Karmelo Anthony’s GiveSendGo fund shutdown after receiving more than $630K, including thousands after his sentencing

The 19-year-old’s GiveSendGo account became a topic of interest leading up to his trial; website founderJacob Wells said that no money hae been withdrawn.

The ongoing fallout from Karmelo Anthony receiving a 35-year sentence after being convicted for the murder of Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Texas last April has added a new wrinkle: community support.

Anthony’s GiveSendGo account saw a massive number of donations since it was established last year in the aftermath of his arrest and indictment. Donations reached nearly $630,000 at the time of Tuesday’s verdict, in which a Collin County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Metcalf. Following the verdict and subsequent sentencing, the fund saw an overnight increase of more than $4,000 and continued to grow until the company behind the fund closed it.

“Our hearts are with Austin’s family, his twin brother and everyone grieving a loss that no verdict can undo,” the statement began. “This fundraiser was created to support pre-trial needs, and those funds were disbursed over the past year for lawful purposes, including legal defense and family relocation. With that stated purpose now complete, the fundraiser has been closed. Our policy is that a fundraiser’s stated purpose stays accurate, so givers always know what they are supporting.”

Initially held on a $1 million bond following his arrest for the April 2025 killing, Anthony’s parents helped raise the money for him through community donations. The teen was released on a $250,000 bond after it was lowered, and he was remanded to house arrest ahead of trial.

While online speculation suggested that some of the funds had been used to help Anthony secure the bond, GiveSendGo founder Jacob Wells told TMZ that no money had been taken out of the account. At the time of it swelling beyond six figures, Kayla Hayes, Anthony’s mother, stated the family did not use the money to purchase a house.

“There are scenarios where people die where the outcome isn’t guilt,” Wells told TMZ. “Just because Karmelo has admitted to killing someone doesn’t mean that he’s a murderer. It means that he killed somebody. He, like everyone in the United States, deserves the same presumption of innocence that everyone else does. That same due process that has existed for everyone.” 

Anthony was convicted and sentenced on Tuesday after less than eight hours of combined deliberation between his initial trial and sentencing. During the sentencing phase of his trial, Hayes asked jurors for “mercy” for her son.

She was the defense’s lone witness.

Following the verdict, celebs weighed in on Anthony’s trial and verdict with Cardi B slamming the 35-year sentence as “disgusting.”

“This is not justice,” she tweeted Tuesday night. “This is trying to make an example!!”

The 19-year-old is currently being held at the Collin County Jail in a more secure area of the facility, according to TMZ, separate from other inmates.