If you were hoping that you had heard the last of Karmelo Anthony, I've got some bad news for you.
As a reminder, Anthony is the young man who was convicted in June of the stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet back in April of 2025. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
End of the story, right? Not so fast.
Anthony's attorneys are now trying to get that conviction tossed out and want to secure him an entirely new trial. Hearings on that effort were held this week – and they have managed to surface some pretty shocking information that the jury never heard.
Anthony apparently has a new legal team, and they are arguing that problems during his original trial deprived him of a fair proceeding. One blockbuster revelation this week was of an unusual, off-the-record agreement between prosecutors and his former defense attorneys to keep damaging information about both Anthony and Metcalf away from the jury.
The deal was “keep things clean,” prosecutor Bill Wirskye said from the stand as Anthony’s new attorney Russell Wilson grilled him about the alleged “shadow docket” Wilson claims corrupted the June proceedings.
Wirskye also said of the agreement, "Let’s stay away from historical character and stick to the facts — what happened under the tent.”
That "historical character" information was not withheld during this week's hearings, however, and the information about Karmelo's past behavior that was made public is shocking. He had once threatened to shoot up his high school.
Karmelo Anthony talked about shooting up his school in a trove of disturbing texts that a backroom deal kept out of the courtroom during his June murder trial, prosecutors said on Friday.
“”imma shoot the school up tmr,” Anthony wrote in a 2023 text that prosecutors revealed in Collin County, Texas, during a hearing to determine if Austin Metcalf’s convicted killer will be granted a new trial, according to WFAA.
Karmelo Anthony threatened to 'shoot the school up' in shocking text kept from jury in Austin Metcalf murder trial https://t.co/J49tyrPytR pic.twitter.com/BI6hW87WN0
— New York Post (@nypost) August 22, 2026
That's not all. Other information kept from the jury included "texts from Anthony threatening violence and a photo of a knife sent to his ex-girlfriend — who told a vice principal that he was stalking her hours before the fatal stabbing."
Here's another report on Anthony's volatile behavior:
He had a documented history of fighting, enough that his parents sent him to a special program at LSU for kids who “cannot keep their hands to themselves.” He was also obsessed with knives and guns and had fantasized about stabbing someone. Investigators found a text where he wrote: “when I stab somebody I am going to lick the blood off the blade.”
Prosecutors say Anthony's phone contained messages in which he talked about enjoying punching people, said he would "see red" and "blackout" when angry, discussed carrying guns, and repeatedly threatened a girlfriend. In one particularly chilling message cited in court filings, Anthony allegedly wrote about what he would do after stabbing someone.
And the jury heard none of this.
The hearing wrapped up Friday, and the new judge said he expects to announce Saturday whether Anthony will receive a new trial.
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