Key Takeaways
- Karmelo Anthony’s parents gave their first interview since his guilty verdict and 35-year prison sentence, describing the aftermath as a “nightmare.”
- Andrew Anthony questioned the legal advice that led them to hire a white attorney and suggested there was a “smear campaign" against Karmelo.
- The couple said threats and online harassment forced them to pull their other children out of school during the trial.
Karmelo Anthony’s parents are breaking their silence. On Thursday (June 11), in one of their first interviews since the 19-year-old was sentenced to 35 years in prison, Andrew Anthony and Kala Hayes spoke with “The Breakfast Club” host Mimi Brown about their thoughts after the weeklong trial.
“Right now, we’re in a nightmare. It doesn’t feel real. We’ve been up all night, crying, praying, waiting for family to come in,” Andrew said at the start of the conversation, adding that they were at a “loss for words.” Among the many topics discussed, the parents opened up about how they learned Karmelo fatally stabbed Austin Metcalf, the death threats they received days later, and how their other children have been affected.
Ahead, REVOLT broke down a few key moments from their “The Breakfast Club” interview. Watch the full conversation below, then continue scrolling for highlights.
Karmelo Anthony’s father opens up about choosing his defense team
Around the 12-minute mark, Andrew spoke about how many of the people he consulted, including Black attorneys, encouraged him to hire a white lawyer to represent Karmelo. “They’re like, ‘Oh, you need a white attorney to go out there to fight out there,’” he recalled before asking his wife, “Remember they was telling us that? They kept telling us that.”
It’s a decision Andrew now seemingly regrets. When Brown asked what they would have done differently, he pointed back to the legal advice they received. “I was told, ‘Don’t talk to this person. Don’t talk to this person.’ I feel like it was just a setup. Like I said, they told us, ‘Go get white attorneys,’” he explained.
Andrew Anthony says Karmelo Anthony was targeted by a “smear campaign”
Moments later, Andrew shed light on what he believed was a “smear campaign” against Karmelo. “He was never in trouble, and no, he was never suspended for no knife. Actually, what I learned is they had a smear campaign that they did,” he said, referring to erroneous reports that the former Centennial High School student was suspended prior to the incident.
The father later spoke about reaching out to several people for help, only to hit roadblocks. He stressed, “It’s kind of a circle thing, which I understand, but I realized through this [that] a Black network is going to have to be done."
Karmelo Anthony’s parents were forced to pull their other children out of school
Regarding how the incident — and later the trial — affected the couple’s other children, Andrew said they ultimately ended up taking them out of school. “They had TikTok videos with my son with semen coming out of his mouth,” he told Brown, adding that some people were saying that Karmelo was going to be sexually assaulted in jail. The father continued, “That was my daughter, my princess. She had to go through that.”
As the legal process moves forward, Andrew and Hayes said they are continuing to process the outcome of the trial and its impact on their family. Their interview detailed how they are responding to the guilty verdict and 35-year prison sentence while defending their son publicly.