UPDATE, 6:42 p.m. ET: After Karmelo Anthony was found guilty Tuesday afternoon of murdering Austin Metcalf, the trial quickly shifted to the sentencing phase.

The same Collin County jury that found Anthony guilty returned to the courtroom Tuesday to hear arguments from the prosecution and defense regarding Anthony's sentence, KTVT-TV reported, which would range from five years to 99 years behind bars.

However, the station also noted that the jury will be considering "sudden passion," which can lessen the sentence "if the decision to kill was made during an agitated state."

KTVT, citing the Texas Penal Code, said that at the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may introduce sudden passion — and that if sudden passion is proven, "the offense is a felony of the second degree," and the sentence then can range from two to 20 years in prison.

As the sentencing phase kicked off, the prosecution and defense waived opening statements, the prosecution rested, and the defense called Kayla Hayes — Anthony's mother — to the witness stand, the station said.

"He's my oldest; he's my firstborn," Hayes said, according to the station. "He will always be my baby. I love him very much."

KTVT said the defense asked Hayes, "Does your son regret what he did?" and she replied, "Yes, he's very sorry for what he did." With that, the punishment phase of the trial ended after just one witness, the station said.

However, Prosecutor Bill Wirskye blasted the defense's introduction of sudden passion, saying it doesn't apply, KTVT reported.

Wirskye said sudden passion is "directly caused by and arising out of provocation by the individual killed," which he said did not happen in this case, the station said. Wirskye also argued that "adequate cause" — in other words, a cause that typically would produce anger, rage, or resentment — also doesn't apply, KTVT reported.

"This murder, this murderer — sudden passion does not apply. ... Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent," he said, according to the station.

"Life sentences have already been handed down in this case," Wirskye also noted, referring to the impact on the Metcalf family, KTVT reported. "Only a lengthy, lengthy prison sentence is appropriate here. ... Your duty is clear. I beg you to do your duty this afternoon. ... What you do here sends a message."

The jury was then excused to deliberate Anthony's sentence, the station said.

KTVT added that the jury was given instructions regarding the issue of sudden passion, and if the jury unanimously finds Anthony caused Metcalf's death "under the immediate influence" of sudden passion, Anthony may be sentenced for no more than 20 years and no less than two years behind bars.

However, if the jury unanimously finds that sudden passion was not a factor, Anthony may be sentenced to life in prison — or no more than 99 years or no less than 5 years behind bars, the station said.

KTVT added that Anthony's sentence also may be reduced by parole — but he's not eligible for parole until his time served equals half of the sentence imposed or 30 years, whichever is less. Also, the sentencing verdict must be unanimous, the station said.

Original story below

Jurors took just short of three hours Tuesday to return a guilty verdict in the murder trial of Karmelo Anthony.

Jurors began deliberations at 10:54 a.m., KTVT-TV reported, and officials announced at 1:45 p.m. that a verdict had been reached.

'You don't get to kill someone just because they are bigger than you.'

The station reported that Anthony visibly broke down in the courtroom when the guilty verdict was read, and he is now in custody. KTVT added that Anthony's parents left the courtroom after the verdict was read.

Prior to the start of deliberations, jurors were instructed that they could consider a lesser charge of manslaughter, the station said.

Anthony was 17 when authorities charged him with murdering high school star athlete and fellow 17-year-old Austin Metcalf in a stabbing at a Frisco, Texas, track meet in April 2025.

The murder charge is a first-degree felony, the station said. Anthony faces a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison. KTVT said the same jury is determining what sentence Anthony will face.

According to Texas law, murder means a defendant "intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual," KTVT said — but manslaughter means the defendant "recklessly causes the death of an individual."

A conviction for manslaughter — a second-degree felony — would have meant a sentence of two to 20 years in prison, the station said.

Criminologist Alex del Carmen told KTVT in a separate story that he believed Anthony's case meets the threshold of manslaughter: "He didn't get up with the intent to kill someone, but he knew the risks taking that knife to campus and pulling it out. Self-defense or not, rational choices needed to be made."

Anthony's defense objected to jury instructions saying the jurors could find Anthony's self-defense argument not viable if they believe the defendant provoked the attack, the station said.

However, the prosecutor argued that a rational jury could find Anthony provoked the altercation, KTVT said, and therefore the instruction should remain. The judge agreed with the prosecutor, overruling the defense's objection, the station said.

RELATED: Karmelo Anthony murder trial: Jurors begin deliberations — and can consider lesser charge of manslaughter

The prosecutor waived the right to begin closing arguments Tuesday morning, so lead defense attorney Mike Howard was the first to address the jury, KTVT said.

Howard focused on his client's self-defense argument, saying, "Austin Metcalf had no legal right to use force to eject Karmelo Anthony from that tent," the station reported.

Howard added that "he had no legal right to put his hands on Karmelo" and that "Karmelo is in a public place," KTVT noted.

Howard also asked the members of the jury to put themselves in Anthony's shoes, noting that it was raining, the station said: "You want to get out of the rain. ... Sure enough, one of the people at Memorial says, 'Yeah, come on over.'"

KTVT said the defense attorney added that "Hunter Metcalf, or Austin, say, 'Who are you? You need to leave.' ... These guys are much bigger than you. Do you turn your back and walk away and take a chance with these teenage boys with their raging hormones?"

"Austin and Hunter had the right to tell Melo to leave, but they did not have the right to use deadly force to make him leave," Howard told the jury, according to the station. "Melo had an absolute right to [defend] himself against that."

Howard also asked the jury, "How do you know in a split second of chaos when it's too late? ... Because if you wait too late to defend yourself, self-defense is meaningless," KTVT reported.

Anthony did not take the stand in his defense.

Following the defense's closing argument, prosecutor Bill Wirskye began speaking to the jury and rebutting Anthony's self-defense claim, the station said.

"This is one of those rare cases where every important fact can be boiled down to one sentence: You do not get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoke the shove," Wirskye said, according to KTVT.

"Why didn't [Anthony] just not walk away?" Wirskye asked jurors, according to the station. "You see [he] had a choice to walk away and abandon the encounter."

The prosecutor added that "you can meet deadly force with deadly force in Texas, but you can't meet force — a shove — with deadly force — a stab. Size differential, it doesn't work in this case; you don't get to kill someone just because they are bigger than you," KTVT reported.

Wirskye also told the jury that "self-defense has to be a reasonable belief — a reasonable belief means a belief that would [be] held by an ordinary and prudent person in the same situation as the defendant," the station said.

"It has to be immediately necessary. Where was the immediate necessity to plunge a knife into an unarmed young man?" Wirskye asked the jury, according to KTVT. "It's not self-defense, folks — it's murder. Murder, plain and simple."

Notably, all prospective black jurors were dismissed during jury selection last week — and one reportedly said he'd have a "hard time putting a brother in jail." Anthony is black; Metcalf was white. They attended different high schools and didn't know each other.

Racial tensions have surrounded the case from the start. Shortly after Metcalf's death, Anthony supporters went viral on social media, with one declaring that "Austin Metcalf got exactly what he deserved — point blank, period."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new information regarding the sentencing phase of Anthony's murder trial.

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