The Texas judge who oversaw Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial said Anthony appeared to be a “nice young man,” while also making clear he supported the jury’s tough prison sentence in the closely watched case.
Judge John Roach Jr., a longtime jurist, faced repeated scrutiny during the proceedings. Critics faulted his decision to bar cameras from the courtroom, and others speculated — without evidence presented here — that he had ties to the family of slain teen Austin Metcalf.
Metcalf, 17, was killed in a stabbing on April 2, 2025, during an argument over seating at a track and field meet in Frisco. Anthony, now 19 and also a former high school football player, was convicted in the case.
The trial drew widespread attention online as racial tensions flared, with some attempting to portray Metcalf, who was white, as a bully who singled out Anthony, who is black.
Anthony’s legal team argued he acted in self-defense, though he did not testify at trial.
Roach told WFAA on Thursday that he largely shut out the outside commentary surrounding the case.
“As long as I follow the law, I sleep well at night,” he admitted.
The jury, which didn’t feature a single black member, also came under fire for the 35-year prison sentence it doled out to Anthony.
Jurors rejected a proposed âsudden passionâ argument that would’ve downgraded his verdict from first-degree to second-degree murder and shrunk his steep punishment to a maximum of 20 years.
Roach told the outlet, however, that the jury reached the correct verdict.
âYes 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,â he said.
Still, Roach thought Anthony seemed “like a nice young man” who now has a better understanding of “the consequences of committing a crime like he did.”
A devastated Anthony burst into tears when the jury read the guilty verdict on Tuesday. And he kept his head down when Metcalf’s distraught family addressed him during his sentencing later that evening.
He only raised his head when Metcalf’s twin brother, Hunter, asked him to.
The only visual snapshots from the trial were all captured by courtroom illustrators on account of Roach’s camera ban. The no-nonsense judge said the move was another “easy decision.”
“I’ll tell you why, my primary goal in every case is to make sure the defendant and the prosecution get a fair trial. Period,” he told WFAA. “
I know I made people mad but I’m not here to make them happy either.”
Roach’s term expires in six months, making the national case the last major trial he’ll likely preside over.
He previously handled the high-profile murder case against Brandon McCall, who was sentenced to death in 2020 after a jury convicted him of killing cop David Sherrard.
Anthony filed a notice to appeal his conviction on Wednesday.
