Karmelo Anthony witness testifies students repeatedly asked accused killer to leave tent before track stabbing
Jurors in the Karmelo Anthony murder trial returned to court Friday after hearing a heartbreaking 911 call, watching surveillance footage and listening to emotional testimony from coaches and trainers who tried to save Austin Metcalf during the first day of testimony.
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Anthony, 19, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the April 2025 stabbing death of Metcalf and maintains he acted in self-defense. The case has drawn national attention and intense public scrutiny since the fatal encounter.
Texas defense attorney and legal analyst Jeremy Rosenthal told Fox News Digital that the trial is now entering the phase where jurors must sort through competing witness accounts and determine which version of events is most credible.
"The defense is accepting part of the burden here because if they want the jury instructed on self-defense, they have to prove up that split-second statement," Rosenthal said.
Anthony appeared in court Friday wearing a navy suit, white shirt and green patterned tie. Day 2 testimony began with Frisco ISD school resource officer Eduardo Cortez, who was among the first officers to respond after the stabbing.
Cortez testified that he knew Austin and Hunter Metcalf through athletics and ran from a nearby middle school to the stadium after hearing the call come over the radio.
Cortez told jurors that two students pointed him toward the victim while another adult identified Anthony as the suspect.
Anthony was cooperative and did not attempt to flee. After being handcuffed, Anthony began speaking without being questioned.
"I'm not alleged. I did it," Anthony told Cortez, according to his testimony.
Cortez said Anthony repeatedly told him, "He put his hands on me. I told him not to."
Anthony later asked, "Is he going to be OK?" while being placed into a patrol vehicle.
Jurors were shown body-camera footage of the encounter. Cortez testified that Anthony became emotional several times, but appeared most emotional while repeating that Metcalf had put his hands on him.
Cortez also testified that he observed blood on Anthony's left middle finger and a cut on his hand, though he did not know how the injury occurred.
According to FOX 4, prosecutors also asked Cortez about Frisco ISD's weapons policy. Cortez testified that weapons are prohibited on school property and agreed that a student bringing a knife to a school event was "unprecedented."
Jurors next heard from Frisco ISD school resource officer Jacob Shalz, who described arriving to what he called a chaotic scene.
A coach directed Shalz to a student witness who showed him where a knife had been found several rows above the scene between the stadium bleachers.
Jurors were shown photographs of a folding knife with a silver or gray handle that appeared partially open, with what appeared to be blood on the blade. Anthony's blue backpack was found nearby, according to FOX 4.
Body-camera footage shown to jurors captured officers running toward the track as coaches and first responders worked to save Metcalf.
According to FOX 4, voices could be heard in the background saying, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," while another student cried, "That's my best friend, my brother."
Several people in the courtroom became emotional as the footage played.
Following the lunch recess, prosecutors called a 17-year-old Memorial High School student who witnessed the confrontation between Anthony and Metcalf. The witness testified that students repeatedly asked Anthony to leave the Memorial team tent before the encounter escalated, according to FOX 4 courtroom reporting.
The student, a teammate of Austin and Hunter Metcalf, told jurors that several students told Anthony he "probably shouldn't be here" and needed to leave. He testified that Anthony responded by telling Metcalf, "Touch me and find out."
The witness said there was no effort by students to "gang up" on Anthony and described the physical contact leading up to the stabbing as "minor pushing at most." When asked by prosecutors who was provoking the confrontation, the student replied, "Karmelo Anthony."
The witness testified that both Anthony and Metcalf appeared angry and aggressive as the situation unfolded. He also told jurors that Anthony had a backpack on his lap with one hand inside, leading students to believe he was "bluffing" and would not act.
According to the testimony, Metcalf pushed Anthony and Anthony then stabbed him. The witness said he did not initially realize Metcalf had been stabbed until he saw Anthony throw an object into the bleachers, later learning it was a knife. He also testified that he heard Metcalf say, "Oh my God" after the stabbing.
Before the teen witness took the stand, Frisco police criminalist Stephanie Martin testified about evidence collected at the scene, including a knife with a 3.5-inch blade, according to FOX 4.
Friday's testimony followed an emotional opening day that included a frantic 911 call, surveillance footage from the track meet and testimony from coaches and trainers who described desperate efforts to save Metcalf after he was stabbed.
