Karmelo Anthony talked about shooting up his school in a trove of disturbing texts that a backroom deal kept out of the courtroom during his June murder trial, prosecutors said on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u201dimma shoot the school up tmr,\u201d Anthony wrote in a 2023 text that prosecutors revealed in Collin County, Texas, during a hearing to determine if Austin Metcalf\u2019s convicted killer will be granted a new trial, according to WFAA.<\/a><\/p>\n More threatening texts, reports of stalking by an ex-girlfriend, and Anthony\u2019s violent tendencies were also apparently swept under the rug. But as part of what was described as a \u201cgentleman\u2019s agreement\u201d between the defense and prosecution, skeletons in victim Austin Metcalf\u2019s closet also weren\u2019t brought up, including a juvenile criminal history involving racist graffiti, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n The deal was \u201ckeep things clean,\u201d prosecutor Bill Wirskye said from the stand as Anthony\u2019s new attorney Russell Wilson grilled him about the alleged \u201cshadow docket\u201d Wilson claims corrupted the June proceedings.<\/p>\n But that same agreement kept a mountain of shocking evidence<\/a> from seeing the light of day, including texts from Anthony threatening violence and a photo of a knife sent to his ex-girlfriend \u2014 who told a vice principal that he was stalking her hours before the fatal stabbing, WFAA and other local outlets reported prosecutors saying.<\/p>\n This booking photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, shows Karmelo Anthony. Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP<\/p>\n People gather outside the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas. El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News via AP<\/p>\n Austin Metcalf, a junior at Memorial High School in Frisco, was allegedly stabbed in the chest by 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, a student-athlete from Frisco Centennial High School. Meghan Prall Metcalf\/Facebook<\/p>\n None of that was shown to the jury in the June trial in which he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentence to 35 years in prison.<\/p>\n Anthony appealed the conviction and filed for a new trial. On Friday, Wilson grilled prosecutor Bill Wirskye and Anthony\u2019s former attorneys about their 30-year relationship and unofficial dealings meant to, in Wirskye\u2019s words, \u201ckeep things clean.\u201d<\/p>\n Supporters of Karmelo Anthony celebrate outside the Collin County Courthouse after Judge John Roach Jr. was recused from the next phase of Anthony\u2019s murder trial on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (\u00a9 2026 El\u00edas Valverde II \/ The Dallas Morning News) El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News via AP<\/p>\n A mugshot of Karmelo Anthony, who was arrested and charged with murder in the death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf in Frisco. Frisco Police Department<\/p>\n Keeping things clean meant keeping the lid of Anthony\u2019s long history of violent tendencies and threatening behavior, which apparently drove his parents to send him to a special program at LSU for kids with behavioral issues.<\/p>\n In exchange for prosecutors not using certain evidence against Anthony in court, the defense lawyers agreed not to bring up victim Austin Metcalf\u2019s juvenile criminal history, which included spray-painted graffiti of an upside down cross, the N-word, \u201cKKK,\u201d \u201cKill all Black people,\u201d and \u201cHeil Hitler,\u201d Houston Public Media reported.<\/a><\/p>\n Metcalf and his twin brother were sentenced to 12 months probation for that incident, and photos and video from Metcalf\u2019s phone showed the use of more slurs and a \u201cpervasive picture of a racist outlook,\u201d HPM reported Howard as saying. <\/p>\n \u201cI offered the agreement,\u201d Wirskye said, according to WFAA-TV. \u201cLet\u2019s stay away from historical character and stick to the facts \u2014 what happened under the tent.\u201d<\/p>\n The deal kept Anthony from taking the stand himself, argued Wilson.<\/p>\n Wirskye had accused defense attorney Mike Howard of breaking their deal when he brought up Anthony\u2019s grades and chess hobby in opening arguments \u2014 which opened the door to questions about his personal life, should Anthony testify, Howard wrote in an affidavit obtained last month by the Dallas Morning News.<\/a><\/p>\n In a legal victory for Anthony, the judge who presided over his trial\u00a0was removed from the appeal on Wednesday<\/a>. Retired District Court Judge Michael Chitty was then assigned to consider the motion from Anthony\u2019s attorneys asking for a retrial.<\/p>\n The Collin County Courthouse stands in McKinney, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (\u00a9 2026 El\u00edas Valverde II \/ The Dallas Morning News) El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News via AP<\/p>\n