Teen accused of killing Fairfield Prep lacrosse player appears in court as defense team gets more time to review evidence
Raul “Lito” Valle, the Trumbull teen charged in connection with the stabbing death of Fairfield Prep junior James “Jimmy” McGrath at a house party earlier this year, appeared in court in Milford on Monday and had his case continued to November.
Valle is charged with murder and three counts of assault after allegedly stabbing the 17-year-old Fairfield Preparatory School junior and three of his friends at the party in Shelton on May 14, according to police.
Valle was 16 at the time of his arrest but was charged as an adult. He has yet to enter a plea in his case, records show.
Monday marks the second appearance in a row in Milford Superior Court in which the case has been continued without his entering a plea. Valle appeared before Judge Peter Brown in July and was granted a continuance when his newly appointed attorney, Kevin Smith, asked for more time to review the large quantities of evidence in the case.
At that hearing, Smith also asked for permission for Valle to go outside while he is on house arrest at his mother’s home.
Valle was briefly in custody at the Manson Youth Institute in Cheshire, according to court and Department of Correction records, but was released after posting a $2 million bond, records show.
He was released under conditions of a 24/7 lockdown, GPS monitoring and was not allowed to have contact with any of the victims or anyone involved in the incident, records show.
At his last court appearance, an emotional one for McGrath’s family and friends who packed the courtroom, the judge reminded him that he was not allowed to access the internet or have a cell phone. Brown granted permission for him to go outside on the property with a 6 p.m. curfew.
According to a warrant for Valle’s arrest, McGrath — who played football and lacrosse at Fairfield Prep — was at a house party with friends on Laurel Glen Drive when students from St. Joseph’s High School showed up to continue an argument that had begun at another party and raged on via group text. One of those students was 16-year-old Valle, a football player at St. Joseph’s High School in Trumbull.
A fight unfolded on the front lawn and McGrath was stabbed in the chest, according to the warrant. The teen died at a nearby hospital from a stab wound that pierced his heart, police said.
His funeral at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Trumbull in May drew hundreds of classmates, teammates, educators, neighbors, friends and family members who mourned McGrath.
McGrath’s family have said they plan to attend all of Valle’s court appearances and have asked family and friends to let investigators and prosecutors handle the case as they await justice.
Valle is scheduled to appear in court next on Nov. 1, according to court officials.
