FRISCO, Texas — The mother of Karmelo Anthony, the teen charged in the fatal stabbing at a track meet in Frisco, said her family has been “under attack” with threats and “false accusations,” and called for the legal process to play out in her first comments since the stabbing.
Kala Hayes, Anthony’s mother, made her comments during an emotional — and delayed — press conference Thursday in which the father of the victim in the case had to be escorted out of the building.
Karmelo Anthony, a 17-year-old student at Frisco Centennial High School, was charged with murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf, also 17, on April 2 at the UIL District 11-5A championship track meet at Frisco ISD’s Kuykendall Stadium. Anthony was released from jail on Monday after posting bond.
The press conference with Anthony’s parents Thursday was delayed after Austin Metcalf’s father, Jeff, arrived at the headquarters of Next Generation Action Network, the Dallas-based advocacy group hosting the press conference on the family’s behalf.
The press conference began after Jeff Metcalf was escorted out after being asked to by the owner of the Good Coworking coworking space where the organization is headquartered.
Watch the full press conference here:
After about a 50-minute delay and lengthy opening remarks from Next Generation’s president, Hayes, Anthony’s mother, said the family has been “under attack” in the wake of the stabbing, with threats and harassment.
“Whatever you think what happened between Karmelo and the Metcalf boys, my three younger children, my husband and I didn’t do anything to deserve to be threatened, harassed and lied about,” Hayes said. “The lies and false accusations that have been said about us, especially over the past week, has been overwhelming. The lies and their amplification put my family in danger.”
She also said Karmelo “deserves the same rights under the law that everyone is afforded.”
Hayes didn’t discuss what happened at the track meet further, calling for the legal process to be allowed to play out.
“We believe in the Constitution, we believe in the laws of this state, but those laws must apply to all of us, not just some of us,” she said. “There’s an active investigation that everyone involved wants to be full and fair. We believe in the legal process and that is where the truth will come out.”
She also addressed Metcalf’s family through tears.
“To the family who experienced the loss, my heart truly goes out to you,” she said, through tears. “To those who have supported my family, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
She also said the family hasn’t received money from a fundraiser purported to be set up on the Anthony family’s behalf, and was only notified yesterday that they were able to begin the withdrawal process.
As of Thursday afternoon, the fund had raised $458,356.
Prosecutors had questioned at Anthony’s bond hearing Monday why the family couldn’t pay his $1 million bond with the fundraiser money. Anthony’s father explained that they hadn’t received the money yet. A judge ultimately decided to lower Anthony’s bond to $250,000.
