A judge has released the photos and videos from the Karmelo Anthony murder trial to the public, giving people their first look at the actual evidence in one of the most divisive cases in recent memory.
Cameras were banned from the courtroom throughout the trial, meaning the newly released materials are the first visual record most people have seen.
Karmel Anthony, 19, was convicted of murder on June 9 and sentenced to 35 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas in April 2025.
What the newly released evidence shows
The newly released materials include photographs of the black folding knife used in the stabbing, surveillance footage from inside the Memorial High School team tent in the moments before the confrontation, video tracking Anthony’s movements before and after the stabbing, and police body camera footage in which Anthony can be heard saying:
“I’m not alleged, I did it.”
The release has already been seized on by both sides of the debate.
Conservative activist Jack Posobiec shared one of the evidence images on X, writing: “This was a photo of the evidence in the Austin Metcalf murder. Never forget what Karmelo Anthony did.”
What happened at the track meet
Metcalf, a linebacker at Memorial High School, was stabbed once in the chest during a weather delay at a Frisco ISD track meet. Witnesses told police that Anthony had taken shelter under Memorial’s team tent and was repeatedly asked to leave. According to the arrest affidavit, Anthony warned students not to touch him and kept a hand in his backpack before Metcalf shoved him. Anthony then pulled out the knife and stabbed Metcalf in the heart. Metcalf was taken to the hospital where he died shortly after.
When officers arrived, Anthony told them:
“I was protecting myself.”
He was charged with murder and tried as an adult.