Ahead of an official appeal, convicted murderer Karmelo Anthony has two new court dates seeking both a new trial and a new judge.
Last month at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, the now-19-year-old Anthony was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison for the April 2025 murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco, Texas school track meet. Now, new attorneys are seeking a new trial with a slew of claims, including “expressed personal opinions” by the judge they allege impacted the outcome.
Sharing a clip from Fox News, commentator David J. Freeman, otherwise known as Gunther Eagleman, detailed how the “new high-powered legal team is crying,” rattling off reasons for a new trial with claims of bias from Judge John Roach, misleading instructions to the jury where it concerned self-defense, failure to honor an off-the-record evidentiary agreement, and a lack of public access to the trial.
“Classic move. Lose fair and square… then scream the system is rigged,” wrote Freeman. “Austin Metcalf is still dead. His family still has a hole that never closes. And we’re supposed to pretend this was just some tragic misunderstanding?”
🚨 Karmelo Anthony — the kid who stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf to death at a high school track meet in Frisco last year, just got his “new trial” hearings set for next month.
He was FOUND GUILTY of first-degree murder. Sentenced to 35 years. Self-defense claim rejected by… pic.twitter.com/3sTxsY0gIJ
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 25, 2026
In calling for Roach to be recused from future proceedings, the defense cited comments to the media after the verdict that “expressed personal opinions about the propriety and correctness of the jury’s verdict, the fairness of the trial and the correctness of the judge’s own ruling during the trial.”
When asked if the jury came to the right conclusion, Roach replied, “Yeah, they did.”
The hearing on the recusal is scheduled for August 19 and, according to CBS News Texas, Judge Sid Harle of the Fourth Administrative Judicial Region in San Antonio is slated to preside. The following day, either Roach or a new judge will preside over a hearing to determine whether or not a new trial was called for.
Following Anthony’s sentence, an announcement identified members of the convict’s new legal team leading the appeals process. Members include Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe of the Bledsoe Law Firm PLLC, Brooke Cluse of Ben Crump Law, Sean Daredia of the Daredia Law Firm, Justin A. Moore of Stafford Moore PLLC and Russell Wilson of the Law Office of Russell Wilson II.
“Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal,” the team said in a statement. “The appellate process exists for precisely this purpose.”
Amid some confusion suspecting Anthony was somehow enjoying an accelerated timetable for the appeals process, investigative journalist Sarah Fields offered clarity as she reported in part, “These are post-trial proceedings that occur in the trial court, not the appellate court … The actual appeal will be handled separately by the Court of Appeals after the appellate record is completed and briefing begins. It can take years.”
There seems to be a lot of confusion about the upcoming Karmelo Anthony legal proceedings , so let’s clear it up.
This is NOT the appeal.
What is scheduled for August 19 and August 20 are hearings on the Motion to Recuse and the Motion for New Trial. These are post-trial… pic.twitter.com/c5xqQIwZiE
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) July 25, 2026
The latest claims by Anthony’s defense team found little sympathy from the public, as some appeared in favor of the murderer getting a new trial, with opinions that a second go-around should see him receive the death penalty, nixed due to age at the time of the murder per a 2005 Supreme Court ruling.
Guilty is guilty. He can have 50 more trials and he’ll still be found guilty. This is an open and closed case. Nothing they present to the court will make any difference. But MAYBE he’ll end up with a LONGER sentence. THAT would be worth a new trial!
— Lola (@Chrisheff63) July 25, 2026
Sounds fair
— Gordon 💥🇺🇸💥✡️ (@StopTheCoup2020) July 26, 2026
Unfortunately, they can’t correct that. Because he was 17 at the time he murdered Austin, he cannot get the death penalty. And they can’t increase his sentence except under very specific circumstances.
— 🇺🇸Infidel6🇺🇸 (@AllInfidel6) July 25, 2026
This is terrible they just keep dragging the family through the same nightmare 🥹
— Kathy Ballard (@BallardKat29958) July 25, 2026
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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