial. None are Black

Shook highlighted numerous occasions where Anthony appeared in pictures with Parra and his family, largely during parties at Parra’s house. One photo showed Parra and Anthony posing together on a couch. Another featured Anthony playing with a guitar in Parra’s bedroom.

“You’re still telling this jury you didn’t know Karmelo Anthony well?” Shook asked.

“Not personally,” Parra said.

The defense pressed Parra on why he didn’t inform his teammates that he knew Anthony when they were asking who he was, or when tensions started to escalate.

“I didn’t feel the need to,” Parra said.

Despite previous testimony that Hunter Metcalf had little to no involvement in the altercation, the 17-year-old called by the defense said Hunter Metcalf was the first person to speak to Anthony, asking “Hey, who are you?”

The teenager said he didn’t remember how Anthony responded, but said Anthony later told Hunter Metcalf, “No one has a problem with me being here other than you.”

At some point, the student recalled, Austin and Hunter Metcalf both stood up, while Anthony remained seated. The student described the twins’ demeanor as “moderately” aggressive.

RELATED: Austin Metcalf’s twin brother accepts posthumous diploma at Frisco graduation

When the twins stood, the student said he saw Anthony put his hand in his backpack, which was either positioned in his lap or between his legs.

“I know you don’t have anything in that bag,” he recalled Austin Metcalf telling Anthony.

“Why would you say that?” Anthony asked.

“You’re from Frisco,” he responded.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Austin Metcalf then began to move closer to Anthony. By the time he reached the step below Anthony, the student said Anthony told him, “Touch me and see what happens.”

The student said Austin Metcalf tapped Anthony on the shoulder, to which Anthony responded, “OK, you touched me, but as long as you don’t punch me, we’re good.”

Austin Metcalf then allegedly grabbed Anthony with both hands. In that second, the student testified, Anthony’s hand came out of the bag and plunged the knife into Metcalf.

Dr. Elizabeth Ventura, the Collin County medical examiner who conducted Metcalf’s autopsy, testified that the 17-year-old’s wound meant certain death.

Ventura told jurors Metcalf suffered a stab wound to the left side of his upper chest. The wound, she said, perforated cartilage near the sternum and entered his heart. She also documented internal bleeding.

Ventura testified the wound measured 2 inches in length and was “gaping.”

During cross-examination, Shook fixated on Ventura’s measurement, asking what the full 3.5-inch blade not entering Metcalf revealed about the level of force Anthony used during the stabbing.

Ventura said the autopsy could not determine Anthony’s use of force.

Shook tried to act out the stabbing for the medical examiner, stressing the fact Anthony was sitting while Metcalf stood over him. He asked about several different scenarios in which Metcalf could have suffered a wound at the angle he did.

Wirskye implied Shook was trying to tell the jury Metcalf impaled himself on Anthony’s pocketknife.

“It’s very dangerous to make those sorts of assumptions in a courtroom, isn’t it?” Wirskye said.

“Correct,” Ventura replied.

Trial is set to resume Monday at 9 a.m. with more witnesses called by the defense.