OAN Staff Abril Elfi 
2:41 PM – Monday, April 7, 2025

An online fundraiser for Karmelo Anthony, the 17-year-old accused of murdering Austin Metcalf at a Texas track meet, has raised over $180,000. 

The fundraiser, set up on GiveSendGo has raised $187,227 as of Monday afternoon. 

“This is the Official Support Fund for Karmelo and his family during this challenging and difficult time,”the Anthony family stated in the description.

“The narrative being spread is false, unjust, and harmful. As a family of faith, we are deeply grateful for all of your support during this trying period. Your prayers and assistance mean more to us now more than ever,” they continued. 

Anthony has been held in the Collin County Jail on a seven-figure bond since being charged with fatally stabbing Metcalf, also 17, and leaving him to die in his twin brother’s arms at an athletic event in Frisco on Wednesday morning.

The stabbing began when Metcalf, a Memorial High School junior, requested Anthony, a Centennial High School student, to move from underneath Memorial’s pop-up tent during a rain delay — and Anthony refused, according to an arrest report.

Anthony unzipped a bag, reached inside and told Metcalf, “touch me and see what happens,” a witness told police.

According to authorities, Metcalf “grabbed Anthony to tell him to move and Anthony pulled out … a black knife and stabbed Austin once in the chest.”

Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter, raced to Austin’s rescue but was unable to save him.

“I put my hand on [his chest], tried to make [the bleeding] stop, and I grabbed his head and I looked into his eyes. I just saw his soul leave. And it took my soul, too,” Hunter told Fox News in an emotional interview the following day.

Anthony tried to flee the scene but was quickly arrested. 

“I’m not alleged, I did it,” Anthony confessed to police as he was being taken into custody, according to the arrest report.

“I was protecting myself,” Anthony allegedly told cops. “He put his hands on me.”

Over the weekend, Anthony’s attorney Deric Walpole told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth that he believes his client acted in self-defense when he thrust a knife into Metcalf’s heart, as Anthony allegedly told police during his arrest.

“I know that my client said it was self defense. I don’t have any reason to disbelieve that, but I need to develop facts, talk to people, and figure out what’s going on before I make any statements about what I think happened,” Walpole told the outlet. “I don’t have any reason to think it wasn’t self defense at this time.”

Walpole also stated that he has requested a hearing next week to reduce Anthony’s bond, currently set at $1 million, which might increase the likelihood of his release.

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