"People want us dead." Karmelo Anthony's family and Austin Metcalf's family talk about continued threats after trial

The murder trial of Karmelo Anthony may be over, but the pain and grief for both his family and the family of the victim, Austin Metcalf, endures. Both families opened up to CBS News Texas on Wednesday, not only about the verdict but also about the continued death threats from the public following the national attention the case has garnered.

On Tuesday, Karmelo Anthony was found guilty by a Collin County jury in the 2025 fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, and his family has filed an appeal.

Threats to safety 

Many across the nation, and those outside the courthouse after the verdict and sentence were revealed, had mixed emotions. Emotions that have spilled over into the lives of both the Anthony and Metcalf families.

Both families received death threats, doxing, and multiple swatting calls to their homes before the trial, and the threats haven't stopped.

When CBS News Texas spoke to Austin Metcalf's father in April 2025, he shared that Frisco police officers had been sent to his home and Austin's mother's home because of prank 911 calls. He was worried that someone would be killed.

Images and video showed SWAT officers with guns drawn responding to a 911 call that no one inside had made. 

The same was true for Karmelo Anthony's family in 2025. During a press conference with the family, Minister Dominique Alexander, president of NGAN, said the Anthony's had heard false information, misinformation and experienced hateful attacks.

"The Anthony family has been subject to an unimaginable amount of hate, racism and threats to their safety," Alexander said.

"Look in the mirror"

In an exclusive interview on Wednesday, Austin Metcalf's father said he's still receiving threats from people trying to villainize his family.

"Yesterday, had a death threat. This morning, had multiple emails, texts threatening me, calling me all sorts of names," Jeff Metcalf said. "I guess these people have no life, and I get to live rent-free in their head."

He said now he tries to brush it off as he continues his journey of healing.

"… If you have children and if it was your child who was murdered, would you like people dragging his name through the mud, making memes, making jokes, and just really vile comments? ...This is day one of a long healing process. Because honestly, it's been impossible to start healing until this trial was complete," Jeff Metcalf said.

"You can't hurt me," he said. "Good will always overcome evil. I believe that." 

"They want our family dead"

In an interview, Karmelo Anthony's mother and father opened up about the continued threats of violence that they've received since their son was sent to prison.

"People want us dead," Andrew Anthony, Karmelo's father, said. "After they still got what they wanted... they still want us dead. I go look at my phone, people want us dead. They want our family dead." 

The Anthony family believes their son's trial was unfair from the start and says the court of public opinion had made up its mind about Karmelo Anthony long before this trial began. They filed for an appeal.