Karmelo Anthony's Family Faces Questions About $634K Fundraiser While Raising More Money for Appeal

The family of 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony is trying to raise $250,000 to fund his appeal after he stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf to death during a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas.

A jury convicted Anthony for murder in June, but he has since appealed and claimed he cannot afford an attorney, Fox News reported Sunday.

The outlet noted that as the family is seeking more money, there have been questions about what happened to the nearly $634,000 they already raised.

During a recent news conference in Dallas where the family and attorneys spoke about the new fundraiser, an NBC 5 reporter asked about the money raised before Anthony’s trial, the outlet reported Wednesday.

“Dominique Alexander, president of NGAN, objected to questions about the spending. ‘I can’t speak to, hold on, I can speak to that. We’re not gonna comment on that. We don’t know, like, for instance, I can not speak on all of the information regarding all of those different fees,’ Alexander said,” the outlet continued, noting Alexander said the family would not address questions on the matter.

After his conviction, Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison, Breitbart News reported. Days later, he said he was broke and could not afford to hire a lawyer for his appeal even though at that time his family had raised $625,000 via crowdfunding.

The Breitbart News article continued:

The convict’s claim of “destitution,” though, is hard to square with the hundreds of thousands his family raised in his name ahead of his trial.

The fundraiser on GiveSendGo stated that the donations would go for Anthony’s legal fees. But it also claimed a portion would be used for the family’s living and security expenses.

The fundraising page was closed out after Anthony was convicted. More than $629,724 had been raised.

In August, previously unreleased details surfaced regarding evidence and testimony heard during his trial, with one point reportedly being his girlfriend said they were going through a breakup, he was stalking her, and he texted her saying “I’m low-key on the verge.”

“Collin County prosecutor Bill Wirskye also found that Anthony told people that he had a fascination with the idea of stabbing someone to death and licking the victim’s blood off the blade,” the article read.

A judge later denied Anthony’s request for a retrial.