Karmelo Anthony made a split-second decision to stab Austin Metcalf ... a fatal choice he regrets ... so says the lawyer who represented him during his murder trial.
We asked Mike Howard if he thinks his former client is remorseful for fatally stabbing Austin in April 2025 during a Texas high school track meet ... and he started off by saying it's hard to gauge Karmelo's exact feelings fairly because Karmelo didn't testify in court.
However, Howard tells TMZ ... "I believe from my many interactions with him that, while he believed that in that split-second of chaos that he was defending himself, that Karmelo also has and continues to feel remorse for Austin Metcalf, for Hunter Metcalf, for the entire family for their loss."
Nick Reiner may have access to his trust fund very soon ... because TMZ has learned his trustee actually wants a judge to hand over the dough ... and plans to file legal paperwork ASAP to get the money flowing.
Sources connected to the case tell TMZ ... Jodi Montgomery, the trustee of Nick's trust fund, will file court docs next week asking a judge to sign off on Reiner's petition asking for money he says was supposed to be paid out to him when he turned 30 in 2023.
Our sources say Jodi will make the request ... but a judge will have the final say on whether to release the money as Nick sits in jail awaiting trial.
Austin Metcalf's father is using a racial stereotype to coin a shocking new nickname for his son's murderer ... referring to Karmelo Anthony as a "watermelon felon" in a hate-filled clip.
Jeff Metcalf appeared on Sarah Fields' "JinxedSip" podcast ... where he ripped a number of key figures in Karmelo's murder trial. It was his first opportunity to speak out after a Texas judge lifted the gag order on the case.
The gag order lifted. And the mask came off with it.
After sentencing, Austin Metcalf’s father Jeff Metcalf went live on TikTok and was caught on a racist rant about Karmelo Anthony, including calling him a “watermelon felon,” saying Black people get “all the free sh*t we give… pic.twitter.com/z7zmyuyiz1@LeeMerrittesq
Jeff said he wanted to "make something racist up so y'all can go viral" and then revealed his new nickname for Karmelo ... "watermelon felon" ... grinning at the camera after throwing out the racist term.
The Nancy Guthrie case is heating up ... a search party is combing through an area in Mexico for Savannah Guthrie's mom after getting an anonymous tip ... and now we've got photos from the search.
Here's the deal ... a bunch of volunteers are turning over every stone on the Mexico-Arizona border after they received a tip claiming Nancy's body was buried there.
The Mexican volunteer group was snapped checking out gravesites in the city of Nogales, Sonora, where they had previously discovered over 25 unmarked graves. The tipster reportedly told the group Nancy's remains are buried among the graves.
Nancy Guthrie's search efforts reignited after a group that looks for missing people received an anonymous tip claiming her remains were buried in an unmarked grave in Mexico.
Buscando Corazones Nogales -- a Mexican volunteer group that searches for missing people -- says they got the chilling tip Wednesday ... and they scrambled folks to a remote area near the U.S-Mexico border to try and locate her.
Nancy was abducted in February from her home in Tucson, Arizona ... about 70 miles from the border.
Henry Ruggs isn't getting out of prison anytime in the near future -- the former Las Vegas Raiders star receiver was denied parole at a ruling on Thursday.
Ruggs is serving up to 10 years behind bars as a result of his November 2, 2021 accident ... when he sped at 156 MPH and crashed into 23-year-old Tina Tintor, killing the woman and her dog. Officials said his blood-alcohol concentration read at .16 within two hours after the tragedy.
Ruggs ultimately pleaded guilty to felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and was handed the lengthy sentence in 2023.
Ruggs went before a parole board himself back in May ... and his attorney, David Chesnoff, praised how he had been using his time in prison by leading his fellow inmates in cardio classes and sharing his story.
Karmelo Anthony's parents say their son was not looking for a fight at a Texas high school track meet that turned deadly ... they say that's just the picture the prosecution was trying to paint.
Kala Hayes and Andrew Anthony were on Thursday's episode of "The Breakfast Club," where they told Mimi Brown their son's verdict sends a clear message ... you don't have a right to defend yourself, even if you're attacked or ganged up on.
Andrew insisted in the interview that their son did not show up with bad intentions ... and he said Karmelo was caught on camera fleeing the scene because he was running to a teacher for help.
Andrew added that the teacher testified in court and said he had to stop another kid from jumping on their son.
