Andrew Anthony and Kala Hayes say their son’s murder trial was compromised from the start.
Karmelo Anthony’s parents are speaking publicly for the first time since their son’s murder conviction, saying the legal process failed him and that they were misled by people they trusted during the trial. Anthony was found guilty in the 2025 killing of Austin Metcalf, a fellow student who died during a high school track meet in Collin County, Texas. Both teens were 17 at the time of the incident. A jury later sentenced Anthony to 35 years in prison.
This week, Andrew Anthony and Kala Hayes sat down with radio host Mimi Brown to discuss the case in detail. Hayes grew emotional during the conversation, saying the family plans to continue pushing for what they consider justice for their son and has no intention of giving up on his case.
Claims about legal advice and treatment
Andrew Anthony said the experience left him feeling targeted from the early stages of the trial. He said he received guidance from unnamed sources advising him not to speak with certain people and pushing him toward hiring white attorneys, though he did not specify who gave that advice or why. He also described the difficulty of balancing the demands of a high profile trial while still trying to care for his family during an already stressful period.
Concerns over the Anthony jury
Hayes also spoke separately with CBS News about the sentencing phase, saying she stood before the jury and asked for leniency on her son’s behalf. She said she came away from that moment believing the jurors had already reached their conclusion before she ever spoke. The panel that decided Anthony’s fate consisted of 12 members, and none of them were Black, a detail that has drawn renewed attention as the family continues to question the fairness of the proceedings.
A father describes feeling judged before trial began
Andrew Anthony said he believed the outcome of the case was decided long before it reached a courtroom. He pointed to what he described as inconsistent testimony from witnesses, claiming some individuals gave accounts that did not match what he understood to be true and suggesting that perjury may have played a role in the proceedings. He also said the intense media coverage and public reaction following Metcalf’s death had already shaped opinions of his son well before the trial started, leaving him feeling as though the presumption of innocence had been abandoned from the outset.
Threats continue as appeal moves forward
The family said the fallout from the case has extended beyond the courtroom. Andrew Anthony said they have continued to receive threatening messages since the conviction, some of which he described as containing language calling for harm against members of the family. Despite the ongoing pressure, Anthony’s legal team is moving forward with an appeal, and his parents say they remain committed to seeing the process through, regardless of how long it takes or how difficult the road ahead may be.
The case has remained a point of national conversation since Metcalf’s death, with debates continuing over how race, media coverage, and courtroom dynamics intersected during one of the more closely watched trials involving teenagers in recent memory. For Anthony‘s parents, the fight is far from over, and they say they intend to keep speaking out as the appeal moves through the courts.