Karmelo Anthony dropped plans to testify over track stabbing, lawyer says as teen seeks retrial

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Karmelo Anthony had planned to testify during his Texas murder trial over a track meet stabbing but backed out amid sudden concerns that prosecutors would raise potentially damaging evidence about the teenager’s past, one of his lawyers said Friday.

Anthony, 19, is asking for a new trial after a jury in June sentenced him to 35 years in prison for killing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, who attended a rival school and was stabbed during a confrontation at a track competition last year. Since then, the case has stirred tensions over race and led to both families becoming targets of harassment.

During the second day of a hearing near Dallas, defense attorney Toby Shook said the teenager’s plans to testify unraveled over worries that prosecutors would renege on an agreement to not present evidence that might further inflame an already highly charged case.

“It was essential that the jury hear Karmelo and hear his explanation,” Shook said.

The hearing concluded Friday evening. It was not clear when state District Judge Michael Chitty would issue a ruling on whether to grant a new trial.

Prosecutor Bill Wirskye has defended the trial as fair and said the possibility of Anthony testifying wasn’t part of the original agreement with the defense. Anthony’s attorneys say it should have been obvious the teenager would want to explain to jurors himself how he acted in self-defense.

Defense attorney Russell Wilson, who did not represent Anthony at the criminal trial, said an argument that erupted between the legal teams over the agreement happened as Anthony was about to “make the biggest decision of his life” and impacted his due process and decision to not testify.

Wilson also noted to the judge at the end of the hearing that there was still confusion over the agreement.

Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Among the details that jurors never heard because of the agreement, according to attorneys on both sides, were that Anthony once sent a text message fantasizing about stabbing someone and Metcalf had a history of fighting and using racist language.

During the trial, lawyers on both sides told jurors the tragedy had nothing to do with race, but social media posts amplified the killing nationwide in racial terms.

In an interview with NewsNation, Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, said he supported the agreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys. He said information about his son’s juvenile history does not change what happened the day his son was killed.

“We all want our children to be the best they can be, and obviously, we all fall short,” Jeff Metcalf told NewsNation. “It still doesn’t change the facts of the case.”

Metcalf’s parents and Anthony’s parents have attended both days of the hearing.

Anthony’s attorneys have also told the judge he should get a new trial because of errors that limited access to the proceedings. They have argued that the case’s original judge allowed a “shadow docket” that shielded character information about both sides.

The trial in June took place amid heightened court security. Wirskye said there had been threats against a judge who granted Anthony bond, fake autopsy reports circulating online and attempts to intimidate witnesses. Parents of some witnesses also filed protective orders for their children because of threats, according to Wirskye.

Anthony secured one legal victory this week when the judge who presided over his trial was removed from the case. Chitty was then assigned to consider the motion for a retrial.

Anthony’s attorneys had asked for state District Judge John Roach to be removed in part because of a TV interview in which Roach said jurors “got it right” when they delivered a guilty verdict.

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Associated Press writer Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed.