The teen on trial for allegedly fatally stabbing a Texas high school football star suffered a major blow after jury selection wrapped without a single black juror seated on the panel, according to reports.
The trial for Karmelo Anthony, who is black, will kick off Thursday morning with opening statements in the case accusing him of killing Austin Metcalf because of a dispute over seating at a track and field meet last year.
Anthony’s lawyer, Mike Howard, objected to prosecutors’ last three strikes of potential jurors on Wednesday, claiming the dismissal of the panelists were racially motivated, according to local outlet WFAA.
19-year-old Karmelo Anthony (above) is on trial for the murder of Austin Metcalf. FOX 4 NEWS“Those three were 100% of the available African-American jurors in the strike zone,” Howard claimed.
But prosecutors countered that the choice was not racial but rather was made because all three of those jurors were teachers.
Judge John Roach Jr. ultimately sided with the prosecution that the choice wasn’t based on race.
At the conclusion of selection on Wednesday, 18 jury members were seated, including six alternates.
Anthony, 19, faces up to life in prison if convicted of the April 2, 2025 killing.
Here’s the latest on Karmelo Anthony’s murder conviction:
- Austin Metcalf’s dad blasts Karmelo Anthony’s family for skipping sentencing, missing their statements
- Austin Metcalf’s dad slams ‘moral decay of society’ as killer Karmelo Anthony mounts fresh freedom bid
- Moment Karmelo Anthony stabs Austin Metcalf and flees revealed in new surveillance footage
- Karmelo Anthony murmurs ‘I’m not alleged, I did it,’ cries during arrest for Austin Metcalf’s murder: bodycam
Metcalf, of Frisco Memorial High School, asked Anthony, then a 17-year-old senior from Frisco Centennial High School, to move from Memorial’s seating area during the meet at Kuykendall Stadium.
Metcalf was allegedly killed by then-17-year-old Anthony on April 2, 2025. Meghan Prall Metcalf/FacebookAnthony then pulled a knife out of his bag and stabbed Metcalf – who died in the arms of his twin, Hunter Metcalf, prosecutors alleged.
Anthony fled and was arrested shortly after.






