Raul Valle returned to Milford Superior Court Tuesday—this time with a new attorney, Darnell Crosland. It marked the first movement in round two of the case against Valle, which had been on hold as Valle searched for new counsel. At two prior hearings, Valle said he needed more time to find a lawyer because the first trial had taken a financial toll on his family. The judge set a deadline of the Jan. 6 court appearance. Crosland said he met with the family the night before.

Valle faces charges of reckless first-degree manslaughter and reckless assault—charges that jurors deadlocked on last summer when Valle went on trial for a deadly stabbing at a high school party in Shelton in May 2022. The fight left 17-year-old Jimmy McGrath dead and three others hospitalized. Valle was acquitted of the most serious charges—murder and intentional assault. But the jury was unable to come to a consensus on the lesser-included charges, leading the judge to declare a mistrial on those. The state immediately refiled the reckless charges. Valle’s attorney at trial, Kevin Smith, did not stay on the case.

In court Tuesday, Crosland asked for a continuance until March 25 so he can file some motions in the case. The request was granted without objection from the state.

Crosland spoke with reporters after the brief hearing and said the motions will center on double jeopardy and whether Valle can legally be retried.

“They’re very very fascinating issues,” Crosland stated. “The courts are a little split on how they view jeopardy in this case, but Judge Russo has allowed me to file the motions that I need. I’m going to file those expeditiously and hopefully they’ll be dispositive, which means the court will grant the motions, and we don't have to have another trial.”

When asked if he was optimistic that would happen, Crosland said he thought there was a 70% chance. But he also said whatever decision comes down could be appealed.

Crosland called the legal proceedings “like Groundhog Day” for Valle and his family.

“They want healing, and they want forgiveness, and they want to be able to move forward,” Crosland said.

Kevin McGrath, Jimmy McGrath’s father, also spoke outside the courthouse with his wife and daughter by his side. He called the hearing “one step closer to justice” for his family.

“It is movement, yes, and I think everybody wants resolution to this. I think even think the defendant, right? Because you need some type of closure to move on with your life. They have to be kind of in prison themselves because this is hanging over their head as well as it's hanging over ours,” Kevin McGrath told reporters.

He also reaffirmed his family’s support for the prosecution and a second trial, despite the first one not going their way,

“We've never lost our confidence in the justice system,” Kevin McGrath said.

During Valle’s trial, jurors heard from 26 witnesses, including Valle. He was the only person to take the stand in his defense and testified he used a knife that night because he feared for his and his friend’s safety. But the prosecution called a parade of witnesses who told a different story. Two people testified McGrath wasn’t part of the brawl that broke out and was backing up when he was stabbed.