NOT GUILTY CT - James McGrath, 17, athlete, fatally stabbed at house party fight, Shelton, May 2022 *ARREST*

[turaj]

He had been drinking. And teenage kids in a big group are not the same as an individual kid. If Raul's friend hadn't handed him a knife, we wouldn't be here. If he had thought about what a bad idea the knife was, we wouldn't be here.

someone handed him a knife...no one made him start stabbing. He got away with all of it and probably since state overcharged he will not be held accountable on the serious charges.

 

[turaj]

My take away. Your kids aren't safe at high school parties, and perps get off scott-free. I can't even imagine how all the victims feel after this. Supposedly adults teach doing the right thing, and this happens. Not justice.

that is about it and parents just keep providing your kids with liquor and let them party all night.

 

[Seattle1]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1943002904006103123

 

[Seattle1]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1943021453793710495

 

[dlsully62]

Well, there you have it. I think I'm okay with the mistrial. I'm actually glad that RV was found NOT guilty of murder. JMO.

 

[turaj]

I think he can celebrate today but this is not over. He is NG on all intentional charges but hope that they get a new prosecutor and go after the reckless charges and I can't imagine NG on all of those.

 

[turaj]

Well, there you have it. I think I'm okay with the mistrial. I'm actually glad that RV was found NOT guilty of murder. JMO.

I hope he still have to face the lesser charges....this may not have been intentional but it sure was reckless. He will have to live the rest of his life knowing he took a life...to me that is murder.

 

[Magic8Ball]

My take away. Your kids aren't safe at high school parties, and perps get off scott-free. I can't even imagine how all the victims feel after this. Supposedly adults teach doing the right thing, and this happens. Not justice.

The adults in this case clearly did NOT teach their kids the importance of doing the right thing.

It doesn't matter if teens are old enough to drive, that doesn't mean parents get to slack off on their supervision. In fact, the opposite is true. Once kids start gaining more independence, parents should be even more vigilant about making sure their kids have the right types of friends before awarding the measure of trust needed to allow them to go out at night and hang out with peers.

There are some good kids out there, and some safe parties.

Not in this case, sadly.

Too many people normalize underage drinking.
"They're going to do in anyway, might as well give them a safe environment to do it in," seems to be a common refrain in our society. Well, we can all see what a "safe space" that house was that night.

None of the parties I went to in high school had alcohol. Ever.
None of the parents would have allowed it.
Parties in basements with pool tables, pink-pong tables, video games, pizza, tv, and the occasional tp caper was all we needed to have fun. And there were never any fights. Never.

We've got to get a handle on this epidemic of underage drinking in our society.

JMO.

 

[Seattle1]

Valle rejected two plea deals offering 40 years in prison. If convicted, he faced up to 60 years behind bars.

DAILY TRIAL UPDATES​

DAY 13 – 7/9/25​

• The jury reached verdicts on the top counts but remained deadlocked on others, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial on those lesser-included charges.
  • Count 1: James McGrath
    • Murder: Not Guilty
    • 1st Degree Manslaughter (lesser included charge): Not Guilty
    • 1st Degree Manslaughter Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
  • Count 2: Ryan Heinz
    • Assault 1st Degree: Not Guilty
    • Assault 1st Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
  • Count 3: Thomas Connery
    • Assault 1st Degree: Not Guilty
    • Assault 1st Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
  • Count 2: Faison Teele
    • Assault 1st Degree: Not Guilty
    • Assault 1st Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked

CT v. Raul Valle: Preppy Party Murder Trial

After days of deliberation, the jury cleared Raul Valle of the top charges but failed to reach a unanimous verdict on lessers.

www.courttv.com

 

[Magic8Ball]

I think he can celebrate today but this is not over. He is NG on all intentional charges but hope that they get a new prosecutor and go after the reckless charges and I can't imagine NG on all of those.

If they're going to refile on anything, they absolutely MUST assign a different prosecutor.

This one was the pits of the universe. I think he did JM such a grave injustice.

I've talked ad nauseum about how appalled I was at how little attention this prosecutor paid to JM throughout the entire case. And those immunity deals stunk to high heaven.

I gave the prosecution a grade of D- before the verdicts.

Turns out, I was much too generous.

 

[LAborn]

The adults in this case clearly did NOT teach their kids the importance of doing the right thing.

