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Karmelo Anthony\u2019s supporters gather under trees at Collin County Courthouse, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in McKinney. Anthony is charged in the stabbing death of student-athlete Austin Metcalf at a Frisco ISD track meet last year.<\/p>\n
Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
A state district judge on Wednesday hopes to pare down a group of more than 200 prospective jurors to the 12-person panel that will shape the outcome of Karmelo Anthony\u2019s murder<\/a> trial. \u00a0<\/p>\n Anthony, now 19, is accused of fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf last year at a high school track meet in Frisco. Both were 17 at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n An officer from Collin County Sheriff’s Office stands on the stairway to the front entrance of Collin County Courthouse as people line up to get in the courthouse before Karmelo Anthony\u2019s trial, Monday, June 1, 2026, in McKinney. Anthony is charged in the stabbing death of student-athlete Austin Metcalf at a Frisco ISD track meet last year.<\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News Collin County Courthouse is seen, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in McKinney.<\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The case erupted on social media, garnering widespread interest in North Texas and across the country, with much of the discourse divided along racial lines.<\/a>\u00a0Metcalf was white. Anthony is Black.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cYou hear a lot of stories, and you don\u2019t really know what\u2019s true,\u201d said Ricky Ricardo, who has lived in Frisco since 2015. \u201cI hope there\u2019s justice, but whatever happens now, two families’ lives have been ruined.\u201d<\/p>\n Journalists for The Dallas Morning News will post live updates from the trial at the Collin County courthouse in McKinney.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the wake of Metcalf\u2019s death, the hashtag \u201cWhite Lives Matter\u201d trended on social media as extremists<\/a> called Anthony a \u201csymbol of degenerate Black culture.” Some called for Anthony to be put to death.<\/p>\n Anthony faces up to life in prison and is not eligible for the death penalty because he was a minor at the time of the stabbing, and because prosecutors in Texas can only pursue the death penalty in capital cases.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Anthony was charged with murder, not capital murder, which only applies to cases in which a murder is committed in tandem with another aggravating factor, such as kidnapping or sexual assault.<\/p>\n When Collin County Assistant District Attorney Dewey Mitchell began asking a prospective jurors how they felt about possibly being selected to sit on the panel.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to,\u201d one man said but added that he would be OK with it. A woman said she was \u201cfine\u201d with being chosen.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Another woman said she’s an educator with the Frisco school district. She told Mitchell the case hit “a little too close to home” and she wasn’t sure if she was up for the job.<\/p>\n A male in the group said he “didn’t know if he could send a brother to jail” if he was on the panel. Another person said their moral convictions would make it difficult for them to have to decide on a sentence if the defendant is convicted.<\/p>\n Many of the questions Mitchell asked the group focused on how they would react under certain scenarios, such as having to convict a young person. One man said he wouldn’t have a problem convicting a young person, but it would be difficult for him to sentence them.<\/p>\n Members of the public and media watching the proceedings from a screen in another courtroom can’t see the potential jurors. The camera is focused only on Anthony and the lawyers for the prosecution and defense.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A man enters the Collin County Courthouse, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in McKinney.<\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The area outside of the Collin County Courthouse was much quieter Wednesday compared to the first day of proceedings Monday. The few people walking in and out of the courthouse said they were there for reasons other than the trial, like to adjust a birth certificate.<\/p>\n Monday had drawn more attention with protesters for both Anthony and\u00a0Metcalf standing outside the courthouse with posters, instruments and speakerphones. Although police have said race did not play a role in the killing<\/a>, the case has drawn nationwide social media attention that has reflected deep divisions along lines of race.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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