The legal fight in the Karmelo Anthony murder case has entered a new phase in Texas, with the defense pushing for a new trial and a different judge now taking over after the original trial judge was removed from the case. The developments have drawn renewed attention to a killing that has been closely followed across the state.
Anthony, who is now 19, was convicted this summer of murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet, in a case dating back to 2025. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, and his attorneys are now trying to have that conviction thrown out and the case reopened.
The most significant recent step came when a visiting judge, Sid Harle, granted the defense's motion to recuse the trial judge, John Roach, from handling any further matters in the case. That decision cleared the way for a different judge to take over the next stage of the proceedings.
The push to remove Roach centered on his public comments about the case. Anthony's attorneys argued that the judge could not remain impartial, pointing in part to a television interview in which Roach said the jurors had gotten it right when they delivered their guilty verdict.
With Roach off the case, an administrative judge, Ray Wheless, appointed retired judge Michael Chitty to hear Anthony's motion for a new trial. Chitty took up the matter at a hearing held the morning after the recusal was granted, stepping into a high-profile and closely watched proceeding.
Inside the courtroom, the defense's focus has been on convincing the new judge to set aside the earlier conviction. The argument centers on how the original trial was handled, with the defense contending that the problems it has raised should be enough to reopen the case rather than let the verdict and sentence stand.
The case continues to generate strong public interest. The decision to remove the original judge was met with celebration by a group of Anthony's supporters gathered outside the Collin County courthouse, and the next steps now rest with the new judge as he weighs whether the teenager should be granted another trial.