It doesn't matter if teens are old enough to drive, that doesn't mean parents get to slack off on their supervision. In fact, the opposite is true. Once kids start gaining more independence, parents should be even more vigilant about making sure their kids have the right types of friends before awarding the measure of trust needed to allow them to go out at night with friends.

There are some good kids out there, and some safe parties.

Not in this case, sadly.

Too many people normalize high school drinking.
"They're going to do in anyway, might as well give them a safe environment to do it in," seems to be a common refrain. Well, we can all see what a "safe space" that house was that night.

None of the parties I went to in high school had alcohol. Ever.
None of the parents would have allowed it.
Parties in basements with pool tables, pink-pong tables, video games, pizza, and the occasional tp caper was all we needed to have fun. And there were never any fights. Never.

We've got to get a handle on this epidemic of underage drinking in our society.

JMO.

Wow, you are a straight up goodie two shoes!! I grew up in a strict Catholic household which meant I looked to do the opposite of what the church and my parents wanted in high school. Although parents definitely have the most pull as far as role models go, something went south in Valle's family. I'm not sure what, but none of the other kids thought to bring a weapon and were shocked he used one. That tells me something is off with him. Hopefully the DAs office retries the case, maybe as you and Seattle have been saying--for manslaughter instead of murder. Guessing that was the sticking point with the jury.

 

[LAborn]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1943021453793710495

They were deadlocked on the murder charge. My understanding that will be retried. Right?

 

[LAborn]

If they're going to refile on anything, they absolutely MUST assign a different prosecutor.

This one was the pits of the universe. I think he did JM such a grave injustice.

I've talked ad nauseum about how appalled I was at how little attention this prosecutor paid to JM throughout the entire case. And those immunity deals stunk to high heaven.

I gave the prosecution a grade of D- before the verdicts.

Turns out, I was much too generous.

Frankly, either one of the female prosecutors would probably do a better job. He had trouble with connecting the dots and creating the narrative. I mean, I feel for him it can't be easy to do this, but most need all the dots in a row, he was jumping around too much. I mean it didn't matter to me but my brain isn't like most people's!!!

 

[LAborn]

Valle rejected two plea deals offering 40 years in prison. If convicted, he faced up to 60 years behind bars.

DAILY TRIAL UPDATES​

DAY 13 – 7/9/25​

• The jury reached verdicts on the top counts but remained deadlocked on others, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial on those lesser-included charges.
  • Count 1: James McGrath
    • Murder: Not Guilty
    • 1st Degree Manslaughter (lesser included charge): Not Guilty
    • 1st Degree Manslaughter Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
  • Count 2: Ryan Heinz
    • Assault 1st Degree: Not Guilty
    • Assault 1st Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
  • Count 3: Thomas Connery
    • Assault 1st Degree: Not Guilty
    • Assault 1st Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
  • Count 2: Faison Teele
    • Assault 1st Degree: Not Guilty
    • Assault 1st Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree (lesser included charge): Deadlocked
    • Assault 2nd Degree Reckless (lesser included charge): Deadlocked

CT v. Raul Valle: Preppy Party Murder Trial

After days of deliberation, the jury cleared Raul Valle of the top charges but failed to reach a unanimous verdict on lessers.

www.courttv.com

I thought they were deadlocked on Jimmy's murder charge! So he's off scott free?

 

[Magic8Ball]

Wow, you are a straight up goodie two shoes!! I grew up in a strict Catholic household which meant I looked to do the opposite of what the church and my parents wanted in high school. Although parents definitely have the most pull as far as role models go, something went south in Valle's family. I'm not sure what, but none of the other kids thought to bring a weapon and were shocked he used one. That tells me something is off with him. Hopefully the DAs office retries the case, maybe as you and Seattle have been saying--for manslaughter instead of murder. Guessing that was the sticking point with the jury.

I think it's really important for the prosecution to see if the jurors will talk to them about what factors played the biggest role in their NG verdicts, and which points they got hung up on.

I also hope that jurors who agree to speak with the prosecution are honest about what the issues were for them, even if it means offending the lawyers.

Those immunity deals were unpalatable to me, so I imagine they didn't go down well with jurors, either.

Prosecutor's lack of focus on JM as the murder victim was another huge mistake.

The witnesses were not credible.

The victims were not sympathetic figures.

Some of the above issues are immutable.
They can't rip up the immunity deals, that ship has sailed.
They can't give the witnesses personality transplants to make them more likeable.

