Two young men in Frisco should be planning for promising futures in college and beyond. But they are not. One was killed, and the other is charged with killing him.
The stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and the arrest of Karmelo Anthony for his murder instantly heaped tragedy on top of tragedy. Austin’s funeral was April 11. His family surely cannot believe they face a future without him. Karmelo’s family has not lost a son from this life, but they may well lose him to a life in prison if he is convicted with the maximum sentence. These are not equivalent losses, but they underscore the ripples of pain that have flowed in all directions from the April 2 stabbing.
As will happen in today’s social media cesspools, tribes driven by political and racial animus sought their share of clicks. Anthony was instantly portrayed as a gangbanger with a premeditated urge to kill, while Austin was smeared as a racist bully, complete with a fake online account featuring an ugly taunt. Throw in a counterfeit post purportedly from the Frisco police chief and a phony autopsy report assigning drugs as a cause of Metcalf’s death, and the full creative depths of internet treachery were promptly and predictably displayed…