Karmelo Anthony Hearing: Visiting judge grants recusal, new judge to be appointed

Attorneys for Karmelo Anthony succeeded on Wednesday morning in their efforts to have Collin County Judge John Roach removed from all appeals efforts.

A new judge will be appointed before Thursday morning’s hearing on whether the 19-year-old convicted killer deserves a new trial.

Anthony was found guilty of murder in June for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf on April 2, 2025.

Witnesses reported that Anthony stabbed Metcalf in the chest with a pocketknife during a seating dispute at a regional track meet.

Anthony was a student at Centennial High School but was sitting under the Memorial High School tent. Metcalf reportedly told him to leave.

There was no evidence the two young men knew each other.

Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison and is now confined by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at the Pack Unit near Navasota.

His new team of defense attorneys is fighting for a retrial and argued that Judge Roach, who presided over the initial trial, should be recused from the case going forward. 

On Wednesday, visiting Judge Sid Harle, who served as the judge in the first Uvalde school shooting trial, weighed the arguments and evidence regarding the recusal effort.

Another judge will sit over Thursday’s hearing for a new trial. The hearings could feature new facts and testimony that have not been previously made public.