A convicted murderer who stabbed a 17-year-old to death at a Texas track meet is now claiming he's penniless to get a taxpayer-funded lawyer for his appeal — while his family operates multiple businesses and the victim's father waits for an apology that never comes.
Karmelo Anthony, sentenced to 35 years earlier this month for murdering Austin Metcalf in Frisco, filed court papers days after his conviction declaring himself a "penniless, destitute, and indigent person, too poor to employ counsel" to challenge the verdict. Collin County appointed him appellate attorney Lara Bracamonte Davila — his second court-appointed lawyer since the notice of appeal, according to court records reviewed by Fox News and the Daily Wire.
Here's the rub: Fox News Digital previously reported that the Anthony family is tied to several businesses in Louisiana and Texas, and even opened a new business weeks after their son killed Metcalf. The court system apparently didn't weigh that against Anthony's self-reported poverty claim before granting him public counsel.
Under the Texas Fair Defense Act, a defendant qualifies for a court-appointed attorney by proving he can't afford one. Anthony made that declaration on his own in a court filing. His first brief court-appointed attorney, Donny Perales, told Fox News Digital that "it is expected that the Anthony family will be retaining an attorney for the appeal" — suggesting the indigent claim may be a placeholder until private counsel takes over.
The appeals process can take years and guarantees nothing, but it buys time — and that's exactly what a system stacked toward procedure over victims delivers. The judge who oversaw the case, John Roach, confirmed the jury made the correct decision. "They did because they were picked based upon the law, they listened to the facts, it happened in this courtroom, and they got a verdict," Roach said, as reported by the Daily Wire.
Anthony's parents have pushed a different narrative. His mother, Kayla Hayes, claimed her son was defending himself when he stabbed the unarmed Metcalf. "My son is no murderer. My son didn't intend to hurt anyone," Hayes said. The family also falsely claimed the jury was "all white" and blamed racism for the outcome, according to the Daily Wire.
Meanwhile, the Metcalf family is left waiting. Austin's father, Jeff Metcalf, told Fox News Digital that the Anthonys have yet to speak to them following the verdict. "I don't forget what he did to my son," Metcalf said. "I don't have sympathy, but I gave him forgiveness, and the forgiveness was for me, of course, so I don't carry the rage and the hate."
A convicted killer with family business ties declares himself destitute, gets a taxpayer-funded lawyer, and the family he destroyed gets silence. The system isn't broken — it's working exactly as both parties designed it: endless process, delayed accountability, and victims left to find their own closure.
The question isn't whether Anthony deserves an appeal — the law guarantees one. The question is why a man whose family runs businesses can claim poverty on paper and get the public to foot the bill, and why nobody in the system blinks.
