Karmelo Anthony's family seeks $250,000 for legal appeal

The family of Karmelo Anthony has launched a GiveSendGo crowdfunding campaign seeking $250,000 to fund the legal appeal of the 19-year-old. The effort follows a Collin County judge's recent rejection of Anthony's request for a new trial.

Anthony was sentenced to 35 years for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas. His new legal team argues that the original trial was fundamentally compromised due to a handshake agreement between previous prosecutors and defense attorneys.

According to attorneys, this agreement kept critical evidence from jurors, including Anthony's history of violent and threatening text messages and reports that he had been stalking his ex-girlfriend. In exchange, the defense agreed not to disclose Metcalf's criminal record involving racist graffiti. The legal team contends that disputes over this arrangement prevented Anthony from testifying, which they claim negatively impacted the outcome of the case.