Mackenzie Shirilla should not be bored to tears anymore in prison, because she's finally landed a new job behind bars ... TMZ has learned.
That's right ... Mackenzie is now employed as a food service worker at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville ... this according to the prison's spokesperson, Tara Nickle.
As for how much she's making for the gig ... we're told Mackenzie's income is not a matter of public record per Ohio law, but, in general, inmates can make up to $24 per month.
Karmelo Anthonyhas officially traded county jail for state prison ... and the convicted killer posed for a new mug shot after being transferred into the Texas prison system to begin serving his 35-year sentence for murdering Austin Metcalf.
The 19-year-old appears with a shaved head and wearing a sleeveless prison tunic in the new booking photo taken after his move into state custody Wednesday morning. Anthony spent Tuesday night in county jail before being transferred to the Wallace Pack Unit near Houston.
Anthony was convicted and sentenced on Tuesday for Austin's murder ... meaning he only spent one night in jail following the guilty verdict before going to prison.
Karmelo Anthony's parents don't believe their son got a fair trial ... and they say they're going to keep fighting until justice has been served.
Kala Hayes and Andrew Anthony discussed their son's guilty verdict with Mimi Brown in an emotional interview. Mimi asked the parents point-blank if they thought Karmelo received a fair trial.
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Austin Metcalf's family is getting inundated with dozens of death threats and other hateful messages following Karmelo Anthony's murder conviction ... TMZ has learned.
Sources connected to the trial tell TMZ ... the Metcalf family has been receiving death threats since Anthony was arrested for fatally stabbing Austin in April 2025 ... but after Tuesday's guilty verdict, the family was flooded with dozens of hateful messages across social media and text messages to their personal phones.
TMZ obtained one of the hostile messages, which you can see above. Someone told the family Austin's twin brother, Hunter, should have died and that Austin "f***ed around and found out."
The Karmelo Anthony verdict and sentencing has Rep. Jasmine Crockett asking a blunt question: Would the outcome be the same if he was white and his victim was Black?
Karmelo Anthony's murder trial was an emotional one for everyone involved ... and his grandmother seems to feel strongly that justice was not served ... blasting the outcome as racist, biased and prejudiced.
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After Karmelo was convicted and sentenced for murdering Austin Metcalf, a crowd formed in the parking lot outside the courthouse ... gathering around Karmelo's grandmother, Toni Hayes, and other loved ones to show support.
While getting into a car to leave, Toni starts chanting "racist, biased, prejudiced" ... and the crowd eventually joins in.
A Karmelo Anthony crowdfunding page that raised more than $630K has been yanked ... a day after the 19-year-old was convicted of murdering Austin Metcalf.
A rep for GiveSendGo tells TMZ ... the page created by Karmelo's mom was allowed because everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty ... but after his conviction things changed.
The funds -- which climbed over $633,000 as of Wednesday morning -- were intended for "legal defense and family relocation" ... and according to GiveSendGo the funds have been distributed over the past year for said purposes.
Karmelo Anthony isn't done fighting his murder case just yet ... because we've learned he's planning to appeal after being convicted of murdering Austin Metcalf.
According to court records, obtained by TMZ, Anthony filed a notice of appeal. The move comes less than 24 hours after a Texas jury found him guilty of murder ... and he was subsquentially sentenced to 35 years behind bars for the fatal stabbing at a Frisco, TX track meet.
Karmelo's lawyer, Mike Howard, tells TMZ, "After the conclusion of the trial yesterday, we gave the court our official notice that Karmelo Anthony is filing an appeal. We believe there are several important issues for the appellate courts to consider. An appeal is the next part of the legal process and a right afforded every American.”
As we previously reported, jurors rejected Anthony's self-defense argument and returned a guilty verdict Tuesday following days of emotional testimony and closing arguments. He was then sentenced to 35 years in prison ... with the case drawing national attention from the moment of his arrest.
A former NYPD detective who admitted to sending sexually inappropriate messages to female crime victims and having sex with a woman he'd just arrested has been sentenced ... and he's not going to prison.
Matthew Lambert pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of official misconduct and one count of receiving unlawful gratuities, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. He was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to complete counseling and 100 hours of community service.
In a statement, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said ... "The defendant's disturbing conduct is unacceptable for a member of law enforcement."
