Jurors have reached a verdict in the murder trial of Karmelo Anthony, the Texas teenager accused of fatally stabbing fellow student Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in Frisco last year, as per KTVT.
As attention turns to the outcome of the closely watched case, many are also looking at Anthony’s defense team, including attorney Mike Howard, who helped lead the argument that Anthony acted in self-defense.
Who is Mike Howard?
Mike Howard is a Dallas-Fort Worth-based criminal defense attorney who has spent his career representing people charged with offenses in state and federal court. According to his law firm’s website, Howard began his legal career at Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas and later at the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office. And he left the public defender’s role when his caseload grew too large for him to give each client the attention they deserved.
Howard opened the Law Office of Mike Howard in 2009. He graduated from SMU Dedman School of Law in 2001 and holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University, per his SMU faculty profile.
Howard is also known as a legal educator and mentor.
Howard’s strategy in the Anthony trial has focused on poking holes in the prosecution’s case. During the trial, his team highlighted inconsistencies in witness testimony, different accounts of whether Metcalf pushed Anthony with one hand or two, whether Metcalf was alone or joined by others, and how much of the altercation various witnesses actually saw, as per NBC News.
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What is the case he is defending
Anthony, 19, is charged with murder in the April 2025 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco in Texas. The confrontation began after a dispute over Anthony’s presence under the Memorial High School team tent during a rainy meet. Prosecutors say the stabbing was unjustified. Anthony has claimed self-defense throughout and the defense rested Monday without putting Anthony on the stand, per NBC News.
If convicted of murder, Anthony faces anywhere from five years to life in prison, according to USA Today.
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What happened at the Track meet
On April 2, 2025, a high school track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco in Texas turned fatal. When it began raining, Anthony made his way to the Memorial High School team tent. His own track coach had testified that the Centennial High School team did not bring a tent to the meet.
Witnesses say Metcalf and others told Anthony to leave the tent. That is when things turned violent. Metcalf was stabbed and later died from a stab wound to the heart, the county’s chief medical examiner testified,
However, witness accounts of exactly what happened differed on key details. Some said Metcalf pushed Anthony hard with both hands before the stabbing. Others said it was a one-handed push, a jab or just a tap. Witnesses also disagreed on whether Metcalf was alone when he confronted Anthony or whether others, including his twin brother were involved, according to NBC News.
Prosecutors called 21 witnesses, many of them Metcalf’s classmates and teammates, who described Anthony as the aggressor. The defense, on the other hand, argued that Anthony felt threatened and acted to protect himself after being physically contacted. Howard’s team also pointed out that it was common practice for athletes to gather under other schools’ tents at track meets and that Anthony’s pocketknife was legal under Texas law, though it violated school district policy, per USA Today.
After the stabbing, one of Anthony’s own teammates testified that Anthony was in tears and being held by a coach. The teammate said he heard Anthony say, “I told him not to touch me,” according to NBC News. The defense rested its case without calling Anthony to the stand.