Missouri Woman Charged With Threatening to Murder Austin Metcalf’s Father After Karmelo Anthony Verdict — Faces Three Federal Charges

A 34-year-old Kansas City, Missouri woman is facing three federal felony counts after prosecutors say she spent three days in June sending Jeff Metcalf death threats, including a vow to put him in a body bag and hunt him until he was dead, as a Texas jury convicted Karmelo Anthony of murdering Metcalf’s 17-year-old son.

Sharifa Nicole Henderson was indicted September 9 in the Eastern District of Texas on three counts of interstate threatening communications, CBS News reported.

She was arrested in Kansas City on September 11, made an initial federal court appearance, and is being transported to Texas to face the charges, U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced Friday.

If convicted, Henderson faces up to five years in federal prison on each count and a fine of up to $250,000.

Investigative reporter Sarah Fields, who said she personally knew Henderson, revealed that she had been aware of the arrest for about a week but withheld reporting details while the federal indictment remained sealed.

According to the unsealed indictment, Henderson allegedly threatened to kill Jeff Metcalf and put him “in a body bag.”

Fields wrote on X:

I have been sitting on this for a week.

I knew Sharifa Nicole Henderson, also known as Riffa Henderson, had been arrested, but the federal indictment was sealed, which meant I could not responsibly report the details publicly. That indictment has now been UNSEALED, and people need to understand just how deranged the harassment surrounding this case became.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas has indicted Henderson on THREE felony counts of interstate communications with a threat to injure under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The indictment was filed September 9 and lays out the threats made over three consecutive days in June.

Count One – June 9: Prosecutors state Henderson sent Jeff Metcalf a Facebook message threatening to k*ll him and put him in a body bag, then essentially dared him to take her to court.

Count Two – June 10: The indictment says Henderson placed a telephone call to Collin County Government intended for the Metcalf family, during which she threatened to “demolish” the family and “strangle” a family member.

Count Three – June 11: Prosecutors stated another Facebook message told Jeff: “don’t worry I’ll k*ll you next” and said she would hunt him until she k*lled him and that he would always have to look over his shoulder.

U.S. Attorney Jay Combs says authorities traced the threats through phone records and social-media accounts. Henderson was arrested in Kansas and is being transported to the Eastern District of Texas. She has already made an initial federal court appearance.

This is exactly why I have continued reporting on what has happened behind the scenes of the Karmelo Anthony case.

For months, people have acted like the insanity surrounding this case was just “internet drama.” It wasn’t. Families have been harassed. People have been threatened. Lives have been turned upside down. And now we have yet another federal criminal case showing just how far some people were willing to take it.

Each of these three counts carries up to five years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment, according to the unsealed indictment.

Now that this is public, I can report it. And I’m going to keep reporting every single piece of this story that the public deserves to know.

🚨 BREAKING: THE THREATS SURROUNDING THE KARMELO ANTHONY CASE DID NOT END WITH THE VERDICT. ARREST MADE!

I have been sitting on this for a week.

I knew Sharifa Nicole Henderson, also known as Riffa Henderson, had been arrested, but the federal indictment was sealed, which meant… pic.twitter.com/JE4wHWZ6xF

— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) September 18, 2026

As The Gateway Pundit reported the day after sentencing, the Metcalf family was flooded with death threats and messages saying people were desecrating Austin’s grave. One message obtained by TMZ told the family that Austin’s twin, Hunter — who held his brother as he died — “should have died” and that Austin “f***ed around and found out.” Others threatened to show up at the family’s homes.

That same week, The Gateway Pundit published video of a mob of Anthony supporters following the grieving family out of the Collin County Courthouse and taunting them with “We glad Austin’s dead!”

Jeff Metcalf told FOX 4 this week that his family has received more than 100 threats since the trial ended.

“There are just people out there that obviously, I don’t know, don’t have a soul, or can’t comprehend a father’s loss of a son who was murdered,” Metcalf said. “People don’t understand what my family goes through every single day. It does wear on you mentally, physically and spiritually, but I know that God’s got me — so they don’t really carry a lot of weight.”

CBS Texas noted that Jeff Metcalf said Henderson even left him a threatening voicemail weeks after the June messages.