A new $250,000 crowdfunding campaign has launched to fund Karmelo Anthony’s murder conviction appeal.
Anthony, 19, was convicted in June 2026 of murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, who was stabbed during a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas, on April 2, 2025. A Collin County jury sentenced him to 35 years in prison. A judge recently denied his request for a new trial. The family announced the new campaign at a news conference held at a church in southeast Dallas.
The new GiveSendGo page, titled the Karmelo Anthony Official Legal Appeal Fund, was created by Trinicia Ricks. Donations flow directly into an attorney trust account managed by lead attorney Russell Wilson. As originally reported, the campaign had raised roughly $33,000 toward its $250,000 goal at the time of publication.
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Organizers say Anthony’s family will have no access to the funds. The campaign explicitly states the money is reserved for legal expenses only, including attorney briefs, court filings, transcripts, investigators, and expert witnesses.
After his conviction, Anthony filed a notice of appeal and requested court-appointed counsel. In his court papers, he described himself as a “penniless, destitute, and indigent person, too poor to employ counsel to represent me on the appeal.” A second attorney has since joined the appellate team. The trial record is expected to be compiled in October, with written arguments and a potential hearing to follow at the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas.
This latest push comes after an earlier campaign raised and spent a substantial sum. Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, launched a GiveSendGo page titled “Help Karmelo Official Fund” on April 15, 2025, less than two weeks after Metcalf’s death. That campaign set a goal of nearly $1.4 million and collected $633,908 before GiveSendGo removed it from public view following the conviction.
That earlier fund was not limited to legal costs. Organizers stated donations would also cover the safe relocation of the Anthony family due to escalating safety threats, along with basic living expenses, transportation, counseling, and security measures.
GiveSendGo later confirmed the campaign had been created to address pre-trial needs and that the money was distributed over the following year for lawful purposes, including legal defense and family relocation. The platform closed the page once those purposes were fulfilled. Anthony’s attorneys have said initial defense costs alone exceeded $300,000.
With the appeal now moving forward and earlier funds exhausted, the family is back asking the public for support. Whether donors respond at the same level remains to be seen.
