Testimony resumed today in the Karmelo Anthony murder trial

[00:00:00] Alexandra Goldberg: Welcome back into Live Now from Fox. My name is Alexandra Goldberg and now we head out to Texas for our next story. Court is in session this Saturday for the murder trial of Frisco Independent School District student Carmelo Anthony. He's accused of fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a 2025 track meet. Take a look here. We're going to pop up this social media post on your screen. Fox 4 News in Dallas saying testimony was resumed on Saturday in the Carmelo Anthony murder trial for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in Frisco in 2025. Taking a live look here at Dallas, Texas, one of the live cameras that we do have in the newsroom. Wanted to run through some details that we have from Fox News correspondent Brooke Taylor, who has been in the courtroom. Now the biggest takeaway, Brooke Taylor says, is that the state rested its case after calling 21 witnesses. She says at the center of the prosecution's case are the students who were under the team tent and witnessed the confrontation unfold. One witness testified that Metcalf asked Anthony to leave the tent about 15 times before the stabbing. Here to break down day three for us in the courtroom is former federal prosecutor Nima Rahmani. Thank you so much for [00:01:26] Nima Rahmani: joining us today. Thanks for having me, Alexandra. Big day today in that courtroom. Absolutely. And as I was [00:01:33] Alexandra Goldberg: just saying, the state rested its case after calling just 21 witnesses. That's short of the expected number of witnesses that people expected to be called in the courtroom. Nima, if you will, take us into the minds of the prosecution team. What goes into the decision to rest your case? [00:01:53] Nima Rahmani: So certainly in a case like this, you want to make sure that you have all or almost all of those percipient witnesses testify. A lot of them saw this interaction unfold and some of them provided very helpful testimony for the prosecution. Now, we are seeing the defense start their case in chief and of the courtroom. And they are putting on some of their own witnesses. And I would say that some of their best witnesses seem to be some of the first witnesses. But really, the facts here aren't necessarily that much in dispute. It's more of a question of, was this use of deadly force appropriate? And under Texas law, and in most states, deadly force and self-defense is only legally appropriate if the person using the force, in this case Carmelo Anthony, is at imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury. And that use of force has to be both reasonable and proportionate. So what you see the prosecution arguing here, Alexandra, is that it was Carmelo Anthony who was the aggressor. He's the one who went into the tent. He knew it was a rival tent. He was asked to leave and he chose not to do so. And he brought a knife to a proverbial fistfight, even though it was more pushing and shoving. Of course, the defense is painting a very different story. They're saying that it's not uncommon for rival team members to go into opposing tents and it was raining. And in fact, Anthony seemed to be invited or maybe even welcome. So a very different story being portrayed by the defense as they start their case in chief [00:03:25] Alexandra Goldberg: today on a rare court day on a Saturday. And of course, the defense moved for a direct verdict, claiming that the state had not proven its case. Nima, my question to you, is it pretty common for the [00:03:40] Nima Rahmani: defense team to call for a direct verdict? Yes, Alexandra, every single case, 100 times out of 100, the defense will ask for a directed verdict. It is very rarely granted. We saw it recently in a school shooting case there in Texas, where the judge did grant a directed verdict, where a school administrator, vice principal, I believe, was charged for a young child who brought a gun to school. But again, it's very, very rare for this to happen. The defense raises it, sometimes it's a Hail Mary, and sometimes it's just to preserve that argument on appeal. So I'm not surprised that the defense raised the motion. I'm not surprised the judge denied it. And ultimately, this is really a question for a jury. They need to decide whether that use of force was appropriate [00:04:26] Alexandra Goldberg: or not. Well, let's keep on that conversation about the prosecution's witnesses and the jury. From your point of view, what testimony do you think will stick with the jurors most? [00:04:38] Nima Rahmani: I think it's the testimony from the other students that were there. I mean, these are children, really young adults. And to see them watch this interaction really tragedy, I would say for both sides. And I think even, you know, the victim's family would agree to that you have these students that really watch this interaction unfold, a fight that was really unnecessary, a senseless tragedy, and describing how Melo Anthony stuck a knife into the chest of Austin Metcalf, this really horrific scene, and then him collapsing and dying, just the graphic testimony about the blood in his chest. And you see the coaches, the administrators, the students testifying to that. It was really just very difficult to hear. And I think that's what sort of stood out to me the most, because the jurors might be asking, well, even if, you know, Austin Metcalf is significantly bigger, and we've heard anywhere from 50 to 100 pounds bigger than Anthony, even if there were other people present, you know, was this an appropriate response to pushing and shoving to pull out a knife and stab