A new judge has been assigned to oversee the ongoing proceedings in Karmelo Anthony's murder case ... as the convicted murderer's new lawyer calls foul on his trial judge.
The new judge, Sid L. Harle, was assigned to Karmelo's case Tuesday, per court records obtained by WFAA. Harle will preside over Karmelo's motion to recuse trial Judge John Roach from handling post-trial proceedings.
Karmelo's new attorney, Russell Wilson, is blasting the trial judge ... claiming Roach made comments following Karmelo's conviction that showed he could not be fair and unbiased.
Wilson also claims "gentleman's agreements" made between attorneys about what testimony would be admissible weren't completely followed, and that impacted Karmelo's decision not to testify and therefore impacted the outcome of the trial.
Karmelo Anthony's new attorneys are making a bold first move ... asking for a new trial and trying to sideline the judge who presided over his murder case.
The defense filed two major motions Tuesday -- one seeking to remove Judge John Roach from all remaining post-trial proceedings, and another asking the court to throw out Anthony's conviction altogether. Anthony's lawyers argue the new-trial issues should be decided by a different judge and want Judge Roach to recuse himself.
In the recusal motion, Anthony's attorneys point to Roach's post-verdict interview with a local TV station and his written statement to Fox News ... arguing he publicly endorsed the guilty verdict, defended his courtroom rulings, and declared Anthony received a fair trial -- comments they say make it impossible for him to fairly rule on the defense's post-trial motions.
"Free Karmelo" chants allegedly gave way to flying fists ... and now three Texas women are facing criminal charges over what cops say was a brutal group attack.
Newly released arrest affidavits detail investigators' version of the alleged assault ... including claims witnesses heard people shouting, "Free Karmelo" -- an apparent reference to convicted killer Karmelo Anthony -- moments before the violence erupted, according to documents obtained by WFAA.
According to the report, a security guard saw a crowd gathering outside a nightclub on June 21 before hearing someone allegedly say, "The next white (expletive) that walks out, I'm going to hit her." Moments later, the victim walked through the area ... and police say she was jumped by a group of women.
TikTok is cleansing itself of a disturbing social media trend that appears to mock the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf, TMZ has learned.
As TMZ previously reported, videos nicknamed "Austin Bloopers" spread across the internet that showed creators seemingly acting out stabbing motions to mimic the horrific April 2025 attack, with other clips taking aim at Austin's family circulating as well.
TMZ has learned TikTok is fast at work scrubbing the app of such distasteful videos. A spokesperson tells us ... "Our Community Guidelines make clear we don’t allow content that harasses or bullies others, including mocking someone's death. Any violative content is being removed."
11:00 AM PST -- TikTok has removed any videos that appear to show content creators making fun of Austin Metcalf's fatal stabbing. A spokesperson tells TMZ ... "Our Community Guidelines make clear we don’t allow content that harasses or bullies others, including mocking someone's death. Any violative content is being removed."
A disturbing TikTok trend is drawing widespread backlash after users began posting videos that appear to mock the killing of Texas teen Austin Metcalf.
The videos feature people dancing to a rap song called "Austin Bop," with some seemingly acting out stabbing motions and others holding knives as they mimic the fatal attack. Additional clips include jokes and memes targeting Metcalf and his family.
The trend centers on the 2025 killing of the 17-year-old, who was fatally stabbed during an altercation at a high school track meet. Karmelo Anthony was later convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison after a jury rejected his claim of self-defense.
Austin Metcalf's dad says some TV personalities are making a killing off his son's murder ... and he's not staying quiet about what he feels is an injustice.
Jeff Metcalf is taking aim at commentators who've continued debating the Karmelo Anthony case since his murder conviction ... claiming some media figures are more interested in chasing clicks and attention than getting their facts straight.
The grieving father unloaded during an appearance with Fox News host Will Cain, where he was asked about high-profile voices -- including "The View" cohost Sunny Hostin -- who've questioned aspects of Anthony's conviction and the rejection of his self-defense claim.
The fight for Karmelo Anthony's freedom is heading into the next round ... and a new group of heavyweight attorneys are now leading his effort to overturn his murder conviction.
A team including Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, veteran appellate lawyer Russell Wilson II, and civil rights attorney Brooke Cluse announced Monday it has taken over Anthony's case and will conduct an independent review of the trial record while pursuing all available avenues of appeal.
As TMZ previously reported, Anthony was convicted of murdering Austin Metcalfand sentenced earlier this month to 35 years in prison. He had signaled he wasn't done fighting the case almost immediately ... filing a notice of appealless than 24 hours after his conviction.
Austin Metcalf's friend described Karmelo Anthony to a 911 dispatcher right after the stabbing last year ... while seeming confident the situation was over because some coaches grabbed him.
New 911 audio has been released which came from a friend of Austin's ... who tells the dispatcher his friend has been stabbed in the chest.
She asks if he can see the assailant ... and he says he can -- describing the person who stabbed Austin as Black, wearing an Essentials sweatshirt and a pair of blue sweatpants.
Austin Metcalf was helped by immediate responders right after he was stabbed by Karmelo Anthony ... who can be heard begging him to stay alive and performing CPR until paramedics arrive in shocking 911 audio.
The audio captures the crowd's initial reaction to Metcalf fighting for his life at an April 2025 high school track meet in Frisco, Texas ... with a man calling 911 and informing a dispatcher of the incident.
At first this man tells the dispatcher Austin doesn't appear to be breathing ... though he later changes course and says the teen was able to gather some air -- but that he wasn't conscious.
Now you can see the evidence against Karmelo Anthony for yourself ... because a Texas court has made a ton of it public.
The court released shocking photos, videos, 911 calls, and other evidence from Karmelo's trial ... where he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering Austin Metcalf.
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This includes a security camera video that shows the murder scene moments before Karmelo fatally stabbed Austin.
Austin Metcalf's dad says the effects of that fatal day are still being felt throughout his family ... particularly by Austin's twin brother, Hunter.
Jeff Metcalf opened up about the lasting trauma Hunter has endured during a recent appearance on the "JinxedSip" podcast. Watch the clip -- Jeff shares an emotional glimpse into what his surviving son has been dealing with since witnessing Austin's death, without holding anything back.
Rather than focusing on the trial or the verdict, Jeff's comments center on the human toll left behind ... describing the challenges Hunter has faced and the difficult conversations they've had as a family while trying to move forward.
Austin Metcalf's dad ripped into pretty much everyone on his recent podcast appearance ... this time he's taking aim at the school superintendent, calling him a "bald-headed piece of s***."
Jeff Metcalf went after the Frisco Superintendent on Sarah Fields' "JinxedSip" podcast ... calling him "the most spineless, coward piece of s*** I've ever met in my entire life."
He blasted the superintendent for allowing Karmelo Anthony to graduate high school after stabbing his son to death at a track meet in April 2025. Jeff argued that Karmelo shouldn't have been able to graduate because he says the school handbook allegedly declares murder to be grounds for "mandatory expulsion."
Austin Metcalf's father, Jeff Metcalf, went nuclear on Karmelo Anthony's parents in a passionate rant ... and it ended with a huge "f*** you" and a middle finger!!!
Jeff appeared on Sarah Fields' "JinxedSip" podcast ... and he didn't hold back his feelings about Karmelo's parents, Andrew and Kala ... blasting them as "cowards" and "grifters" who abandoned their son when it didn't suit them.
Austin's dad claims Karmelo's parents only cared to show up for him when there was money pouring in to his online crowdfunding page ... and when the $630K fund was shut down following his guilty verdict, they vanished.
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."
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.
