A fresh appeal for financial contributions has been circulated to potential donors by the family of Karmelo Anthony, a man convicted of murder. This fundraising effort comes weeks after a Texas court rejected his bid for a new trial. Anthony's relatives are now requesting $250,000, which they state will be used to cover the legal expenses for appealing his conviction. As of now, the response to this specific campaign has been significantly below its target. A GiveSendGo page established for this purpose has garnered around $27,000 toward the six-figure goal.
"We understand that the pursuit of justice through the appellate system requires tremendous resources. This is why the legal fund has been established." Anthony Family Spokesperson
Karmelo Anthony is currently incarcerated, serving a 35-year sentence following his conviction for the stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf. The incident occurred at a Frisco track meet in 2025. A family spokesperson, speaking to the New York Post, articulated the rationale behind the new fundraising initiative. "We understand that the pursuit of justice through the appellate system requires tremendous resources. This is why the legal fund has been established," the spokesperson affirmed.
This is not the first instance of the Anthony family utilizing online crowdfunding platforms. Prior to Anthony's trial, an earlier fundraising drive successfully raised a considerably larger sum, exceeding $600,000. That initial campaign was subsequently removed from the GiveSendGo platform once the conviction was handed down. GiveSendGo later provided clarification regarding the allocation of those funds. The organization stated that the initial campaign "was created to support pre-trial needs, and those funds were disbursed over the past year for lawful purposes including legal defense and family relocation."
A notable development emerged shortly after Anthony's sentencing. Despite the substantial funds raised previously by his family, court records indicate that Anthony pursued a different avenue for his appeal. He submitted a request to the state, seeking the appointment of a taxpayer-funded attorney. In his own words, filed with the court, Anthony presented himself as a "penniless, destitute, and indigent person, too poor to employ counsel." This assertion of poverty stands in stark contrast to the more than $600,000 that his family’s earlier fundraising campaign had amassed for his defense.
Concurrently, a separate legal challenge was already in progress. Anthony's newer defense team had filed a motion requesting an entirely new trial, contending that the initial proceedings were unfair to their client. Last month, a judge denied this motion, effectively closing that particular legal pathway. The argument of unfairness largely centered on an agreement reached before the trial between prosecutors and Anthony's original legal representatives. Both parties had consented to withhold certain character evidence pertaining to both Anthony and Metcalf from the jury.
This evidence, once unsealed through subsequent reporting, proved to be significant. Among the material jurors never saw were prior allegations that Metcalf had engaged in racist behavior. Conversely, jurors were also not presented with allegations related to Anthony's past conduct toward an ex-girlfriend, including claims that he had stalked her. Further reports indicated that the excluded evidence also touched upon an alleged fixation with knives and firearms. None of this information was presented to the jury during the trial. This exclusion is now a central component of Anthony's appellate strategy, even following the denial of the new-trial motion.
The 2025 killing at the Frisco track meet has consistently drawn considerable public attention throughout the entire legal process. This public interest has persisted from the initial charges through sentencing and now into the appellate phase. Karmelo Anthony remains in state custody while his legal team assesses their next steps in light of the judge's recent denial of the new trial motion. The recently launched $250,000 fundraiser for appellate costs continues to collect donations, though it remains substantially below its stated objective.
