Donations are still pouring into Karmelo Anthony’s legal fund days before his trial for the controversial stabbing death of fellow Texas teen Austin Metcalf is set to begin — and his more than $600,000 haul could help him walk, a longtime attorney claims.
Anthony has raked in more than $1,500 in donations in the last three days, bringing the online fundraiser’s total to around $612,000.
That money will pay for legal fees and security for the 18-year-old from Frisco, who claims he acted in self-defense when he stabbed 17-year-old Metcalf at a high school track meet.
Metcalf died in his twin brother’s arms on April 2, 2025.
The first-degree murder charge for Anthony, who is black, sparked a racially charged culture war, with supporters claiming he’s the victim of a justice system stacked against people of color.
An Anthony family spokesman said last year that the fundraising would go to “stand with us in the fight against white supremacy.”
The money will help the Anthonys pay for high-powered Dallas attorney Mike Howard and relocation expenses for the teen, who is currently free on a $250,000 bond, the family said.
It could also help Anthony’s legal team put psychologists, forensic analysts, and other experts on the stand to convince the jury he was in life-threatening danger when Metcalf, a football star from a rival school, reportedly tried to shove him from a seat in the bleachers at a track meet.
Prosecutors claim Anthony goaded Metcalf into it by saying, “touch me and see what happens” while reaching into his backpack for the knife.
As for whether Anthony’s defense will really cost $600,000: “Easily,” said veteran attorney Randy Zelin.
“You can easily go five, six, seven hundred thousand dollars for trials,” said Zelin, who has served as both prosecutor and defender over his 38-year legal career.
“You could have experts, instead of Anthony taking the stand, go up and talk about what he might have been thinking, feeling, experiencing in that moment,” Zelin added, “about what could lead him to believe he was about to get hit with deadly force.”
Anthony’s legal team may have hired third-party discovery analysts and mock jurors to help prep for the trial, which entered the jury selection phase on Monday, with opening arguments set for Thursday.
The racial undertones of the case are responsible for the flood of grassroots donations, Zelin said — adding that the race card will likely be the defense’s ace in the hole.
“Yes, race is an issue. But you do the best you can during jury selection to weed out those folks who, from the government’s perspective, are going to turn it into a race case,” the attorney said.
“And the defense is going to look for people who maybe there is a wink and a nod there.”
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