Track meet stabbing trial underway; Coast Guard renews search for Lynette Hooker - TCN Sidebar

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
You have one new message.
Translating. Disney and Pixar's Hoppers is now available on Disney Plus.

**Joshua Ritter** (0:09)
You could say that again.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:10)
Critics are calling it Pixar's funniest movie ever and a wildly entertaining ride. Blizzard Potato is certified fresh and verified hot.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:19)
Now we party.

**Joshua Ritter** (0:20)
Whoo!

**SPEAKER_5** (0:21)
This is incredible!

**Joshua Ritter** (0:23)
Wow, I am clear in the rest of the day.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:25)
Disney and Pixar's Hoppers is now available on Disney Plus.

**SPEAKER_6** (0:30)
You survived the Miami weekend, nailed the speech and maxed out your credit card in the name of friendship. Now you've got one hangover, four pastel dresses, and zero reasons to wear them again. Sell them on Depop. Just snap a few photos and we'll take care of the rest, and you at least get some of your dignity, money back.
Someone on Depop wants what you've got. Start selling now.
Depop. Where taste recognizes taste.

**Joshua Ritter** (1:11)
Hello, and welcome to The Sidebar, presented by True Crime News, taking you inside the courtrooms of high-profile and notorious cases from across the country. I'm your host, Joshua Ritter. I'm a criminal defense lawyer based in Los Angeles and previously an LA County prosecutor for over a decade. We are recording this on Thursday, June 4th, 2026 In this week's episode, the case dismissed against a woman accused of poisoning her husband with Drano, plus renewed searches, efforts, and the disappearance of Lynette Hooker as Coast Guard divers scour the Bahamas. But first, the contentious case of a fatal track meet stabbing that's riled everyone up. I'm flying solo today, so let's go ahead and jump right in. First, our case out of Frisco, Texas. An argument that began with a seating dispute and ended with a fatal stabbing will soon be underway as jurors were selected in the trial of Karmelo Anthony. Austin Metcalf, a 17-year-old high school student, bled to death in the arms of his twin brother after an incendiary exchange with Anthony. Metcalf reportedly tried to force Anthony out of his track team's tent before the exchange turned physical. When pushed, Anthony allegedly produced a knife from his backpack before piercing Metcalf's chest. The real question for jurors will be if Anthony acted in self-defense. Opening statements are set to begin today as we are recording this episode and we will continue to keep you updated.
The coverage on this case has been absolutely wild. You've had people doxing each other, threats, heat exchanges between both sides, and it has led the judge to take extraordinary efforts to try to keep peace and guarantee a fair trial for Anthony. The courtroom is limited in the amount of media that can attend. There are no cameras. There is strict rules for people who are in attendance watching the trial.
And I can understand a lot of that.
The judge obviously doesn't want to add to the already heightened tension that is surrounding this case. But at the same time, I always wonder in these situations, wouldn't it be better to have cameras inside the courtroom? Wouldn't it be better for there to be an objective eye on what is exactly taking place inside of the courtroom instead of having that filtered through journalists? Now listen, I understand that the journalists, I'm not trying to say they're not trying to do their best job and be as objective as possible, but they're going to have their own take on what takes place in court. They're going to have their own opinion on what was important and what was not. But if we allow cameras inside the courtroom, you would think that that would give us the best understanding for everyone to make up their own minds as to what's taking place inside that courtroom, especially in a case where you have to imagine no matter what the verdict, there's going to be one side that's very upset by all of this. Now, a part of me understands that maybe the judge is hoping without cameras, there will be less attention, but there's already attention on this case.
It seems to be a conflict that a lot of judges are dealing with in these high media profile cases where there's a lot of public interest on what to do with the cameras.
I just feel like continuing to stop or make efforts to stop this growing tide, this obvious momentum towards having cameras inside the courtroom, is probably causing more harm than it is doing good. The other thing you have to worry about is with this amount of extraordinary attention on this case. How will that affect the jurors?
I don't think that you can say it won't. I don't think that you can say it won't affect the attorneys or even the judge. Even without cameras inside of the courtroom, there's something that happens when there's a lot of attention on a case where nobody seems to behave like they would normally. The attorneys seem to turn it up a notch. The judge starts to make decisions that don't seem like what the judge would normally do in any other case that doesn't have as much attention. Even jurors, they realize the importance of what they're doing.