Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison after being found guilty of the murder of Austin Metcalf

Karmelo Anthony

Karmelo Anthony.Credit : Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Karmelo Anthony, who was found guilty of the murder of Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet, reportedly filed an appeal in which he claimed he could not afford a lawyer.

A jury found Anthony, now 19, guilty of murder on Tuesday, June 9, in connection with the April 2025 killing of Metcalf, 17, in Frisco, Texas, according to WFAA and NBC 5. He was subsequently sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Jurors on the case had considered both murder and manslaughter charges.

WFAA reported that a day after his conviction, Anthony filed a notice of appeal. Per a court document obtained by the outlet, Anthony stated he had no money and asked the judge to appoint him an appeals attorney.

In the reported document, Anthony, who was 17 at the time of the stabbing, is described as a “penniless, destitute, and indigent person, too poor to employ counsel.”

Following Anthony’s arrest, an online fundraiser was started for his legal defense, PEOPLE previously reported. It raised more than half a million dollars, reaching over $615,000 by Thursday, June 4.

However, the fundraiser is no longer on the platform GiveSendGo. The New York Post reported that it was taken down following his conviction.

“The fundraiser was to support pre-trial needs, and those funds were disbursed over the last year,” the platform told the Post in a statement. “With that stated purpose complete, the fundraiser has been closed.”

Anthony has maintained that he acted in self-defense during the incident.

In a probable cause affidavit, authorities said Anthony stabbed Metcalf after the latter requested that the former move from a tent under which he was sitting, per an eyewitness.

“Touch me and see what happens,” Anthony told Metcalf, according to the affidavit.

Metcalf, who was White, then went to move Anthony, who is Black, and was stabbed in the chest, authorities alleged.

When Anthony was arrested, he purportedly told the officer, “I was protecting myself,” according to the affidavit.

Prior to Anthony’s trial, controversy arose when no Black jurors were selected. CBS News reported that prosecutors claimed the case was “race-neutral.”