Student witnesses testify Karmelo Anthony was asked to leave ‘15 times,’ issued ‘threat’ to Austin Metcalf before stabbing

The prosecution called witnesses who were present during the incident inside the team tent where Metcalf was stabbed and those who responded, per inside courtroom reports from WFAA's Jobin Panicker. No cameras or recording devices are permitted in the courtroom, and press seating is limited.

Those first responders and officers who were called on Friday say that it was raining and that Anthony admitted that he stabbed him, saying "I did it." They also say that Anthony said "He put his hands on me. I told him not to." The knife they found at the scene was a folding knife and no weapons are permitted at the stadium.

Jurors were shown body cam footage of Metcalf's unresponsive body surrounded by students sobbing and in disbelief. On that footage the moment the knife was found was also captured. In the courtroom, his parents could not watch and were in tears.

Six students were also called to testify. Breanna Morello said that "For context, 4 out of the 6 teens that testified today were black. Teen 3 said Austin Metcalf told Karmelo Anthony he was not going, 'to fight you at a track meet, dude.' Teen 4 said Austin never got to grab Karmelo because Karmelo stabbed him so fast. Teen 6 said said Karmelo's vein in his arm was visible and it appeared he was grabbing something from his back pack. That something ended up being the knife that was used to kill Austin."

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Witnesses included a 17-year-old track competitor. He said it was "pouring down rain" and that when he saw Anthony at the team tent, he told him to leave the team tent. He said Metcalf also told Anthony to leave and that Anthony threatened him, saying "touch me and find out."

"The witness testified Anthony was asked to leave the tent about 15 times," reports WFAA from inside the court room. He told the court that Metcalf did not want to fight but that Anthony, who had taken a seat inside the tent, "had his hand in a backpack in his lap." The witness thought he was bluffing.

"The witness said Anthony was getting upset after he was told to leave," reports Panicker. "He said the back and forth only lasted two minutes, and reiterated that both Anthony and Metcalf were aggressive. The witness said when Anthony had his hand in his backpack and said 'touch me and find out,' that it was a 'threat.'"

So, too, did Metcalf, who told Anthony, "We're in Frisco, you don't have anything in there." When asked outright if Austin was the aggressor or deserved to get stabbed, the witness said "No, sir."

An 18-year-old graduate of Memorial High School who was competing that day took the state. It was "suspicious," he said, that Anthony was near the Memorial track team tent, saying that he "came out of nowhere." He told jurors that Metcalf told Anthony to leave their team tent.

Anthony, he said, “wasn't going to budge." He testified that Metcalf pushed Anthony with two hands when threatened.

A third young witness was called, a 16-year-old who ran track that season. He said that Anthony "walked up and sat in our tent," and that he asked himself, "Why is he at our tent?" He testified that Metcalf "nudged" Anthony, who was sitting at the time. After the stabbing, Anthony "was calm," the witness said, and also "trying to get away."

There were discrepancies between various witness testimony as to the location of Hunter, Metcalf's twin brother, in whose arms he would later die.

A 17-year-old witness also spoke, saying that he and his sister witnessed the stabbing. He testified that the push from Metcalf to Anthony was one-handed. A fifth student said he went to Liberty High School and heard what was going on at the Memorial tent. He said he heard Anthony say, "If you want me to move, you're going to have to move me."

The final student witness brought by the prosecution on Friday said he was there as well and that Anthony had said "touch me and see what happens." He said Anthony with his hand in his backpack and thought he might have been gripping something.

The trial began on Monday with jury selection and is expected to last two weeks. Protesters have gathered daily outside the courtroom, with some black protesters saying that the case, to them, is about race and that even if Anthony's claim of self-defense does not prove out, they would back him simply because of his race.

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