Austin Metcalf’s family righteously lashed out at Austin’s murderer, Karmelo Anthony, following his conviction in a Texas courthouse on Tuesday, condemning his actions in blistering victim impact statements read in court.
According to CBS, the family of Austin Metcalf delivered emotional victim impact statements in court after Karmelo was sentenced, with the parents and Austin’s twin brother, Hunter, admonishing the killer.
“You took a son, a brother, a friend, my best friend from this world. You took someone away from me who was supposed to be an uncle to my kids,” Hunter Metcalf told the killer, while looking him in the eye and asking that he do the same. “I would really respect that,” he said while asking for eye contact.
“Now, I want everything taken from you,” Hunter continued. “You took everything from me.” He further told Anthony, “You still have air while my brother is six feet under. I wake up every morning, and his door is still shut.”
“You let the devil take over in that moment,” the twin added. “Eventually your name will be forgotten, but my brother’s memory will live on.”
Austin’s parents, likewise, shared their emotional story of what was taken from them. Metcalf’s mother, Meghan Metcalf, told the court, “Now my conversations with him are one-sided, sitting at his grave.” She continued, “I have to accept that instead of walking beside me, he’s walking above me.”
She further described the constant reminder as “going into an empty room, empty bed, and once again remembering Austin is dead,” noting that without her son, “Now, my house is quiet.” His laughter, she said, “would fill the room.”
Metcalf described her son as someone who “always had a way of bringing people together, calling him “a peacemaker.”
“My son was murdered. He didn’t just die,” she said, directly telling Karmelo Anthony, who was sentenced to just 35 years, “You should feel lucky, because I’ve been sentenced to a lifetime without my son.”
Metcalf’s father, Jeff, described Austin’s athletic talent, leadership skills, and faith, stating, “The saddest part is we don’t get to see you achieve all your goals… We were robbed,” he said.
Responding to the sickening public outrage and harassment of the Metcalf family, Jeff said, “The public’s response sickens me… The moral decay is frightening.” He added, “My son’s death didn’t just break my heart; it broke my nervous system… People will think grief is sadness; it’s not, it’s rage. Pure unfiltered rage.”
“You failed your parents, you failed yourself, and you failed society… You don’t belong in this community,” Jeff told Karmelo Anthony. He then pounded the podium, telling the killer, “You can’t even look me in the eye right now, but you can stab my (expletive) son in the heart.” He further described Anthony’s attitude as “despicable,” as he reportedly looked downward, not facing the family.
Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison after a jury convicted him of murdering then-16-year-old track and football star Austin Metcalf in a brutal stabbing during a championship track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Supporters of Anthony claim that he acted in self-defense, stabbing the white teen to death, but numerous eyewitnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor and instigated the fight.
He has already filed a notice of appeal, looking to challenge his conviction. Reports indicate that Anthony will be claiming the prosecution was racially biased and arguing that the jury did not have any black jurors.
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