Murderer Karmelo Anthony wins first legal battle as he seeks to have his conviction for murder of Austin Metcalf overturned

By JOE HUTCHISON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:53, 19 August 2026 | Updated: 16:58, 19 August 2026 Convicted killer Karmelo Anthony has won his first legal battle as he seeks to have his conviction for killing Austin Metcalf thrown out.  The 19-year-old was convicted in June and sentenced to 35 years behind bars for murdering the 17-year-old athlete at a high school track meet in April of last year. On Wednesday, the trial judge who presided over the case was removed from the case as Anthony appeals his conviction.  His legal team argued that a retrial was warranted in part because state District Judge John Roach enforced overly strict courtroom rules and gave an interview after the trial was over. Anthony is currently serving a 35 year sentence after being convicted of murder in the summer Austin Metcalf was attending a track meet inside Kuykendall Stadium when he was fatally attacked A new judge will be assigned for Thursday´s hearing on the retrial request. Anthony attended the hearing in Collin County wearing a green jump suit. His parents and Metcalf´s parents also were in the courtroom. After the order to remove Roach, Anthony supporters cheered the courthouse hallways and outside the building.  The two teenagers were at a football stadium in Frisco, Texas for a track meet when a verbal confrontation under a high school tent between the boys escalated.  Prosecutors said Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor. Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: 'Touch me and see what happens,' according to a police report. As Metcalf leaned in to shove the teen, Anthony stabbed Metcalf through the heart with a folding knife hidden in his backpack.  The knife pierced through his bone in the center of his chest and punctured the right side of his heart, a medical examiner testified.  Jurors in Dallas, Texas, took less than three hours to convict Anthony of murder - rejecting a lesser option for manslaughter.  This is a breaking news story.