Frisco track meet stabbing: No Black jurors selected for Karmelo Anthony murder trial
Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the 2025 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet.
Police said Anthony and Metcalf got into an argument over seating in the stands, which escalated when Anthony stabbed Metcalf in the chest with a pocketknife.
Jury Seated
What’s new:
After meeting with the attorneys on Wednesday afternoon, Judge John Roach excused the first 150 jurors.
During the second round of strikes, the defense raised an issue over three potential jurors that the prosecution chose to strike. The defense argued that they were Black females and “similarly situated” as another white female that the prosecution did not strike.
Prosecutors clarified that the three women were struck for a non-racial reason. All three listed their occupations as educators, and it seems the prosecution does not want educators on the jury because the alleged incident happened at a school function with school-aged children.
The judge sided with prosecutors and agreed to strike the three women.
A 12-person jury was seated with a mixture of both men and women. No Black jurors were selected.
There is one educator on the jury, but she is an esthetician who teaches at a trade school in Dallas. She does not work in a traditional school environment or with high school-aged children.
No Black jurors were selected to the jury in the trial of Karmelo Anthony, and the presiding judge denied a ‘Batson challenge’ by the defense alleging potential jurors were removed due to race. FOX 4’s Amelia Jones has more.Batson challenge
Dig deeper:
The defense attorneys raised what’s known as a Batson challenge: a legal objection used when one side believes potential jurors were removed because of race.
Anna Offit, a law professor at SMU who is not involved in this case, says Batson challenges are rarely made and rarely successful.
“The reason for that is, it is not very challenging for a party to be able to come up with a number of right-neutral reasons, other reasons that a strike might have been exercised,” Offit tells FOX 4’s Amelia Jones.
“The party challenging the strike at that point is going to have to prove purposeful discrimination.”
The Batson challenge and jury selection could come into question for any possible appeals later in the trial.
“When Batson concerns have been raised on appeal, it’s exactly the sort of inquiry into writer prospective jurors being asked the same questions, the same types of questions substantively, the same number of follow-up questions, right?” Offit continued.
“It may not be enough to say these prospective jurors have been stricken because of their particular occupations, right?”
Jury Selection
The process to select a jury is ongoing in the murder trial for Karmelo Anthony, who is charged with killing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet last year. FOX 4’s Alex Boyer has more on today’s court proceedings.
What we know:
Anthony was in court on Wednesday wearing a suit and tie with a purple shirt. Purple is the color his supporters have been wearing to court. The now 18-year-old also has more closely cropped hair. His face was stoic during the proceedings, but at some points he did appear to take notes.
About 50 people, including members of the media and the public, were in the courtroom on Wednesday watching the live feed of the ongoing jury selection.
The prosecution:
Judge Roach gave attorneys for both sides an hour and 45 minutes to question potential jurors.
For the prosecution, ᴀssistant District Attorney Dewey Mitchell said he wanted jurors to “listen to evidence with an open mind; then follow the law to render a verdict.” He asked the potential jurors questions like, “How do you feel about serving on this trial?” and “Have you heard about this case?”
One potential juror said it was fine and another said, “I don’t want to.” A third potential juror said he heard about the case from his daughter who read it on social media. Yet another potential juror was a Frisco ISD educator who told the prosecutor this story hits too close to home for her. A major juror said he didn’t know if he could send “a brother” to jail and another said moral and religious beliefs would keep him from being able to sentence someone.
Mitchell asked potential jurors if race could affect their ability to determine guilt or innocence. A handful of people said it could for a variety of reasons.
The prosecutor noted that in his entire career, he’s never had to have this kind of conversation about race with a jury.
Potential jurors will return to Collin County court this morning as Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial begins to take shape.
The defense:
Defense Attorney Mike Howard began questioning potential jurors after lunch. He said all of Anthony’s friends and family call him “Melo,” so that’s what he will often refer to him as.
Howard said the case will come down to the question of whether Anthony had the right to defend himself that fateful day.
The defense attorney asked the group if anyone would hold it against his client if he chose not to testify on his own behalf. A handful of potential jurors said they would.
Howard then questioned the group about their feelings when it comes to prison sentencing. He asked if anyone would have a problem sentencing someone to five years in prison, which is the lower end for a murder conviction should they find that person guilty. No one raised their hand.
A couple of people did say they would have a problem sentencing someone to just two years in prison if that person were convicted of a lower charge of manslaughter. One man said “it’s just too low.”
