Lawyers agreed to add the lesser charge of manslaughter to Karmelo Anthony’s charging docs on Tuesday, just before the jury was set to hear closing arguments.
“MANSLAUGHTER is now on the table with Karmelo Anthony,” The Daily Mail’s MaryAnn Martinez reported. “The lawyers and judge in this case have agreed to include it in the charging document that jurors will consider today after closing arguments.”
Anthony, who fatally stabbed high school athlete Austin Metcalf at a track event in April 2025, was indicted on a first-degree murder charge. The trial has been speedy and closing arguments are set for Tuesday, before the jury begins deliberations. Most legal commentators have speculated that the case presented by the state has been airtight, and a murder conviction was expected later today.
Anthony could face a significantly lighter sentence if convicted on the manslaughter charge instead of the murder charge. The manslaughter charge carries two to 20 years in prison, while a murder charge carries up to life in prison.
To be convicted on the murder charge, the jury would have to find that Anthony intentionally or knowingly killed Metcalf. For a manslaughter conviction, the jury would find that Anthony recklessly caused Metcalf’s death; intent to kill is not required.
Here are screenshots of the Judge’s charge to the jury in the Karmelo Anthony murder trial. It’s the instructions they follow to determine whether the defendant’s actions met the requirements of murder or manslaughter. If they don’t meet the requirements of either he will be… pic.twitter.com/AYYmRt9qF9
— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) June 9, 2026
While giving closing arguments, the prosecution told jurors that a conviction on manslaughter would mean that they believe Metcalf “impaled himself on Karmelo Anthony’s knife,” according to reporting from CBS 11 News reporter J.D. Miles. Arguing that this was murder one, the state said Anthony “had it in his mind what he was going to do.”
Anthony, they said, ran for an exit after stabbing Metcalf, he didn’t look for a coach or someone to help. “It’s a guilty, guilty mindset,” the prosecution said, according to Miles. “’He touched me, he did this, he did that,’ [is] what would he have said if he was really confronted by both of the twins, his words alone belie the fact that this was one on one, this was not a mob of Memorial kids. … He had it in his mind what he was going to do.”
More prosecution closing
On whether manslaughter would apply in this case instead of murder
“If you think AM impaled himself on Karmelo Anthony’s knife, find him guilty of manslaughter”
On witnesses
“They all said Karmelo Anthony provoked it”
Why self defense doesn’t apply…
— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) June 9, 2026
Closing arguments have now completed, and jurors are starting to deliberate.
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