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.
Rep. Randy Fine doesn't believe 35 years is a harsh enough sentence for Karmelo Anthony ... and he's doubling down on his demand for capital punishment.
Jacobcaught up with the Florida Congressman on Capitol Hill on Thursday, and Rep. Fine didn't back off his call to execute the convicted murderer.
Rep. Fine says the death penalty would make an example out of Anthony, telling TMZ DC .... "I think it's important to tell our country that we're not going to allow that kind of behavior."
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.
Austin Metcalf's family is "very happy" with Karmelo Anthony's 35-year sentence after he was found guilty of murdering the high school football player ... TMZ has learned.
Sources connected to the prosecution in Anthony's murder trial tell TMZ ... both the Metcalf family and the prosecution are "happy" and "satisfied" with the verdict and sentence ... adding they all see this as a win.
As you know, a jury in Collin County, Texas decided Anthony was guilty of murder after he fatally stabbed Metcalf at an April 2025 high school track meet.
Austin Metcalf's father, Jeff Metcalf, did NOT befriend Collins County District Attorney Greg Willis and Judge John Roach Jr. ahead of Karmelo Anthony's murder trial, despite speculation to the contrary ... TMZ can confirm.
There's a viral photo showing Jeff with four other people at a winter celebration, and folks on the internet are convinced it's Willis and Judge Roach, who presided over Anthony's case ... but we're told it's NOT them.
Donations are flooding intoKarmelo Anthony's GiveSendGo after being convicted of murder and handed a 35-year prison sentence.
Check it out ... Karmelo's crowdfunding page was just above $629,000 after he was found guilty of murder for fatally stabbing fellow high school student Austin Metcalf ... but now the pool of money is even bigger.
Sympathizers are continuing to send money Karmelo's way, with $4,000 pouring in overnight, and the number is still rising.
Karmelo Anthony's staring down more than three decades behind bars after being convicted of murder ... but he's not doing time with the general inmate population ... at least not yet.
A rep for Collin County Jail -- where Anthony was sent after a jury found him guilty of murder -- tells TMZ ... the 19-year-old's being housed in a more secure area of the jail, separated from other inmates.
We're told the jail is taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety and security of all inmates in the facility ... but the rep declined to comment on why Anthony specifically is being kept in isolation.
Austin Metcalf's father tore into convicted killer Karmelo Anthony ... making it clear he was full of equal parts rage and sadness over his teenage son's murder.
Yelling while slamming his fist into the podium during the victim impact statements ... Jeff Metcalf said a part of him was killed when his 17-year-old son was stabbed to death by Anthony -- and he demanded the 19-year-old look him in the eye, according to WFAA
Metcalf reportedly shouted ... "We were robbed! Don't look down! You can't look me in the eyes, but you can stab my f---ing son! You don't belong in this community!" Jeff also said the case was not about race, despite narratives ... it was about right and wrong.
Cardi B looks like she's blasting the Texas jury that found Karmelo Anthony guilty of murdering Austin Metcalf ... saying what happened in the courtroom was straight up disgusting.
The rap superstar went off on social media Tuesday night, hours after the verdict came in, expressing shock over the outcome and adding ... "This is not justice, this is trying to make an example!!!"
While Cardi B never mentioned Karmelo by name ... she retweeted other posts supporting the teenage convict.
Karmelo Anthony posed for a new booking photo hours after being convicted of murder.
Anthony, 19, posed for his fresh mug shot at the Collin County Jail after he was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf, 17, at a track meet in Frisco, Texas.
A Collin County jury found Anthony guilty of murder following four days of testimony, in which Karmelo's attorney failed to convince jurors his client acted in self-defense.
