Jury selection begins in deadly stabbing of Fairfield Prep student at party
Valle opted to go to trial in 2023 after rejecting the prosecution’s offer of 40 years in prison.
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Jury selection began Tuesday for the trial of a Milford teen accused of killing a Fairfield Prep student at a house party in Shelton. It had twice been pushed back and came nearly three years after the death of Jimmy McGrath, 17, a standout lacrosse player at the private school.
Raul Valle, now 19, is charged with murder and three counts of assault in connection to a deadly fight that occurred at a party on Laurel Glen Drive on May 14, 2022. Valle was 16 at the time, a student at St. Joseph’s in Trumbull, but charged as an adult.
On Tuesday, three women were selected as the first members of the jury who will hear the case against him at Milford Superior Court. A total of 12 regular jurors and four alternates will be chosen for the trial, which is set to begin June 17. Judge Shari Murphy told the potential jury pool the trial will likely last two weeks, bringing the end to around July 1, though attorneys for both sides cautioned it could go longer.
Valle opted to go to trial in 2023 after rejecting the prosecution’s offer of 40 years in prison. On Tuesday, he again formally turned the deal down before the court moved on to picking a jury. Valle's parents and brother sat behind him and defense attorney Kevin Smith for the first half of jury selection. Several of McGrath’s family members and friends, along with the family’s attorney, were also there for the start of voir dire. They filled the rows on the other side of the courtroom behind Senior Assistant State's Attorney Marc Durso.
According to his arrest warrant, Valle and his friends were at a party in Shelton on Lazy Brook Road earlier in the evening and got into it with a group from Shelton High School. Police said that tension later escalated into violence when both groups went to the party that McGrath was at. Valle is accused of stabbing McGrath and three other teens.
The potential witness list for the trial includes police officers, members of the state crime lab, along with several teenagers who were at those parties, including those who were injured. It’s unclear if Valle will testify and or even present a defense. When Smith questioned prospective jurors, he asked how they felt about acts of violence done in self-defense and a defendant choosing not to take the stand.
Jury selection continues Wednesday morning.
MORE COVERAGE: Jury selection delayed again in 2022 killing of Fairfield Prep student
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