The family of 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony, who was convicted of murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a Texas high school track meet, is now trying to raise $250,000 to fund an appeal. But as they seek more money, they face pointed questions over the fate of the nearly $634,000 already raised in Anthony’s name, according to Fox News.
Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison after a jury found him guilty in June for the fatal stabbing of Metcalf, a fellow student at the time of the attack in Frisco, Texas. Days after his sentencing, Anthony claimed he was broke and could not afford a lawyer for his appeal—even though his family had at that point raised roughly $625,000 through crowdfunding, as Breitbart News reported.
The new fundraising push comes amid scrutiny over how the earlier donations were spent. During a recent news conference in Dallas, where Anthony’s family and attorneys spoke about the fresh appeal fundraiser, an NBC 5 reporter asked directly about the money raised before the trial, the outlet reported Wednesday.
Dominique Alexander, president of NGAN, cut off the line of questioning. “I can’t speak to, hold on, I can speak to that. We’re not gonna comment on that. We don’t know, like, for instance, I can not speak on all of the information regarding all of those different fees,” Alexander said, according to Fox News. He added that the family would not address questions on the matter.
Fundraiser Claims and Reality
The original GiveSendGo fundraiser, set up in Anthony’s name before his trial, stated that donations would go toward his legal fees. But the page also indicated that a portion of the money would be used for the family’s living and security expenses. The page was shut down after Anthony’s conviction, by which point it had pulled in more than $629,724.
Anthony’s claim of “destitution” sits awkwardly against the hundreds of thousands of dollars his family collected on his behalf ahead of his trial. Legal experts note that defendants seeking publicly funded appeals often must demonstrate they lack the resources to hire their own counsel—a standard that could be complicated by the family’s crowdfunding success.
Appeal Effort and New Details
The appeal itself comes after a judge denied Anthony’s request for a retrial. In August, previously unreleased details from the trial surfaced, including testimony from Anthony’s girlfriend, who said they were going through a breakup, that he was stalking her, and that he had texted her: “I’m low-key on the verge.”
Collin County prosecutor Bill Wirskye also noted that Anthony had told people he was fascinated with the idea of stabbing someone to death and licking the victim’s blood off the blade, according to the article.
The combination of the girlfriend’s testimony and Anthony’s own alleged statements painted a disturbing picture for the jury, which deliberated before delivering the murder conviction. His 35-year sentence was handed down shortly after.
The family’s latest appeal effort, however, has been met with skepticism not only from reporters but also from the public, given the lack of transparency over the earlier funds. When pressed at the Dallas news conference, Alexander’s refusal to clarify spending left questions unanswered—questions that may now follow the family as they ask for another $250,000 to continue the legal fight.
Metcalf’s family has not publicly commented on the new fundraiser, but the case has already drawn national attention, both for the brutal nature of the crime and for the unusual crowdfunding success of a defendant’s family.
As the appeal moves forward, the court will have to weigh Anthony’s stated inability to afford counsel against the significant sums raised in his name. For now, the family maintains that additional funds are necessary to pursue or argue for a new trial or reduced sentence.
Neither Alexander nor other family representatives have responded to further questions about the accounting of the original $634,000.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2026/09/06/karmelo-anthonys-family-faces-questions-about-634k-fundraiser-while-raising-more-money-for-appeal/