The father of slain teenager Austin Metcalf has spoken out against those who suggest his son’s murder was racially motivated, while also expressing compassion for his son’s assailant.
In an interview with CBS News, Jeff Metcalf shared his thoughts following the sentencing of Karmelo Anthony, 19, who received a 35-year prison term for the 2025 killing of 17-year-old Austin.
Breaking his silence since the trial concluded, Metcalf conveyed his sympathy for Anthony, emphasizing that the tragic incident was not racially driven.
“Consider the impact beyond just our families,” he said. “Look at what it has caused.”
“First, it affects the young ones who have to live with this. Second, it has been blown up into a national issue about race, which was never the case,” he continued.
Metcalf acknowledged those who might criticize the trial’s proceedings, saying, “There will be people questioning the jury’s composition and the trial’s pace, trying to cast doubt on the whole process.”
‘I mean, those are the same people that said he was jumped by four people. He had, his phone was broken. You’re going to spin whatever story to try to keep yourself afloat.’
He added: ‘I’ll even say this: I had a little bit of sorrow because I’m human. And that poor boy is fixing to experience a life that I would not wish upon anyone.’
Metcalf added that he believes Anthony should have been handed a life sentence, and said that when he is up for parole in 17 years he will attend the hearing to argue against it.
Jeff Metcalf is seen here speaking with CBS in his first interview after his son was killed, he had been put under a gag order by a judge which ended on Tuesday
Jeff Metcalf is seen here with his twin sons Austin and Hunter in an undated picture shared to his social media
Metcalf, pictured here, was stabbed once in the chest. The knife pierced through his bone in the center of his chest and punctured the right side of his heart
‘If I’m still alive, yes, I will be there in person. If not, I am going to make a video. If I’m passed on, that can be played.’
Describing the feeling of his son’s killer being behind bars, he said: ‘When I woke up this morning, it was a very different feeling.
Anthony is seen here in a mugshot released after his sentencing on Tuesdsay
‘When I woke up, I felt like one million pounds had been lifted off my shoulders and this morning was the first day I woke up with a feeling of peace, comfort. Tranquility that I haven’t experienced in 14 months. And I felt. Awesome.’
He spoke with the outlet after a gag order imposed on him by a judge was formally lifted following the sentencing.
Anthony sobbed in court on Tuesday and his family burst into tears as the judge handed down the verdict, his mother begged the jury to show him mercy.
There was an audible gasp in the Texas courtroom when his 35-year sentence was handed down shortly after.
Following Anthony’s sentencing, victim impact statements were read aloud by members of Metcalf’s devastated family including his mother and father.
Metcalf’s mom, Meghan Metcalf said: ‘Seeing my loving son, his identical twin, lose the most important person in his life, it crushes you as a mother.
‘Austin was a hugger, and a good one at that. Austin always had a way of bringing people together. He was the peacemaker, the protector,’ she recalled.
The tent where the stabbing occurred is seen here inside Kukendall Stadium in Frisco in April of last year
Anthony’s defense team argued that he was acting in self defense when he stabbed the teenager
‘There is a part of him you can never take away from me or anyone who loves Austin. What it meant to be loved by him. It’s the love that I can continue to have in my heart.
‘He was taken from us just as he was starting to really live,’ the slain teen’s mom said as she addressed Anthony directly.
‘You may have just been given a sentence of 35 years behind bars but you can consider yourself lucky because I’ve been sentenced to a lifetime without my son,’ she added.
Jeff, also delivered an impact statement on Tuesday evening.
He told the court how his family was ‘robbed’ of seeing Austin grow up, and expressed his grief that he couldn’t defend his son.
He went on to express the ‘unfiltered rage’ he has experienced since his son was murdered, saying Austin’s death ‘didn’t just break my heart’ but also destroyed his ‘sense of safety’ and ‘faith in people.’
The murder case shocked America, and the discussion surrounding the killing of a white teenager by a black peer quickly became racially fraught.
Metcalf was stabbed once in the chest. The knife pierced through his bone in the center of his chest and punctured the right side of his heart, a medical examiner testified.
