Karmelo Anthony hearing for new trial in Austin Metcalf track meet murder case underway

Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Aug 20, 2026

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Defense attorneys for Karmelo Anthony appeared in a Collin County courtroom Thursday morning to argue that the 19-year-old should receive a new trial.

Anthony was sentenced in June 2026 to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet in April 2025. Judge John Roach, who presided over Anthony’s murder trial, was recused Wednesday from all post-trial proceedings.

The hearing got underway about 9:40 a.m. after Michael Chitty, the retired Kaufman County judge who is presiding, arrived. The judge allowed Anthony to be unshackled, KXAS-TV reported. Anthony’s family is in the courtroom.

Defense attorney Russell Wilson’s opening statements centered on Roach’s decision to close the overflow courtroom during the majority of the trial and multiple off-the-record proceedings that occurred, Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV reported. He accused Roach of running a “shadow docket.”

Wilson also said prosecutors violated an agreement that limited evidence of what could be shared in court about the defendant’s and victim’s character and background, according to WFAA.

“They kept out information that could have been used,” Wilson said.

Prosecutor Bill Wirskye told the court that every decision Roach made during the trial was done with the permission of the attorneys. He also said off-the-record conversations are common in major trials in Texas, according to WFAA reporting.

According to Wirskye, the attorneys on both sides received multiple threats during the trial, and Roach acted in the way he did to protect Anthony, WFAA reported.

First witness

The defense’s first witness, former Collin County public information officer Derrick Jackson, was called about 11:15 a.m., WFAA reported. He handled press credentials and other logistics related to the media before the trial, but was fired before the trial began.

Jackson testified that Roach insisted on not having an overflow room, citing issues such as management of the space and security, according to WFAA. He said the defense wasn’t present in any of the meetings he had with Roach.

The witness said he was fired after providing media outlets with the trial schedule, which he believed was public information. The prosecution claimed the information violated the gag order that the parties to the case were under, according to WFAA reporting.

Jackson stated that Roach “really let me have it,” and told him he could spend six months in jail for violating the gag order, WFAA reported.

Wirskye said during the cross-examination that he didn’t believe Jackson intentionally did anything wrong. Jackson admitted he’d never worked in a threat environment before and said trying to manage the vitriol surrounding the case was “unlike anything we have ever experienced,” according to WFAA.

The hearing was on recess for lunch until 1:30 p.m. When it resumed, the defense was expected to introduce 47 exhibits, KXAS reported.

Trial attorney testifies

Mike Howard, Anthony’s lead defense attorney during the trial, took the witness stand after lunch. He told the court that the lawyers had at least 12 off-the-record meetings with Roach, according to WFAA. Anthony was not present, he said. There were no pre-trial hearings or motions.

According to Howard, Roach had an “old-school” way of doing things. The attorneys would make their filings directly to him, instead of through the district clerk’s office, WFAA reported.

When Wilson asked whose idea the “shadow docket” was, Howard said both sides were worried about how the case had gone viral, and “we all wanted the temperature turned down,” according to WFAA reporting.

New defense team

A new team of attorneys led by Wilson took over Anthony’s case after his conviction in June. On July 7, the legal team filed a motion for a new trial and requested that Roach be removed from the post-trial proceedings on the grounds of bias.

The new attorneys have argued that Roach’s decision to keep cameras out of the courtroom violated Anthony’s right to a fair trial. They’ve also said that prosecutors violated an agreement that limited evidence of what could be shared in court about the defendant’s and victim’s character and background.

“The jury was prevented from fully considering whether Karmelo acted in self-defense,” the defense team said in a news release.

The defense attorneys applauded visiting San Antonio Judge Sid Harle’s decision Wednesday to recuse Roach, and said they would make sure Anthony receives the due process he’s guaranteed under the Constitution.

“Nothing about today changes the fact that a young man lost his life, and the Metcalf family carries that loss every day,” the defense team said in a statement Wednesday. “What today does is give this case the impartial review the Constitution guarantees every defendant, no matter how much attention the case has drawn. We will be in court Thursday morning.”

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