Law&Crime Sidebar - High Schooler CLEARED of Murder in House Party Stabbing Case

Episode Date: July 10, 2025

A Connecticut jury has cleared Raul Valle of murder and assault charges stemming from a deadly stabbing at a high school party when he was just 16. While the jury deadlocked on several lesser charges, resulting in a partial verdict and mistrial on those counts, Valle—now 20—avoids what could have been a sentence of up to 105 years. Law&Crime's Jesse Weber breaks down the dramatic verdict that shocked the courtroom, the impact on the victim’s family, and what lies ahead.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If your child, under 21, has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease, visit https://forthepeople.com/food to start a claim now!HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller

that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. We have received a note from the jury, which indicates that the jury has reached a partial herdict. A man who stabbed multiple teams. at a high school party when he was just 16 years old has been acquitted. That's right. A Connecticut jury deadlocked on lesser charges, which means rural valley is in the clear. We're breaking down the verdict that brought gasps from the courtroom gallery.

Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber. Okay, so before we get into this case, I want to tell you about something very exciting that is happening here at Law and Crime. So we have partnered up with On Patrol Live and Reels to launch a use. YouTube channel. So if you're unfamiliar with On Patrol Live, let me tell you, you're missing out, Dan Abrams, okay? It is one of my favorite shows on the Reels channel and Reels Plus app. Every Friday and Saturday night, they follow police officers across the country in these high

stakes ride-alongs with over 50 cameras rolling live, capturing all their action in real time. And as you can imagine, the incidents caught on camera are quite wild from high-speed chases and daring rescues to intense standoffs, everything in between. It really never stops. So head on over to On Patrol Live's YouTube channel. Make sure to subscribe. That channel link is in the description. The channel officially launches on Monday, July 14th. Trust me, you won't want to miss it.

Okay, let's talk about Raul Valley, sometimes referred to as Lido. We talked about him just a few days ago when he got on the stand to testify in his own defense. The now 20-year-old was facing murder and assault charges after he stabbed multiple people during a fight at a high school party, killing one of them. And as prosecutors in the defense laid out over several weeks, this all started because of just a petty fight between students from different high schools in the Shelton, Connecticut area. There was an altercation between several teens over beer that didn't really escalate beyond a scuffle. But when some of those teens showed up at a different house party, that's when things took a violent turn. So Valley, who attended St. Joseph High and a few of his friends, testified that the car that they were in was suddenly surrounded by other teens. who were rocking the car back and forth, yelling, possibly throwing things.

But instead of leaving the neighborhood, the teens in the car came back. And when Valley got out, he had his friend's folding knife in his pocket. Valley claims that he was quickly overpowered by other boys that he didn't know and lashed out with the knife in self-defense. James Jimmy McGrath, a 17-year-old star athlete at Fairfield Prep, was stabbed in the heart and died. The medical examiner testified during Valley's trial that the two and a half to three and a half inch stab wound to the left side of his chest punctured one of his heart's ventricles and he bled out. Three other high schoolers who all attended Shelton High School, Faisantiel, Ryan Hines, Thomas Connery, they survived the stabbing and they testified against Valley at trial.

And when it came time for the defense's case, Valley was the only witness to testify. Why? Could you see? Just the ground and people were just stomping and kicking and punching everywhere. Did you have the knife in your hand at that point? No. Where was the knife? It was in my pocket. Could you see any way to escape?

No. Did you try to get up? Yeah. Could you get up? No. Why not? It was just so many people hitting me. I'm just everywhere.

What could you hear? They were yelling and just, it was so weird. They were just yelling like, I can't even describe it. Did you hear anyone say, yes, sir? I heard a whole bunch of things I can't get. Could you hear anything? from Mr. De Silva? No.

Could you see the vehicle that you had arrived in, Jack Snyder's car? No. Could you see any way to make an escape from your position? Where were the other people that were kicking you, as you've described it? All around me, on top of me, behind me? Could you see who was on top of you?

No. Could you tell what the person, or persons that were on top of you were doing. Hitting me? Where were they hitting you? My head, the back of my head, kicking the front of my face, my ribs. Did you get the sense that they were going to let you up and let you go? Yeah.

