MCKINNEY, Texas (Court TV) — A teenager convicted of stabbing another teenager to death at a Texas track meet won a key ruling Wednesday when the trial judge was removed from the case.
Karmelo Anthony (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via ABC News)
Karmelo Anthony, 19, was convicted of murder in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, who was killed at a track meet in April 2025. Anthony never denied attacking Metcalf, but argued at his trial that he had acted in self-defense when Metcalf and others threatened him.
At a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Sid Harle recused Judge John Roach from presiding over any further hearings in the case, WFAA reported. “It’s a very high bar to recuse,” Harle said.
“I serve on the Judicial Conduct Commission. I believe he could be fair in this matter,” Harle said, before conceding that it was not “the test” or the standard on which he had to make his decision.
Anthony argued in his motion for a new judge that Roach had violated his right to a fair and open trial by closing the courtroom to cameras and limiting public access. Roach’s gag order, issued “sua sponte and on no party’s motion,” was also cited as evidence that he should be removed from the case. That gag order extended to the court docket itself, with all hearings held in chambers and no public filings appearing in the case.
Anthony’s appellate attorneys will return to court on Thursday morning as part of their fight to get a new trial. Their motion for a new trial lists several issues, mostly centered on Roach’s restrictions on public access to the case.
Roach barred cameras from Anthony’s trial; they were also excluded from Wednesday’s recusal hearing.
A new judge will be appointed to oversee Anthony’s case before Thursday’s scheduled hearing; it is unclear whether cameras will be permitted once the judge is named.
