Connecticut man is CLEARED of murdering prep school boy, 17, at boozy house party

A former preparatory school student, a 17 -year -old child was cleared of the murder after being accused of fighting about beer in a showy Connecticut town.

Now 20 -year -old Raul Elias Valle, Fairfield preparation Lakros player James ‘Jimmy’ McGrath was killed 2022 because of the murder, manslaughter or attack was not found guilty.

During the hearing, Valle’s lawyer frames their stabbing as defense and said that his client was deported by young people during the ‘attack’ by other parties.

A jury made a partial decision on Wednesday afternoon. The judge declared a mistake in less accusations that the jury could not decide.

Valle seemed to be relieved when his lip trembled, and the decision was read three years after McGrath’s death, while his eyes began to start well with tears.

During the hearing, the prosecutors said that on May 14, 2022, Valle used a chakip to stab four young people, including McGrath, following a fight between male groups from rival schools at an earlier party.

At that time, Valle was a 16 -year -old student at St Joseph High School, where the education fee was 19,000 dollars per year, and McGrath was an athlete at Fairfield College Prep of $ 25,000 per year.

Valle was cleaned with a deliberate killing against McGrath with three attacks against Ryan Heinz, Thomas Connery and Faison Teele.

McGrath (in the picture) was on the lakros team at Fairfield College Preparatory School in Connecticut

However, the jury members entered a dead end due to a less reckless man murder against McGrath and a reckless attack against three other victims.

The case began to appear at the Connecticut Supreme Court in Milford on 17 June 2025, and the jury witnessed a hiccup Valle with a few students in the party in 2022.

When asked if he was responsible for the knife wounds, Valle, ‘I don’t know. I guess it is. Yes.’ He added that he did not remember the knife sinking into young people.

Valle lawyer, his client by other parties ‘attack’ during the ‘attack’ was glorified by young people stabbed as a defense.

Speaking in court, Valle said that a large group of young people attacked him and ‘everything darkened’.

During the eye -catching expression, “ “ I just started to stab in every direction, just began to shake my arm, ” he said.

Valle said that the trio was faced with the ‘wall of about 30 people, which the young people describe as’ wall’.

The school held a special seizure for McGrath (in the picture). More than 1,000 people came

Young people went to expensive private schools in Shelton, the town of Ritzy in the west of the CT

Valle was tried on May 14, 2022 for the murder of Fairfield Prepared Student James ‘Jimmy’ McGrath (in the picture).

Taylor Capela, another high school student at the party, He witnessed a deadly fight and said that one of the alleged victims was ‘knife, there is a knife’ he heard heard.

Val Valle flocked to McGrath soon, Capela Capela said.

Capela said that McGrath didn’t fight anyone and observed the chaos when he dived the knife into his chest.

He watched in horror as blood infiltrated his white clothes. Capela also remembered that she saw Teele and Connery’s blood covered with blood.

Capela, while remembering fear, broke down in the courtroom and now suffered from nightmares and concern, he said.

Witnesses detailed how the fight that ended McGrath’s life caused by a previous dispute at another home party.

Valle’s friend Jack Snyder, who gave the knife, testified under an immune agreement that protects him from the crime.

Taylor Capela, a former Shelton High School student, testified during Valle’s murder hearing

Snyder confessed to stealing beer from Ryan Heinz, one of the victims of one of the stabbed victims, about two miles away from the night.

Snyder said it triggered a small dispute with a group of another local school Shelton High.

Rival groups later began to insult each other in a group conversation to organize basketball collection games.

Snyder admitted that he and Valle left the first party when the tensions were high, but then planned to confront other students.

That night, when Valle said that the car was Mobbed by children from the rival school, they went to the party at Laurel Glen Drive.

Snyder said Valle gave a pocket knife in the car and claimed that his friend wanted ‘aggressively’. His friends Tyler Dasilva was also in his car.

Dasilva aims to solve peacefully, because Dasilva ‘recognizes some families’, but a Shelton High School student punched Valle and the situation climbed from there, he said.

Meanwhile, Snyder stayed in the car. Valle said he was visibly uncomfortable when he returned. Valle said to him, ‘I think I stabbed four people’.

The jury showed images of the injuries of young people in the fight in May 2022

The knife used was never saved, but the jury showed an image of the brand.

Jury members showed photos of the injuries experienced by young people on the night of tragedy

Snyder said that Valle threw the knife into the forest when leaving the scene – something the defendant rejected.

Snyder also agreed to write ‘enjoy the enjoyment of the hospital’ in a basketball collection group conversation, but he said he did not understand the seriousness of the situation when sending the message to the court.

Heinz, one of the victims, remembered the terrible moment he was stabbed. A friend said he didn’t notice until he heard a noise from his clothes and sucking blood from his clothes.

The disturbing images of the fight were shown to the jury members.

Valle told him that he was Snyder who blocked the knife and that he was confused about why he gave the gun, but he still put it in his pocket.

Synder rejected this version of the events, saying that Valle wanted a knife.