Teen charged in fatal stabbing of Fairfield Prep junior released on $2 million bond
Raul “Lito” Valle, the 16-year-old charged with fatally stabbing Fairfield Prep junior James “Jimmy” McGrath at a party earlier this month and stabbing three other teens, has been released from custody after posting bond.
Valle appeared in court in Milford on Monday morning where a judge ruled to keep his bail at $2 million, which he posted about 3:30 p.m.
In his first public court appearance since his case was moved to adult court, Valle appeared before Judge Peter Brown, who denied his attorney’s motion to reduce his bond, according to court officials.
The judge imposed strict conditions on his bond.
The teen will be under 24/7 lockdown at his mother’s house, will be required to wear a GPS monitor and won’t be allowed to have contact with any of the victims or anyone involved in the incident, according to Valle’s defense attorney Jake Donovan.
According to a warrant for his arrest, Valle and friends from St. Joseph’s High School in Trumbull arrived at a party of more than 50 teens at a house on Laurel Glen Drive in Shelton on May 14 after an argument started at another party earlier that night.
Witnesses told police that Valle stabbed McGrath once with a knife that looked like a switchblade, according to the warrant for his arrest that was unsealed last week. McGrath died of a stab wound to the chest that pierced his heart, the warrant said.
Three other teens were injured in the fight in the front yard, some suffering serious stab wounds, records show.
On Friday, hundreds of people gathered inside St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Trumbull for an emotional funeral service for McGrath. A steady stream of McGrath’s classmates and teammates trailed behind the casket, reaching out to comfort one another as the teen’s family, parents Maggie and Kevin and sister Rosie, held hands tightly.
Valle was arrested last week and arraigned as a juvenile. His case was transferred to adult court on Thursday when he appeared before a judge in Derby.
He is charged with murder and three counts of first-degree assault and was being held at the Manson Youth Institute in Cheshire, according to court and Department of Correction records.
Valle is scheduled to appear in court next on July 15 in Milford Court Part A, where major crimes are heard.
