Trial for teen accused in stabbing death of Fairfield Prep student in Shelton begins

The trial for a teen who is accused of stabbing and killing another teen during a party in Shelton in 2022 is underway.

James “Jimmy” McGrath, a 17-year-old Fairfield Prep student from Shelton, was stabbed outside a Shelton home where a party was underway in May 2022 and he died from a stab wound to the torso, according to police.

Raul Valle, 19, has been charged with murder and pleaded not guilty.

He has also been charged with assault in connection with the stabbings of three other teens.

Valle’s trial is in Milford Superior Court.

The judge said the attorneys expect the evidentiary part of the trial to take around two weeks, but the trial could be longer or shorter.

First day in court

On Tuesday, the trial began with Judge Shari Murphy giving a long list of instructions to the jury including to not discuss the case with other jurors until directed and to refrain from investigating the case once court resumes.

In the first day of evidence, Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Marc Durso called in the state’s first five witnesses, beginning with former Shelton Police Officer Lonnie Blackwell.

Blackwell testified he was part of the department’s patrol division and was the first officer to respond to the call of multiple people stabbed at a house party at 43 Laurel Glen Dr.

Blackwell said when he arrived on the scene, he saw four people were wounded.

"He [James McGrath] was blue in the face which indicated to me he probably lost a large amount of blood and I did locate a wound to his chest area, right near the heart,” Blackwell said.

Blackwell said he attempted to stop the bleeding using shirts and rags that teenagers were giving to him.

He waited about 10 minutes before EMS arrived on scene and began tending to the victims.

Blackwell said from there, he began conducting written and audio witness interviews, adding the police department had not been issued body cameras at the time.

The second witness was Michael Egan. Egan is currently a paramedic in Shelton but back in May of 2022, he was an EMT.

"He [James McGrath] was lying supine on his back, he was completely unresponsive, his breathing was spontaneous but erratic which is not a good sign," Egan said.

Egan said he placed AED pads on McGrath and began to perform CPR before handing off the care to paramedics, once they arrived on scene.

Egan testified to being the driver of the ambulance, he said they took McGrath directly to the trauma room once they arrived at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport.

The third witness on the stand was Jeffrey McKee, a paramedic with Valley Emergency Medical.

McKee tended to McGrath in the back of the ambulance as they made their way to the hospital.

He said he was checking McGrath’s pulse every two minute before arriving at the hospital.

The fourth witness was Dr. James Gill, the Chief Medical Examiner of Connecticut. Gill testified to holding his position since July of 2013 where he’s since performed over 4,000 autopsies.

Gill said he did not perform McGrath’s autopsy, but he was present when it was being done. He went on to say that McGrath’s body had evidence of sharp and blunt injuries, adding the stab wound on McGrath’s chest was 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches deep.

"In this instance the stab wound was going from the front of his body to the back of his body and it was going from the left to the right of his body and slightly upward," Gill said.

The last witness was Richard Bango, a patrol sergeant with the Shelton Police Department.

Bango testified to being with the department for 25 years. In 2019, he was promoted to detective before being promoted to sergeant.

Bango said he arrived at the stabbing scene at 43 Laurel Glen Drive at around 12:30 a.m. on May 15, 2022.

He said it was a hectic scene as the parents of the juveniles at the party started to arrive to pick them up after learning about other teens being injured.

He said there were dozens of teens on the lawn, and he made mention of a Whiskey bottle being on the lawn of the house.

When cross-examined by Defense Attorney Kevin Smith, regarding the whiskey bottle, Bango said the underage drinking was not his concern, but rather tending to the stabbing victims.

He went on to explain that he conducted dozens of interviews with the teens at the party during that night and the days afterwards.

Bango testified that he was able to obtain an arrest warrant for Valle after multiple witnesses had identified him as the main suspect.

Valle did not turn himself into the Shelton Police Department until May 18, 2022, according to Bango.