someone? [00:05:43] Alexandra Goldberg: Of course, a lot of testimony from teenagers and from teammates. I want to talk about one specific witness from today. Prosecutors called on 18-year-old Eddie Parra to take the stand. And Parra is the teen who knew Anthony and greeted him as he entered that memorial tent. What's the rationale behind prosecution calling up someone who knew Carmelo Anthony? [00:06:11] Nima Rahmani: Yeah, I think the prosecution called Eddie because they wanted to get out of this testimony, because frankly, I thought it was helpful for the defense. You really heard testimony over the past several days that, you know, it was Anthony who was the aggressor, who was going into the tent, who wouldn't leave. And he was really being stubborn at best, you know, defined at worst. And not to say that, you know, he had any legal right, you know, not to be there, or he was supposed to move just because Austin Metcalf asked him to. But then you have Eddie, who really tells a different story. He says, listen, I welcomed him. I dabbed him. This is someone I knew. This was someone that was friendly. So I thought it was pretty good testimony for the defense. And certainly some of that evidence that they got up. I think what the prosecution wanted to do is maybe call that witness in their case in chief. That's the strategy that prosecutors use sometimes to take the sting out of a good witness that might be favorable for the other side. You get control of it. You front that evidence for the jury [00:07:09] Alexandra Goldberg: so they don't think you're hiding anything. And I did want to read up on some notes provided to us from Brooke Taylor, Fox News correspondent, about that witness. She writes that he testified he thought it was weird that Anthony was under that tent because, quote, teams are supposed to be at their own tent. Brooke Taylor continues to say he said, Anthony responded, you're not going to move me. You're an expletive. Touch me and find out. Nima, I do want to move our conversation forward here. Defense is now beginning to call their witnesses, beginning with Carmelo Anthony's track coach. What approach are you expecting defense attorneys to take in their direct examination? Well, certainly the track [00:07:53] Nima Rahmani: coach I thought was very helpful because he said, look, it's not uncommon for people to go into a rival team's tent. It happens all the time and it was raining. And Carmelo Anthony's school did not have a tent. So he was just trying to get out of the rain. Again, really try to normalize the behavior, right? Because you see the prosecution pointing a picture of someone who was making threats saying, touch me. He has his hand in his backpack. He brought a knife to a sporting event. Obviously, it's pretty well established and acknowledged that he shouldn't do that. So what the defense is trying to do is say, listen, this was really normal behavior. And it was Metcalf who was the aggressor. He was unnecessarily threatening and ultimately violent. He's the one who initiated the first assault. So you see the defense telling a very different story, maybe some of the same facts. And ultimately, it's really up to those jurors to decide, was this excessive force? Was this genuine but unreasonable force? And the reason I talk about that, Alexandra, is under Texas law, that reduces murder, that first-degree murder, intentional, all the way down to manslaughter. That's a significantly different sentence. And look, Texas is a very strong self-defense case. Obviously, there are racial overtones here. But importantly, under Texas law, it's the prosecution that has to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. So all of these facts are really important to show who is the aggressor, was the use of force reasonable and appropriate. And I understand why the defense is [00:09:23] Alexandra Goldberg: doing what they're doing here. Nima, what will you be watching for on day four of the trial? [00:09:30] Nima Rahmani: What I'll be watching for is a little bit more history about Carmelo Anthony. Is this someone who's been bullied? I really want to know why he would bring this knife to a sporting event. Was he someone that had been picked on before, had been jumped, for instance? I think that goes to his state of mind. Again, it has to be reasonable. But if there's some world that Anthony genuinely but unreasonably believed that he was at risk, that may get him out of that first-degree murder charge. And that would be a significantly lesser sentence. So I want to know a little bit more about his history. Obviously, we've heard these two students were not only great athletes, but great students as well. A students, A and B. So, you know, why would he bring that knife to the match? And I think the defense is going to have to tell that story. Also, I think, Alexandra, importantly, and I think everyone expects Anthony to take the stand and testify, the conventional wisdom is in a self-defense case, even though defendants don't have to testify, they do have that Fifth Amendment right, that they do have to take the stand and explain their story. I do think that will happen in this particular case. And we know that, of course, if a defendant takes the stand in a criminal case, the entire case usually comes down to his or her testimony. So how Carmelo Anthony testifies when he takes that witness stand, if he takes the witness stand, I think will make or break the case. [00:10:49] Alexandra Goldberg: All right. Former Federal Prosecutor Nima Rodmani, thank you so much for your insights into this case. We'll have you back as this trial develops. Thanks so much, Alexandra. Talk soon.