Rosenthal also noted that opening statements can have an outsized impact on jurors.
"Eighty percent of jurors make up their mind at opening statement, and they never change it," he said, citing trial advocacy studies.
Controversy has engulfed the case, and tensions rose after a jury was selected on Wednesday with no Black jurors.
On Thursday, supporters of both Anthony and Metcalf sparred in a shouting match outside the courthouse, holding signs, yelling profanities and antagonizing each other.
WATCH: Crowds rally outside courthouse during Karmelo Anthony trial
Collin County prosecutor Bill Wirskyke called the stabbing a "provoked unjustified murder" and told jurors, "This case has nothing to do with race. This case is not self-defense."
Defense attorney Mike Howard argued Anthony reacted in a "split second of fear and chaos" and urged jurors to focus on the evidence rather than the public narrative that has developed around the case.
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Jurors viewed surveillance footage from multiple cameras around Kuykendall Stadium and later listened to a 911 call placed in the moments after the stabbing.
The caller reported that CPR was underway and that an athlete had been stabbed and was losing consciousness.
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NBC 5 reported that voices in the background could be heard urging Metcalf to keep fighting, while another person said, "There's a lot of blood. He's not breathing."
The outlet reported that Metcalf's final gasp for air could be heard on the recording.
As the call played, Metcalf's family could be heard crying. Anthony had his eyes closed during most of the 7-minute call.
Rosenthal said the surveillance footage could become one of the most important pieces of evidence presented during the trial.
"In the 21st century, I think jurors really expect there to be some type of video evidence, either surveillance or cell phone," he said.
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"You've got a bunch of teenagers and nobody seems to have any cellphone video of this, which is in some ways surprising," he added. "A picture's worth a thousand words."
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Memorial High School athletic trainer Tiffany Whitaker testified that she rushed to help Metcalf and performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
She said she saw a commotion and heard screaming in the stands, and a student ran up to her saying, "He stabbed him and threw the knife in the stands," pointing at Anthony.
Whitaker testified that she got in front of Anthony, put her hands up and told coach Vincent Hooper to not let him leave.
She said she performed CPR and used an AED until paramedics arrived and Metcalf was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
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The state later called Joshua Rebmann, an Army veteran and football coach who was among the first adults to reach Metcalf.
Rebmann used his military training to try to save the teen before concluding he would not survive.
"Stay with me, Austin. Stay with me, Austin," he was heard saying in the background of the 911 call, FOX 4 reported. "Come on, Austin. Come on, Austin."
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Jurors were shown the blood-stained jacket Rebmann used while trying to stop the bleeding.
WATCH: Father speaks out after son was stabbed to death at track meet
Heritage High School coach Vincent Hooper testified that Anthony told him, "He put his hands on me. I stabbed him."
Hooper also testified that Anthony became emotional after he warned him that if Metcalf died, he would have changed his life forever.
Memorial High School track coach Robert Starr became emotional while describing finding Metcalf wounded.
"You just don't go into someone else's tent uninvited," Starr testified, referring to team tents at track meets.
"Well, you know if he dies, you change your life for the rest of your life," Hooper said he told Anthony.
"He won’t die," Anthony replied, according to Hooper.
Rosenthal said one of the key questions moving forward is whether witnesses closest to the confrontation tell a consistent story.
"I sort of view this case like a rock thrown into a pond," Rosenthal said. "You've got the epicenter, and then you've got all the ripples out."
One aspect of the case he finds unusual is the apparent lack of cellphone footage despite the incident occurring at a crowded high school sporting event.
"You've got a bunch of teenagers and nobody seems to have any cellphone video of this, which is in some ways surprising," he said. "A picture's worth a thousand words."
Fox News' Brooke Taylor, Sarah Alegre and Peter Cuddihy contributed to this report.
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I am just an average American. My teen years were in the late 70s and I participated in all that that decade offered. Started working young, too young. Then I joined the Army before I graduated High School. I spent 25 years in, mostly in Infantry units. Since then I've worked in information technology positions all at small family owned companies. At this rate I'll never be a tech millionaire. When I was young I rode horses as much as I could. I do believe I should have been a cowboy. I'm getting in the saddle again by taking riding lessons and see where it goes.
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