No, family of 17-year-old stabbing suspect Karmelo Anthony did not buy house, car with donated funds

In mid-April 2025, social media users spread a rumor that the family of Karmelo Anthony, a Texas 17-year-old accused in the fatal stabbing of another teenager, purchased a house and a new car using crowdfunded donations sent to support them during the legal case. 

The claim spread on X and Facebook; one X post tying the donations to a "$900k home" and "brand new car" received nearly 60,000 likes and was reposted by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who received 38,000 more likes. 

Snopes readers also searched the website for information on Anthony supposedly purchasing a new house or car; some specifically asked whether Anthony bought a Cadillac Escalade. 

Anthony's family has a legitimate donation page on Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, which has raised nearly $500,000 as of this writing — but they have not withdrawn any money from this fundraiser, a fact stated by the family and confirmed via an email to Snopes by GiveSendGo co-founder Jacob Wells. Furthermore, allegations that the family bought a new home or car are not supported by credible evidence. Thus, we rate this claim false. 

Witness statements allege Anthony stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf once in the chest with a knife during a verbal dispute at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. Anthony supposedly confessed to the slaying, asked whether Metcalf would be OK and claimed he harmed Metcalf in self-defense, according to his arrest-warrant affidavit. 

Metcalf's father opened a GoFundMe fundraising page for his family.

No money withdrawn yet 

In an April 17 news conference hosted by social justice group Next Generation Action Network, Kala Hayes, Anthony's mother, said in an emotional statement that the claims her family used the donations for personal enrichment were "completely false" (emphasis ours): 

And let me be clear, the claims, the claims that were used about the public donation, to buy a home or anything else are completely false. We have not received a single dime from the GiveSendGo fundraiser. And the co-founder has stated that clearly. In reality, we were just notified yesterday that we could begin to withdraw funds, and it still takes several days to receive those funds once the request is made. 

A full video is available on Next Generation Action Network's Facebook page; the quote above begins at 37:20. 

Indeed, as first reported by TMZ on April 16, GiveSendGo's co-founder and chief financial officer, Jacob Wells, confirmed that Anthony's family has not withdrawn any money from the donation page yet. Snopes independently confirmed this via an April 17 email from Wells, which said: "The Anthony family has not yet received any funds from their campaigns." 

There are some reports that Anthony's family also had fundraisers on GoFundMe — and it appears at least one GoFundMe for Anthony, which appeared to have been taken down, shows up in a Google search — but as of this writing, a search for Anthony's name on GoFundMe showed no fundraisers for him. However, in a statement sent via email, the company made it clear that Anthony's family would not have been able to withdraw any of these funds before the fundraiser came down. 

"GoFundMe's Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes. Consistent with this long-standing policy, any fundraisers for the legal defense of someone charged with a violent crime are removed from the platform and fully refunded," the company said. (GiveSendGo's policy says it does not allow campaigns benefiting "groups that support violence" — which, in practice, is debatable — but Wells told TMZ the organization allows fundraisers for those accused of violent crimes because suspects still deserve due process and presumption of innocence.) 

While funds may not have been withdrawn as of this writing, the Anthony family did explicitly note on their GiveSendGo page that the money will not be used solely for his legal defense (emphasis ours):

While legal defense is a critical part of this journey, we want to make it clear that this fund is not solely dedicated to legal expenses. The funds raised will also support a range of urgent and necessary needs that have emerged as a result of this situation, including — but not limited to — the safe relocation of the Anthony family due to escalating threats to their safety and well-being, as well as basic living costs, transportation, counseling, and other security measures.

Hayes said in the news conference that her family has been the victim of "lies and misinformation" that have put her, her husband and her three younger children in danger. As Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white, the case has attracted attention from white nationalists like Nick Fuentes who "have exploited the incident to spread hateful, extremist narratives about 'Black-on-white' violence," according to the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit founded to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination. The ADL also said the case sparked demonstrations from white supremacist groups such as White Lives Matter and Patriot Front. 

The victim's father, Jeff Metcalf, asked the public not to speculate, politicize the case or "turn this into a racial thing" during an April 3 appearance on Fox News (see this video at 1:15). 

Claims about family buying a new house, car are not credible

Allegations made about the family buying a new house and car appeared to originate with an April 16 Daily Mail story that claimed Anthony's family received a "parade of deliveries" while "holed up in an exclusive gated community in a $900,000 house — despite claiming to have limited financial means." 

The story does not explicitly say Anthony used the donation funds to buy the home, but said an unidentified neighbor "questioned why the Anthonys would be asking for public donations while maintaining the lifestyle everyone in that community has." The Daily Mail also said Anthony's family is renting the home, which appears to be where the claim that Anthony's family "purchased" the home comes from. 

An address listed for Anthony in court records reviewed by Snopes was in a neighborhood mentioned in the Daily Mail's reporting, and real estate listing websites estimated its value as being above $850,000. (Snopes is not publishing the address because of the family's safety concerns.)

It was not possible to verify that a reporter for the Daily Mail, a British tabloid criticized for printing unreliable stories, visited the family's home and was able to legitimately report that Amazon packages, a new car and other supposed lavish purchases had arrived there. The tabloid also did not disclose the names of any of the neighbors it spoke to. 

The Daily Mail's reporter on the story, MaryAnn Martinez, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for more information about how she reported this story. 

Attorney requested bond be lowered

Reputable news outlets like CBS News reported that Anthony's defense attorney requested his client's bail be lowered from $1 million to $150,000 during an April 14 court hearing due to his lack of prior criminal history. 

Anthony's father also reportedly testified that he could not afford a $1 million bond and that he could not access the GiveSendGo money; defense attorneys said the family needs those funds to get by because Anthony's father is on leave from work. In response, the judge lowered Anthony's bail to $250,000 and required him to wear an ankle monitor and stay at his parents' house should the family be able to post bond. Court records show Anthony posted bond April 14. 

We reached out to Anthony's defense attorney for more information and will update this story if we receive a response.