Karmelo Anthony's family has launched a new fundraiser seeking $250,000 to cover the cost of appealing his murder conviction, weeks after a judge rejected his bid for a new trial. Anthony, 19, was sentenced to 35 years in June for killing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco, Texas, high school track meet, and says he cannot afford legal representation for the appeal. The new campaign has drawn scrutiny given that an earlier fundraiser for the family collected nearly $634,000, with questions still unanswered about how that money was used.

At a Dallas news conference, attorney Russell Wilson said the fresh funds would pay for legal fees, court transcripts, investigators and experts, with donations held in an attorney trust account rather than going directly to the family; the page had raised just over $30,000 towards its $250,000 goal at time of writing. The earlier GiveSendGo campaign, launched by Anthony's mother in April 2025, had an initial goal of nearly $1.4 million and was taken down after his conviction; GiveSendGo said funds were used lawfully for legal defence and relocation. Family spokesman Dominique Alexander dismissed claims that money had been spent on a car or house as "deliberate lies" but declined to detail the family's fees or confirm whether any funds remained, while the appeal process itself is expected to take more than a year.