Connecticut man is CLEARED of murdering prep school boy, 17, at boozy house party

A former prep school student has been cleared of murder after he was accused of stabbing a 17-year-old to death over a fight about beer in a glitzy Connecticut town.

Raul Elias Valle, now 20, was found not guilty of murder, manslaughter or assault over the 2022 killing of Fairfield Prep lacrosse player James ‘Jimmy’ McGrath. 

A jury reached a partial verdict Wednesday afternoon. The judge declared a mistrial on the lesser charges the jury could not come to a decision on. 

Valle looked relieved as his lip quivered and his eyes began welling up with tears while the verdict was read more than three years after McGrath’s death. 

During the trial, prosecutors said that on 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. 

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.

Valle was cleared of murder intentional manslaughter against McGrath, along with three counts of assault against Ryan Heinz, Thomas Connery and Faison Teele. 

But jurors were deadlocked on the lesser charges of reckless manslaughter against McGrath, and reckless assault against the other three alleged victims. 

Raul Elias Valle, now 20, was found not guilty of murder, manslaughter or assault Wednesday as he looked relieved when the verdict was read aloud  

Valle was on trial for the May 14, 2022 killing of Fairfield Prep student James ‘Jimmy’ McGrath (pictured)

The jury asked to go over Valle’s testimony on Tuesday about the feud that led to the fatal stabbing, and after they did so, they resumed deliberations but were unable to come to a decision before being sent home for the day. 

This is a breaking news story.