(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Karmelo Anthony, the Texas man convicted of the murder of 17-year-old track star Austin Metcalf, is pleading with taxpayers to pay for his appeal attorney despite pocketing more than half a million in a controversial online fundraiser.
In a court filing submitted after his conviction and 35-year prison sentence, 19-year-old Anthony said he was too poor to afford a new set of attorneys for the appeals process.
Public defenders are typically available for criminal defendants as they challenge their convictions, but financial hardship must be proved.
In the document, Anthony called himself a “penniless, destitute, and indigent person, too poor to employ counsel to represent me on the appeal,” according to WFAA ABC 8 News.
It is not immediately clear what issues Anthony intends to raise on appeal.
Texas law permits individuals to appeal their convictions within 30 days after their sentences are announced, according to the outlet.
The “penniless” description is at odds with the $625,000 he and his family collected through a GiveSendGo campaign.
Anthony raised the six-figure sum after his family and supporters portrayed his prosecution as an example of racial injustice. Anthony, the now-convicted aggressor, is black, while Metcalf, who died in his twin brother’s arms, was white.
GiveSendGo shut down the fundraiser after the trial concluded in a guilty conviction. The platform said in a statement that the funds were distributed to the Anthony family.
“This fundraiser was created to support pre-trial needs, and those funds were disbursed over the past year for lawful purposes including legal defense and family relocation,” the platform said in a post shared on social media and its official website.
“With that stated purpose now complete, the fundraiser has been closed and the funds will be paid out,” it added.
— GiveSendGo (@GiveSendGo) June 10, 2026
Anthony received his sentence after a jury found him guilty of murdering Metcalf during an altercation at a track meet in April 2025. At the time, both men were 17.
As revealed during trial testimony, Metcalf repeatedly asked Anthony to leave a tent designated for students from Memorial High School.
Anthony, a student at rival Centennial High School, responded by stabbing Metcalf in the chest. Metcalf dropped to the ground and died in his twin brother Hunter’s arms.
Collin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Ventura told jurors that Anthony’s knife pierced through Metcalf’s chest and reached his heart. The wound was not survivable.