I would cut at least half of the Shelton grads OFF the witness list in a retrial. I'd try to identify which the jury found most believable and have them testify, then rely on the video to fill in the blanks.

The one thing they could do a much, much, much better job of the next time around (if there is one) is focusing on JM as a person, his actions that night, his lack of participation in any of the physical fighting, and the fact that he posed no threat whatsoever at any point to RV.

That's how you get a conviction on manslaughter.

JMO.

 

[turaj]

Wow, you are a straight up goodie two shoes!! I grew up in a strict Catholic household which meant I looked to do the opposite of what the church and my parents wanted in high school. Although parents definitely have the most pull as far as role models go, something went south in Valle's family. I'm not sure what, but none of the other kids thought to bring a weapon and were shocked he used one. That tells me something is off with him. Hopefully the DAs office retries the case, maybe as you and Seattle have been saying--for manslaughter instead of murder. Guessing that was the sticking point with the jury.

yes I think it was overcharged and I hope that they come back quickly.

 

[waldojabba]

Wow, you are a straight up goodie two shoes!! I grew up in a strict Catholic household which meant I looked to do the opposite of what the church and my parents wanted in high school. Although parents definitely have the most pull as far as role models go, something went south in Valle's family. I'm not sure what, but none of the other kids thought to bring a weapon and were shocked he used one. That tells me something is off with him. Hopefully the DAs office retries the case, maybe as you and Seattle have been saying--for manslaughter instead of murder. Guessing that was the sticking point with the jury.

Just to keep things straight
Raul did not think to bring a knife - it was one of the "other kids" who brought the knife and handed it to him.
I did not see much about the family in MSM so I think its very unfair to judge his parents by this one isolated incident of one of their children.
We really have no idea what type of parents they are.
Also it would be great if we could correlate "good" parentng with kids turning out "good" but sadly that is not always the case.
JMO

 

[turaj]

I thought they were deadlocked on Jimmy's murder charge! So he's off scott free?

when they sent the first note I think they were..maybe not in agreement on the murder charge. Then she told them to start working thru the rest. I think the judge was fair and another time sending them back would not have had any different result. But surprised they could not even agree on the lesser charges.

 

[LAborn]

I think it's really important for the prosecution to see if the jurors will talk to them about what factors played the biggest role in their NG verdicts, and which points they got hung up on.

I also hope that jurors who agree to speak with the prosecution are honest about what the issues were for them, even if it means offending the lawyers.

Those immunity deals were unpalatable to me, so I imagine they didn't go down well with jurors, either.

Prosecutor's lack of focus on JM as the murder victim was another huge mistake.

The witnesses were not credible.

The victims were not sympathetic figures.

Some of the above issues are immutable.
They can't rip up the immunity deals, that ship has sailed.
They can't give the witnesses personality transplants to make them more likeable.

I would cut at least half of the Shelton grads OFF the witness list in a retrial. I'd try to identify which the jury found most believable and have them testify, then rely on the video to fill in the blanks.

The one thing they could do a much, much, much better job of the next time around (if there is one) is focusing on JM as a person, his actions that night, his lack of participation in any of the physical fighting, and the fact that he posed no threat whatsoever at any point to RV.

That's how you get a conviction on manslaughter.

JMO.

Good overview and insights. I hope they do as you suggest, speak to jurors (or at least listen when they give interviews and I'm sure citizens in CT are furious about this result). Totally agree about the lack of focus on JM murder. He didn't paint that picture clearly enough. He's got to be like a pitbull and hammer the points home, over and over and over again. Teachers know you have to repeat something 10 times to make sure students hear what you said, he didn't to exercise that sort of repetition with the major key points. My impression is he had all the witnesses because 1) they knew different parts of the story, but all were necessary to complete the picture and 2) it highlighted how unified the narrative against Valle was. Not a single witness for the defense other than the defendant? That alone is damning imo. Likability? I found the most likable witnesses to be the kids who were there and saw/heard what happened, but weren't friends of Valle's. The 3 boys from house #1 that just wanted a ride home. His girlfriend McKenzie too. We shall see, in all sincerity this is not justice for Jimmy and his family. They deserve that!

 

[turaj]

Just to keep things straight
Raul did not think to bring a knife - it was one of the "other kids" who brought the knife and handed it to him and I think its very unfair to judge his parents by this one isolated incident.
JMO

honestly we know nothing about RV or his family other than he liked to party every weekend and drinking was the norm.