Jury selection to begin in death of Frisco student

Hinzugefügt: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]One of the most high-profile murder trials North Texas has seen in years begins tomorrow in Colin County.

[00:00:07]18-year-old Carmelo Anthony faces a firstdegree murder charge connected to the April 2025 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metaf at a high school track meet in Frisco. Jury selection is set to start first thing tomorrow morning. Tonight, a look back at the case, the fallout, and the legal fight ahead.

[00:00:30]It was the kind of story that moved fast. First through Frisco, across North Texas, then nationally.

[00:00:38]>> It took my soul, too.

[00:00:41]>> I'm so sorry.

[00:00:42]>> A fight under a team tent, a knife, and a 17-year-old student athlete who died in his twin brother's arms.

[00:00:51]>> He was going to turn out to be a great individual. Austin Medaf was a student at Frisco's Memorial High School. Police say he was stabbed on April 2nd, 2025 during a district track meet at Kirkindall Stadium. Investigators say Carmelo Anthony, then also 17, was sitting under a tent for a school he did not attend. According to eyewitnesses, Metaf told him to leave. What happened next will be at the center of this murder trial. Police say Anthony fatally stabbed Metaf once in the chest. His father Jeff expressing his disbelief to Fox 4.

[00:01:29]>> I told him it's not goodbye. It's see you later.

[00:01:32]>> Online the case exploded. Rumors raced ahead of facts. From jail, Carmelo Anthony claimed self-defense and was held on a $1 million bond. But 12 days after the crime, he was released on house arrest after a judge reduced his bail to $250,000 in part because of his clean record.

[00:01:56]3 days later, a press conference was called on his parents' behalf. They begged the public to turn down the temperature.

[00:02:04]>> I don't know why we're being targeted and discriminated against before a fair trial. Though the heat would only rise after Austin Metaf's father showed up to a press conference and was escorted out by Dallas police for not having an invitation.

[00:02:21]Now, after months of relative quiet, the arguments move from online debate to a Colin County courtroom. Jury selection begins Monday and is expected to last 3 days. Former Dallas County Assistant DA Russell Wilson is not connected to the case, but says finding jurors who have not heard about it or have not formed opinions will be a challenge.

[00:02:46]>> I actually believe you can certainly get somebody who believes that they are unbiased. Um, but whether or not they actually are, um, you don't necessarily know until the actual case starts unfolding. The defense is expected to lean hard into self-defense. In Texas, that shifts the burden to the state.

[00:03:06]>> If self-defense is an issue in the case, the state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was not self-defense.

[00:03:14]>> For prosecutors, it may all likely come down to the sequence of events under that tent. They've got to come in and show in in essence that the conduct that occurred the conduct that occurred prior to this incident did not warrant the amount of force that was used.

[00:03:34]Strict rules are in place. No cameras inside the courtroom. There's also discussion about limiting other electronic devices. All to preserve order and keep the case from turning into a courthouse spectacle. From the lawyer's perspective, part of it is to try to to shut out the noise.

[00:03:55]>> Noise in the court of public opinion about to shift to a real court.

[00:04:01]So, Fox 4 will bring you extensive coverage of the Anthony trial. You can keep up with the latest court developments on fox4news.com, our socials, and the free Fox Local app for your smartphone, tablet, and connected TV.