‘He has a knife.’ Jurors see video of fight that led to Fairfield Prep athlete’s death
Jurors heard from two teenagers who witnessed the deadly fight that led to Fairfield Prep student Jimmy McGrath's stabbing death. Both pointed the finger at Raul Valle, who is on trial for murder.
For the first time, we are seeing the fight that led to the stabbing death of a star athlete at Fairfield Prep.
Jurors viewed footage of the violent altercation on the second day of Raul “Lito” Valle’s murder trial. The 19-year-old is accused of murdering Jimmy McGrath at a house party three years ago in Shelton.
“We were expecting to fight. Not any of this,” testified Griffin Marcinczyk, a friend of McGrath’s.
McGrath’s friends told jurors it all started with an earlier fight – at a different house – over a beer.
“I saw Lito punch Ryan from behind, and that’s when everyone started fighting,” a female witness testified.
Jurors saw video of the first altercation as well.
Witnesses said that the first fight spilled to another party. They said things got chaotic when Valle and his friends showed up at the second location.
“They were throwing things at us. We were throwing things at them,” Marcinczyk testified. “I believe there was a WD-40 can and, like, a water jug of some sort.”
As the fight progressed, Marcinczyk said that Valle went to his car and returned.
“The defendant runs to the car. You see the car door open because the lights turn on from inside the car, and then he runs back into the fight,” Marcinczyk told the jury. “My buddy Charlie starts yelling that he has a knife … People started yelling and screaming, and then I had seen Jimmy and he had these white shorts on. They were stained completely red.”
But in a heated interrogation, Valle’s lawyer accused McGrath’s friends of luring Valle’s group to the second party and ambushing them – as retribution for the original fight.
Defense Attorney Kevin Smith: “You didn't want to get payback for the Lazy Book Road?”
Marcinczyk: “Sure, it was in thoughts, but at that point in time, they’re all sitting in the car. You can't do anything, so...”
Smith: “Can’t do anything except lay hands on it, start rocking it, throw things at it, smash the windshield.”
Smith suggested that McGrath’s friends surrounded Valle and his group, leaving them in fear for their safety.
Smith: “Isn't it that you don't want to tell us what your friends did that night?”
Marcinczyk: “Honestly, I wish I could. I don’t know.”
Valle rejected a plea deal that would have landed him a 40-year prison sentence. His murder trial resumes on Monday.
