Austin Metcalf’s father looked down at Karmelo Anthony, whom he described as “despicable,” as he scolded him for not meeting his gaze during the poignant victim impact statement.
Jeff Metcalf urged Anthony, 19, to “don’t look down” after he was convicted of first-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Metcalf earlier on Monday afternoon in a courthouse located in Collins County, Texas.
“We were robbed!” exclaimed the elder Metcalf as he instructed Anthony to look at him, according to WFAA, “Do not look down!”
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‘My boys weren’t bullies,’ says Jeff Metcalf
During the strong statements, Anthony had been lowering his head and declined to make eye contact with the Metcalf family, which included Austin’s father, mother, and twin brother Hunter.
“My boys weren’t bullies,” Metcalf stated, addressing the allegations against both Austin and Hunter that they had singled out Anthony for sitting beneath their school tent at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
“My son’s death destroyed the person I used to be,” he stated. “He does not exist anymore.”
“People think grief is sadness, it is not. It is rage. Pure unfiltered rage,” Metcalf said as he struck his fist against the table, shouting in anger, as reported by the outlet.
‘You failed yourself,’ Jeff Metcalf to Austin Metcalf
Blasting Anthony, he said, “You failed your parents, you failed yourself, and you failed society… You don’t belong in this community. A piece of me died with my son, and I’m expected to keep living.”
“You’re going to prison. I forgave you the day it happened. I don’t forgive what you did,” Metcalf continued. “You can’t look me in the eyes but you can stab my f–king son!”
Metcalf was silenced by a court-issued gag order for opposing the ruling that placed Anthony under house arrest while he awaited trial.
‘This was never about race’
He attributed the harassment of his home, which occurred six times, to the teen’s fervent supporters.
The indignant Metcalf briefly referenced the pro-Karmelo Anthony demonstrators who gathered outside the courthouse as he dismissed their assertions that the trial was racially biased against a young black teen who had acted in self-defense during the stabbing incident.
“This was never about race,” he stated. “It is about right and wrong. The public’s response sickens me… The moral decay is frightening.”
Karmelo Anthony received a 35-year prison sentence for the deadly stabbing of his son.
