New details about both Karmelo Anthony and Austin Metcalf are emerging in a Texas courtroom as Anthony’s legal team seeks a new trial following his murder conviction in the fatal stabbing of Metcalf at a high school track meet.

The information came to light Thursday during a hearing in Collin County over whether Anthony should receive a new trial. According to CBS News Texas, much of the newly discussed information was not presented to the jury that convicted Anthony in June.

Anthony, 19, was sentenced to 35 years in prison after being found guilty of fatally stabbing Metcalf, 17, during an April 2025 track meet in Frisco, Texas. Anthony maintained that he acted in self-defense.

At the center of the new hearing is a previously undisclosed agreement between prosecutors and Anthony’s original defense team to keep character evidence about both teenagers out of the trial. The arrangement was intended, in part, to prevent the racially charged case from becoming even more inflammatory.

That decision is now being scrutinized Anthony’s new attorneys, who argue that the agreement prevented the jury from hearing information that could have affected the outcome.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, have presented evidence concerning Anthony’s alleged behavior before the stabbing, including disturbing messages he reportedly sent to an ex-girlfriend. CBS News Texas reported that the messages included references to violence and a photograph of a knife. His former girlfriend had also reported concerns about his behavior.

Information about Metcalf’s past has also emerged. Court records presented at the hearing include allegations that Metcalf and his twin brother, Hunter, had previously spray-painted racist and antisemitic graffiti, including references to the KKK and Hitler, and were placed on juvenile probation. Records also include allegations that Metcalf used racial slurs at school and bullied a Black student. His disciplinary history included other incidents involving aggression and profanity, including an alleged physical altercation with a female student.

That information was among the material excluded from the original trial as part of the agreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys. The agreement was designed to keep the focus on the events surrounding the stabbing rather than the teenagers’ respective backgrounds.

The revelations are particularly significant because race has remained an unavoidable element of the case. Anthony is Black, while Metcalf was white, and the killing generated intense national attention and online debate.

Anthony’s legal team is also challenging other aspects of the original proceedings, including courtroom restrictions and jury-related issues. The judge who presided over Anthony’s trial, John Roach Jr., was removed from the case after defense attorneys questioned his impartiality, including comments he made publicly about the verdict. Retired Judge Michael Chitty is now overseeing the retrial request.

The prosecution maintains that Anthony was the aggressor and that the original trial was fair. Prosecutors have argued that the decisions to exclude character evidence were agreed upon the attorneys representing Anthony at the time.

The hearing is now focused on whether the combination of those evidentiary decisions and alleged procedural problems was significant enough to warrant another trial.

A ruling on Anthony’s request could determine whether his 35-year sentence remains intact or whether the case returns to trial.