Austin Metcalf's father is speaking out for the first time after a judge denied denied his son's murderer -- Karmelo Anthony -- a request for a new trial for the fatal stabbing at a Texas high school track meet.
In an interview with ABC News, Jeff Metcalf said he does not believe the conviction and prison sentence can bring his family justice.
"No. There's no such thing. I got handed a life sentence," Metcalf said when asked whether he felt he received justice.
"So did Meghan, Hunter. So did everybody else in my family and her family," he continued, referring to Austin's mother, Meghan Metcalf and twin brother, Hunter Metcalf. "We don't ever get to see Austin again. We don't get to talk to him, hug him."
In a wide-ranging interview, Metcalf detailed the complicated emotions he's experienced while grieving for his child. He said he forgave Anthony, but he also wanted no other parent to have to experience similar pain. He said he wouldn't apologize for the use of racially charged language in the aftermath of the trial, but acknowledged that using such language hadn't been "my finest moment."
And he blamed the "other side" for bringing race into the conversation about the case, which gripped the country -- Metcalf was white and Anthony is Black.
While the teen responsible for his son's death fights for a new trial, Metcalf said his family is now facing countless milestones and holidays without Austin.
"There's an empty seat at Christmas, Thanksgiving. Unwrapped packages. Graduations, missed. Birthdays. Being an aunt or an uncle. All taken away," he said.
Anthony, now 19, was convicted of murder in June and sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing Austin during an altercation at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, in April 2025. Anthony's attorneys argued at trial that he acted in self-defense, while prosecutors called the killing "unjustified" and "plain and simple murder."
During the trial in Collin County, the jury was shown body camera footage that included Anthony's voice saying, "I did it." So it was "really never about guilt or innocence," Metcalf told ABC News. "It was about how long you’re going to do."
Metcalf said that despite the pain his family has endured, he feels some sympathy for Anthony over the consequences he now faces.
"He still gets to see his family. It's a tragedy he has to be in prison. I feel sorry for him," Metcalf said. "Just through the fact that his life is pretty much ruined."
But, Metcalf added, "I don't feel sorry for what he did, though. He needs to be held accountable."
Metcalf's comments come after retired Kaufman County District Judge Michael Chitty denied Anthony's motion for a new trial on Saturday.
Anthony's new attorneys had claimed he was "coerced" into waiving his right to testify amid a dispute over a previously undisclosed agreement between the prosecution and Anthony's trial attorneys to limit certain character evidence about both Anthony and the victim. The defense also alleged that courtroom restrictions imposed by Collin County Judge John Roach, who presided over the murder trial, denied Anthony a fair trial.
Judge Chitty was assigned to oversee the case after Roach was removed from further proceedings following the defense's challenge to his impartiality.
Following the denial of the motion for a new trial, Anthony's appellate attorney, Russell Wilson II, said in a statement that the legal team will continue an appeal in the Fifth Court of Appeals and "pursue every legal remedy available to our client."
Metcalf told ABC News that he is aware of the fact that some members of the public believe Anthony did not receive a fair trial. He criticized them, saying they failed to think for themselves.
"Sure, there are people in this world that will believe whatever they're told," he said. "They follow. They're sheep."
He also described the moment when he realized the case would include a racial element, saying he blamed the "other side" for bringing that element into it. He said it was at a press conference held by Karmelo’s family and their spokesperson shortly after the murder. Metcalf attended that press conference, but was asked to leave.
"I think that day is when race was really entered into it because at that -- til that point, I never looked at it as a black and white thing," Metcalf said. "It was a right and wrong thing. That's all. Whoever did it, my first question was, one, 'Where's his parents? How was he raised? Why did this happen?' Not, 'Oh, he's black. He must be guilty.' It never even crossed my mind, it doesn't matter, I don't see color."
Wilson, Anthony’s lead attorney, told ABC News in a statement that the "legal defense is not intended to diminish Austin Metcalf's life or his family’s grief. Legitimate questions about racial fairness, equal treatment, public access, judicial impartiality, and the constitutional process cannot be dismissed as merely 'bringing race into the case.'"
After the verdict, Metcalf appeared on a podcast where he used racially charged language and disparaged Anthony’s family. He told ABC News that he wasn’t "backing away from it," but urged listeners to revisit the podcast to hear the "10 seconds before the clip and you get the context."
"I'm not going to apologize for anything," he said. "But was it my finest moment? No."
He said he had forgiven Anthony "the first day it happened," adding that by not doing so he would have been "eaten up."
"So, for my mental health, for my wellbeing, and for my spiritual health, I knew what I needed to do," he said.
Still, Metcalf said, he could not envision a moment where he would be able to sit with Anthony’s parents and talk about all that had occurred. He said he didn’t think they "would be up for that."
"I would have thought they would have reached out to me. They would have offered some sort of condolence, some sort remorse, some sort accountability. But that's not the way things played out," Metcalf said. "We obviously are different people, and we choose to parent differently. My son is at a cemetery, and their son is in a prison cell. I don't know what we would have to talk about, to be honest."
Last month, he launched the Austin Metcalf Foundation alongside community organizer Dr. Bruce Carter. Carter described the foundation’s goal as conflict prevention, demonstrating to people that they have "the ability to walk away" from disputes.
"But you have to teach people that before they're in that moment," he said.
Metcalf said he wants "to make sure no other parent has to feel this way." He wants the world to remember his son as a person who "touched so many different hearts in such a short time."
"That boy taught me stuff. I taught him, too. I was his dad," Metcalf said. "He taught a lot of people a lot of things. He was a good kid."
