Prep school 'murderer' breaks down in shock as he's accused of teen killing that rocked glitzy town
Raul Elias Valle, now 20, is accused of stabbing 17-year-old James McGrath at a home on Laurel Glen Drive in Shelton, about 15 miles west of New Haven, after a fight over stolen beer three years ago.
Valle took the witness stand at his murder trial in Superior Court in Milford on July 1, as he described the horrifying moments that led to the killing three years ago.
He described the harrowing picture for jurors as he recounted the night in May 2022 when he allegedly killed McGrath in what he claims was an act of self-defense.
Prosecutors say that on the night of May 14, 2022, Valle used a pocketknife to stab four teenagers, including McGrath, following a feud between groups of boys from rival schools at an earlier party.
'Everything just went black,' Valle testified last Tuesday.
His voice cracked as he broke down describing the chaos that unfolded during the fight.
At the time, Valle was a 16-year-old student at St Joseph High School, where tuition costs $19,000 a year, while McGrath was a standout athlete at the nearby $25,000-a-year Fairfield College Prep.
'I started waving and just stabbing in every direction, just flailing my arm around.'
He described the harrowing picture for jurors as he recounted the night in May 2022 when he allegedly killed James McGrath (pictured) in what he claims was an act of self-defense
The defendant was charged as an adult despite his age. Valle was released on a $2 million bond posted by his parents.
He has pleaded not guilty and turned down a plea deal, opting to go to trial. He now faces up to 60 years in prison if found guilty.
His case began unfolding at Connecticut Superior Court in Milford on June 17, 2025, and so far jurors have heard testimony from a sobbing Valle, along with several students who were at the party in 2022.
Valle claimed he was 'attacked by a whole bunch of people and insisted he feared for his life as the fight broke out and intensified.
'I kept flailing my arm around... terrified,' he said. 'It didn't make him stop, even though I was flailing around a knife.'
When asked who he was swinging at, he responded: 'Anybody who was coming at me.' 'It felt like the only thing that would help me.'
He broke down as he recalled pulling the knife from his pocket while feeling 'hopeless' and 'scared.'
'They just weren't stopping,' Valle said. 'I didn't see it [the stabbings] happen. I didn't feel me stab [McGrath]. I didn't go up to him and stab him.'
Valle admitted that he was the 'only one with a knife' that day.
During questioning, Valle admitted that he stabbed four people a collective nine times. Besides McGrath, those injured were named as Faison Teele, Ryan Heinz, and Thomas Connery.
When asked if he was responsible for the stab wounds, Valle said: 'I don't know. I guess so. Yes.' He added that he didn't remember sinking the knife into the teens.
Valle attorney has framed the stabbings as self-defense, saying his client was swarmed by teenagers during an 'attack' by other partygoers.
Valle said his trio were confronted by 'about 30 people spread out in a line' which he described as a 'wall' of teenagers.
Another high schooler at the party, Taylor Capela, witnessed the deadly fight, and said she heard one of the alleged victims shout 'he has a knife, he has a knife'.
Moments later, Valle lunged at McGrath, Capela said.
Capela said McGrath was not fighting anyone and was simply observing the chaos when Valle plunged the blade into his chest.
She watched in horror as blood seeped through his white clothing. Capela also recalled seeing Teele and Connery covered in blood from their wounds.
Capela broke down in the courtroom as she recalled the horror, saying she now suffers with nightmares and anxiety.
Witnesses detailed how the fight which ended McGrath's life was sparked by an earlier disagreement at another house party.
Valle's friend Jack Snyder, who gave him the knife, testified under an immunity agreement shielding him from prosecution linked to the crime.
Snyder admitted going to a house party around two miles away earlier in the night and stealing beer from one of the stabbing victims, Ryan Heinz.
Snyder said this triggered a minor dispute with a group from another local school, Shelton High.
The rival groups then began insulting each other on a group chat that had originally been set up to organize basketball pick-up games.
Snyder admitted that he and Valle left the first party when tensions were high, but planned to confront the other students later.
They drove to the party on Laurel Glen Drive later that night, where Valle said the car was mobbed by the boys from the rival school.
Snyder said he gave Valle a pocket-knife he had in the car, claiming that his friend 'aggressively' asked for it. Their friend Tyler DaSilva was also in the car.
He added that he, DaSilva and Valle intended to resolve the fight peacefully because DaSilva 'knew some of their families', but he said one Shelton High student punched Valle, and the situation escalated from there.
Meanwhile, Snyder remained in the car. He said that when Valle returned he was visibly disturbed. He said Valle told him 'I think I just stabbed four people'.
Snyder said Valle tossed the knife into the woods as they left the scene - something the defendant denies.
Snyder also admitted writing 'enjoy the hospital' in the basketball pick-up group chat, but told the court he did not understand the seriousness of the situation when he sent the message.
One of the victims, Heinz, recalled the horrific moment he was stabbed. He said he did not initially realize, until a friend pointed out blood soaking through his clothes and he heard a gurgling noise coming from his collapsed lung.
Disturbing footage of the fight was shown to jurors.
Valle said it was Snyder who tossed him the knife unprompted, and that he was confused about why he handed him the weapon, but pocketed it anyway.
Synder has denied this version of events, saying that Valle asked him for the knife.
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