Austin Metcalf’s father says he has found room for compassion, even after the devastating loss of his son, revealing that he forgave Karmelo Anthony following the fatal stabbing.
“I feel sorry for him,” Jeff Metcalf told ABC News in an interview aired Tuesday, saying Anthony’s “life is pretty much ruined.”
Still, Metcalf said Anthony, 19, must “be held accountable” for the killing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a school track meet in Frisco, Texas, on April 2, 2025.
Jeff Metcalf, 56, said he “forgave [Anthony] the first day it happened,” explaining, “I had to. If I didn’t, I’d be eaten up. I’d be angry. I might go do something. I’d be looking for revenge.”
His remarks came after a judge on Saturday rejected Anthony’s request for a new trial.
Here’s the latest on Karmelo Anthony’s appeal of his murder conviction:
Anthony was sentenced in June to 35 years in prison after jurors rejected the defense argument that he acted under “sudden passion.”
Anthony’s lead appellate attorney, Russell Wilson II, and his lead trial defense lawyer, Mike Howard, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
