Truth about Karmelo Anthony's secret girlfriend: Mystifying messages and trove of unseen photos revealed

By JAMES REINL, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 15:31, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 15:31, 17 June 2026 She posted intimate photos of ice-skating dates, birthday celebrations and face-mask nights at home. She called him her 'sweet boy,' told him to 'hold your head high,' and vowed to keep fighting for him, screenshots show. Now the Daily Mail can confirm the identity of the young Texas woman who is standing by the convicted killer Karmelo Anthony. Valeria Perez, 19, has been described by friends as Anthony's high school sweetheart, though she kept a low profile during his murder trial. She appeared to defiantly speak out after a Texas jury this month sentenced Anthony to 35 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of fellow teenager Austin Metcalf.  Anthony, also 19, was convicted and sentenced on June 9 for the murder of Metcalf in April 2025. On June 10, Perez reportedly showed her support for her boyfriend, sharing photos that presented another side to the convicted killer.  She posted a video containing more than a dozen photographs of herself and Anthony together and called on him to stay strong, according to reports. Valeria Perez posted a series of photos of herself with boyfriend Karmelo Anthony after he was convicted  Perez urged followers to 'standwithkarmeloanthony' following his 35-year prison sentence  The photos show the couple embracing, ice skating, applying face masks together, and marking a 17th birthday. 'Hold your head high, my sweet boy,' the post read. 'You're not alone – we're fighting for you, always. I love you more than words.' She also used her social media presence to promote a newly-created Instagram page under the handle 'standwithkarmeloanthony.' The response was swift and brutal. The majority of social media users condemned her posts as tone-deaf and disrespectful, accusing her of publicly celebrating a convicted killer while the victim's family was still in the grip of grief. Angry comments and mockery flooded in. Her personal TikTok was locked down and the Instagram fan page was removed. Perez went silent. Bruce Johnson, 27, an organizer for the Collin County Democratic Party who knew both Anthony and Metcalf, said he understood why. 'This was kind of a scary situation for somebody as young as her,' Johnson told the Daily Mail. 'The situation around this case has been super tense.' Johnson said Perez and Anthony had been in an on-and-off relationship for around two years, though he said he was uncertain whether they remained a couple now that Anthony is incarcerated at the Wallace Pack Unit, some 70 miles northwest of Houston. The Daily Mail could not confirm which school Perez attended or where she lives. Johnson's connection to the case runs deep on both sides. Like Anthony, he had been a student at Frisco Centennial High School and, more recently, had taught the teenager there as a long-term substitute teacher. Meanwhile, Metcalf, a student at Frisco Memorial High School, was a close friend of Johnson's niece. 'Both of these boys – they were both babies – and Austin lost his life, but Karmelo lost a portion of his life too,' he told the Daily Mail. Jurors on June 9 found that Anthony stabbed Metcalf to death following an altercation at a high school athletics meet at Kuykendall Stadium in April 2025. Austin Metcalf called out Anthony for standing under the tent for athletes from an opposing school Valeria Perez and Karmelo Anthony have been described as 'high school sweethearts' In a screenshot that appears to come from her now-deleted account, Perez told the killer: 'Hold your head high' The teens, both 17 at the time, had never met before that day. Anthony entered a tent reserved for athletes from Metcalf's school and was asked to leave. A confrontation followed in which Metcalf pushed Anthony, who pulled a black pocketknife from his backpack and stabbed Metcalf once in the chest. Anthony was arrested at the stadium. He pled not guilty and did not take the stand at trial. His lawyers argued he had panicked after being shoved and acted in self-defense. Jurors took less than three hours to reject that argument, convicting him of murder – meaning they found he had knowingly caused Metcalf's death – rather than the lesser charge of manslaughter. The verdict lit a firestorm. In the parking lot outside the courthouse, law enforcement broke up physical altercations between opposing factions. Online, threats and racist abuse flooded in from multiple directions. Critics argued that Anthony, who is black, had been convicted by a jury from which sympathetic black jurors had been deliberately removed. They also attacked the judge's directions and the defense strategy. Johnson was blunt in his assessment of the trial. He pointed to the near-total exclusion of black jurors as the most damning sign that Anthony never had a fair shot. Three black educators were struck from the jury, he noted, while a white educator was permitted to serve. Evidence of Austin's alleged history of bullying, he said, was kept from the jury. Witness accounts of the initial physical confrontation were contradictory, ranging from a linebacker-style hold to a slight push. 'Justice wasn't handed down in the way that's equitable for everyone,' Johnson said. 'It doesn't feel right – that's the simplest way I can put it.' He is far from alone in that view. During happier times: Perez posted a photo of her and Anthony applying face masks together Perez closed down her TikTok account amid an angry backlash to her comments defending a killer  Community leader Bruce Johnson told the Daily Mail that he was not sure if Perez and Anthony are still a couple Anthony's mother, Kayla Hayes, has appeared on television saying her son was simply defending himself. His father, Andrew Anthony, called the trial a setup. Democratic congresswoman Jasmine Crockett described the sentence as evidence of a broken system. Rapper Cardi B called it extremely excessive. Online fundraising for Anthony's trial topped $600,000, and his lawyers have already announced plans to appeal. Presiding District Judge John Roach Jr took the unusual step of appearing on local news to defend the proceedings, calling it a race-neutral and fair trial – a move Johnson himself found extraordinary. 'I've never heard a judge go and do an interview after a case,' he said. While judges giving media interviews after trials is uncommon, it is not unheard of in high-profile cases - with the Alex Murdaugh trial one example. The murder case shocked America, and the discussion surrounding the killing of a white teenager by a black peer quickly became racially fraught Critics have claimed Anthony had been treated unfairly at his trial trial because he is black, and there were no black members on the jury. People who showed up to the courthouse to support Anthony are seen reacting to the verdict In Anthony's case, officials including Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis and lead prosecutor Bill Wirskye have maintained that justice was served, arguing that the evidence showed Anthony massively escalated a minor confrontation with lethal force. Austin Metcalf's parents addressed Anthony directly in court, and their words left little room for ambiguity. His mother, Meghan, said 35 years was not enough – that she had lost a lifetime with her son. His father, Jeff, spoke of his pure, unfiltered rage. 'You failed your parents, you failed yourself, and you failed society,' he told the teenage killer. 'You don't belong in this community.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.