The father of the slain high school student whose attacker was just convicted of murder by a jury of his peers and sentenced to 35 years in prison spoke about how his faith has been the only thing keeping him going after losing his son in the horrific April 2025 fatal assault.
For context, Jeff Metcalf’s 17-year-old son Austin was stabbed in the heart by Karmelo Anthony on April 2nd, 2025 at a Texas high school track meet. The case hinged on whether the prosecution could get a murder charge versus the defense’s claim that the deadly interaction was based on self-defense. The jury deliberated for just a few hours before returning a guilty verdict.
In the wake of the killing, the father of the slain boy spoke out seeking unity and to not make the issue about race. Nevertheless, as he spoke out and asked for calm, the Anthony family branded the deadly tent encounter as one rooted in racism and fundraised heavily on their violent teen’s attack. In the wake of a gag order being lifted upon the conclusion of the trial, Jeff Metcalf let loose on the family and made it clear where he stood in a three-hour podcast.
As part of the unfiltered speaking, he spent a lot of time sharing how his Christian faith kept him going even after having to bury his own son. “I’m a piece of clay that God is molding into whatever I’m supposed to be molded into, because I have no idea. I trust Him, I’ll follow it, and we’ll see where it takes me, but at the end of the day, man, the man upstairs, he already knows where I’m going. I wish he’d give me a little bit more signs sometimes of where I am going, because sometimes I feel lost, but that’s when I lean into him even more, because he will guide my path,” he said at one point.
“Without God, I wouldn’t be sitting here today. Without God, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive. A lot of people asked me this question, How could you forgive so fast? I said, because that’s what God has taught me. I lost my son, so did God. So, me and him are standing toe to toe. You know how I feel. I know how you feel. It’s not a good feeling, but he, he talked to me. He knows my, my, my faith is strong, and that is the only reason I was able to survive since April 2nd,” he continued.
“I’m a vessel. God will work through me. God works in mysterious ways. God puts people in your life for a reason, for a season, for a day, for a month, for a year, maybe forever. Be thankful, be humble, appreciate the small things. Those are the things that really matter doesn’t matter how big your house is,” he went on.
“Would you rather spend time with your kids, maybe like take them hunting or fishing, rather than have them, or would you put them in front of the TV and give them an Xbox and say, here, take care of yourself for the next three hours. One of the things about being a dad for me was the biggest blessing in my life,” he added.
“At age 40, I thought God was not going to produce me any children, so I was okay. I had to make peace with that, and then the next thing I know, boom, we’re having twins. I’ll never forget that day, sitting there looking at the sonogram, and the doctor said, “Oh, there’s two. I went to what is he like? Is it okay? He’s like, “No, you’re having two, you’re having twins, and I was like, “Wow, okay,” he said.
“And the world stopped, and then it starts spinning, and I’m sitting in the chair, and all I can think of is two cars, two colleges, two everything, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to budget for this, because it’s not like I can return one. So people ask, how’d you do it? I said, I don’t know. They didn’t come with instructions,” he then said.
“You never know how strong you are until you have to be. I would, I would not believe that I am this strong if you’re going to tell me that I could survive the death of my son. No, I was afraid I couldn’t, by the grace of God and His help, I’m going to get through,” he finished in the clip. Watch Jeff Metcalf below:
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video