The fatal stabbing of a student-athlete at a track meet was first-degree murder, according to a Texas grand jury that returned a bill of indictment Tuesday.
Karmelo Sincere Anthony, who is now 18, stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf to death during a track meet April 2 in Frisco, Texas. Anthony's attorneys have said the incident was self-defense. If convicted, Anthony faces 5 to 99 years, or life in prison.
"Earlier this spring, our community was shaken by what happened at a school track meet in Frisco — the violent loss of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf," Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said.
"We know this case has struck a deep nerve — here in Collin County and beyond. That's understandable. When something like this happens at a school event, it shakes people to the core," Willis said. "But the justice system works best when it moves with steadiness and with principle. That's what we're committed to. And that's exactly what this case deserves."
On April 2, during the track meet, Anthony, a student at Centennial High School, was sitting under Memorial High School's tent. Metcalf, a Memorial High School student, asked him to move, according to WFAA.
NBC reported that several witnesses saw the incident and told police that as soon as Metcalf asked Anthony to leave his team's tent, Anthony immediately opened his bag and reached into it, telling Metcalf, "Touch me and see what happens."
Anthony has been on house arrest since being released on a reduced bond on April 14, CBS News reported.
"Karmelo and his family are confident in the justice system and the people of Collin County to be fair and impartial. Of course, Karmelo looks forward to his day in court," Anthony's attorney, Mike Howard, said in a video statement according to CBS News.
"Because it's only in a trial that the full story can be heard, and that impartial justice can be done," Howard continued. "We expect that when the full story is heard, the prosecution will not be able to rule out the reasonable doubt that Carmelo Anthony may have acted in self-defense," he said.
