Self-defense claim in Austin Metcalf slaying is 'uphill battle': expert
The 17-year-old charged in the stabbing death of high school track star Austin Metcalf will face an "uphill battle" if his attorneys present a self-defense claim in court, one expert says.
Karmelo Anthony, 17, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Metcalf's April 2 killing at a track meet in Frisco, Texas.
"If the evidence is what it is right now, I think he's going to have an uphill battle claiming self-defense," Julie Rendelman, a New York attorney who is not involved in the case, told Fox News Digital. "But we may learn much, much more that changes that perspective. And that could be for a jury or a grand jury to decide."
Rendelman has practiced law for more than 30 years, and is a former homicide prosecutor who served as the senior trial attorney in Kings County, Brooklyn, and eventually became the deputy homicide bureau chief. Now, she runs a private criminal defense practice in New York.
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A police report indicates that a dispute inside Memorial High School's tent turned deadly when Metcalf reportedly pushed Anthony, a student at a different high school, to remove him from the tent. According to police, Anthony responded by stabbing Metcalf in the chest.
Rendelman stressed that the public does not know all the facts in the case, but said that, given what she's read, Anthony does not have a clear-cut self-defense claim.
"If the scenario is… that the victim told [Anthony] to leave, and then in some way physically touched him without more, then I'm not comfortable – I don't believe that a self-defense claim will work," she said.
Anthony was released from the Collin County Jail on Monday, April 14, after his bond was reduced from $1 million to $250,000.
Rendelman said such an outcome would be unlikely where she practices law, because New York tends to set very high bail, if not remand, for any type of murder allegations, but that in most states, offering monetary bail to homicide suspects is common.
"I'll also add that this case does involve a 17-year-old who's never been in trouble," she said. "And [the court] did add conditions, so it wasn't that they were just reducing the bail. They reduced it with the ankle monitor, with the housing confinement limited to going to… necessary appointments, [and] that he has to report [to the judge]. So it wasn't a reduction without any conditions."
She also addressed the widening divide between those who support Metcalf and those who support Anthony. The case has become a flash point partly because of a GiveSendGo fundraiser for the suspected killer, which has accrued nearly $500,000 in donations.
"I feel incredible sympathy for the victim's family," Rendelman said. "Because no matter how you look at it, he's still a 17-year-old boy who was kind of at the beginning of his life."
She acknowledged how difficult it must be for the Metcalf family not only to deal with the tragic loss of their son, but to see their son's alleged killer raising money from the ordeal.
"At the same time, the defendant has a right to due process, has a family that supports him, and his day in court will come," she said.
On Thursday, Anthony's family made their first public comments during a news conference that went off the rails when their activist spokesman, Dominique Alexander, began criticizing Austin's father, Jeff Metcalf, who attended the news conference. The event was supposed to focus on how the GiveSendGo funds are being used.
Jeff Metcalf showed up before it began, but was threatened with criminal charges and escorted off the property by Dallas Police officers.
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"What we've seen at the beginning of this press conference, of the father being at this press conference, these are my words – don't quote anybody – is a disrespect to the dignity of his son," Alexander said.
"Next Generation Action Network from the beginning has respected the loss of life, no matter our opinion of it. We have kept our opinion close," he said. "We have not attacked. We have not shared the information that was shared with us about Austin Metcalf because we respect the dignity of life and loss."
"That was disrespectful and just shows you all the character," Alexander said. "He was not invited. He knows that it's inappropriate to be near this family, but he did it. So, I say to people, actions speak louder than words."
Jett Metcalf previously told Fox News, "This person made a bad choice and affected both his family and my family forever."
He said Austin, who died in his twin brother's arms, "was the light of my life."
"People ask me, how can you forgive this other person? I said I forgive the other person because the forgiveness is not for him," he said. "The forgiveness is for me so I can have peace. His life is destroyed. My life is destroyed."
The Frisco Police Department (FPD) released a statement two days after the stabbing asking people not to spread "disinformation, hate, fear and division."
On Friday, the department declined to comment further.
Fox News Digital reached out to Anthony's attorney.