FRISCO, Texas – Karmelo Anthony has filed a notice of appeal following his murder conviction in the fatal stabbing at a Frisco track meet.
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On Tuesday, a Collin County jury found Anthony guilty of murder and sentenced him to 35 years in prison. The filing of a notice of appeal is the first step in challenging the conviction and sentence before a higher court. It is a routine procedure in serious felony cases and does not mean a new trial has been granted.
What happens next to Karmelo Anthony?
What we know:
Following sentencing, Anthony was booked into the Collin County Jail, where a new booking photo was taken. He is expected to be transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Anthony will first be taken to the state’s intake facility in Huntsville, where inmates undergo classification and processing before being assigned to a permanent prison unit. He could ultimately be housed at a facility anywhere in Texas.
Authorities generally do not publicly disclose inmate transportation details before a transfer occurs for security reasons.
FOX 4’s Shaun Rabb reported that inmates are typically transported with other prisoners and may make several stops before arriving in Huntsville for intake and classification.
While the transfer process is underway, Anthony’s attorneys have formally filed a notice of appeal. The filing preserves his right to ask an appellate court to review potential legal errors that may have occurred during the trial. The appeal process can take months or even years to resolve.
Frisco track meet stabbingÂ
The backstory:
Witnesses told investigators the confrontation began during a regional track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco. Anthony, a student at Centennial High School, was sitting under the Memorial High School team tent when Austin Metcalf, a Memorial High School student, reportedly told him to leave. Investigators said they found no evidence the two teenagers knew each other before the incident.
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According to an arrest report, witnesses identified Anthony to a school resource officer shortly after the stabbing. The officer reported that Anthony repeatedly claimed he acted in self-defense.
The report states that after being taken into custody, Anthony told officers, “I was protecting myself” and “He put his hands on me.” According to the report, Anthony also asked officers whether the victim would be okay and whether the incident could be considered self-defense.
In the days following the stabbing, the case drew widespread attention on social media. Anthony continued to maintain that he acted in self-defense while being held in the Collin County Jail on a $1 million bond. A judge later reduced the bond to $250,000, citing Anthony’s lack of a prior criminal record.
Days later, Anthony’s family held a news conference and called for the public to allow the judicial process to proceed.
“I don’t know why we are being targeted and discriminated against before a fair trial,” Anthony’s mother, Kayla Hayes, said at the time.
Public attention intensified when Metcalf’s father attended the family’s news conference. Police later escorted him from the event after organizers said he was not invited.
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