What did you do at that point? I went to cover my head in like a fetal position. Did that seem to have any effect? What did you hope would happen if you went into the fetal position? That they would stop. Did they stop? Put us there on that lawn with you in the fetal position. What were you feeling?

Hopeless. Scared? Terrified? Why hopeless? Because they just weren't stopping. How were you feeling physically? Hurt. What hurt?

Did you lose consciousness? After the first hit, yeah. What happened next? What happened next? As I was in the fetal position, I was the side of my head and the top of my head with my forehead into the dirt. I was almost like hunched over.

And I had not reached in my pocket and grabbed the knife. What were you thinking when your hand touched that knife? I felt like the only thing that would help me. What were you saying? seeing at that point around you? My face was in the dirt. I kind of really see. I just felt.

Nothing changed. Could you see Tyler De Silva? No. Could you hear Tyler De Silva? No. What could you hear? Still just the same screaming. That's it.

Did the group give any indication that they were going to stop or let you up? No. No. What happened next? After I took the knife out of my pocket, I started waving and just stabbing in every direction, just flailing my arm around. Could you tell if you'd hit anything? Did that seem to have any effect on the... on the attack?

No, it made me more scared. Why did it make you more scared? Because it didn't change what they were doing and it didn't stop them from doing anything. Were they still kicking you? Yeah. Was someone still on top of you? Yeah, there were so many people on top of...

Were you able to get up at that point? No. What happened next? I kept flailing my arm around, just trying to get him away from me. Were you aiming for anyone? No. Were you aiming for Ryan Hines? No.

You weren't trying to kill Ryan Hines? No. What about Tommy Connery? You stabbed him four times in the leg. What were you trying to do to Tommy Connery? Get them away. Did there come a time when it was just you and Ryan Hines fighting one-on-one? No. Did there come a time when Tommy Connery separated you from Ryan Hines and was just there with you one-on-one standing up?

Uh-huh. Where were you the entire time you were flailing? How were you feeling while you were flailing around with that knife? More scared than before. Terrified. Just, it didn't make him stop even though I was flailing around a knife. Could you tell how many people were around you at that point? No.

What happened next? It's in flashes, but... I just remember getting shoved. I just remember getting shoved into the car. Um... Did there come a point where you were able to stand up? How did you get shoved to the car? I remember while I was in the fetal position and, like, flailing my arm around.

I was, I, like, rolled on the back of my heels and tried to jump backwards. Hey, everybody, this is another law and crime legal alert. Did you know that children are being diagnosed with serious conditions like type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and the research is potentially linking ultra-processed foods to all this yeah well morgan and morgan they're stepping in to fight to hold these food companies accountable with decades of experience fighting large corporations they're ready to stand up for the families who deserve justice so if your child under 21 has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease then visit www for the people.com

slash food or scan the QR code on screen to learn more. Now, before the July 4th holiday weekend, attorneys from both sides presented their closing arguments. And the prosecutor tried to convince the jury that Valley had malicious intentions when he, quote, brought a knife to a fist fight. In this case, there have been many witnesses who testified. It's happened three years ago. They provided different perspectives on what they saw, what they heard, what they did.

And the majority of the witnesses were teenagers when this happened. It was a horrific event. But the main story is the same. The main story is the same. The horrific event that was etched in their minds was the same. This case is not about who did it, what happened, how it happened, when it happened, what happened. This case is about Raoul Valley, the defendant, who brought a knife. to 43 Laurel Glenn on May 14th of 2022 and provoked a fight and stabbed four kids nine times killing one that's what this case is about somebody puts an address 43 Laurel Glenn in the group chat come to Laurel Glenn so they go they go over to Laurel Glenn the defendant would have you believe that he had no idea that they were going to fight that they were just going to another party

I would submit to you that you need to assess whether or not that's credible. And you heard Tyler Rich say, I was yelling at these kids, get the hell off my property. I looked out of the corner of my eye, and I saw Raul cock his arm like he was going to punch him to tie wood. And that's when I just hold off and cracked him in the face. And it was on. So I would submit to you, if the defendant walked on the property, confronted those kids, and started to throw a punch or pretend like he was going to throw a punch, he was the initial aggressor in the altercation by coming back by approaching those kids and by cocking his his arm he was the initial aggressor he provoked the fight and started the fight he gets hit it's on all right now I can claim self-defense now I can take this knife out that I have in my pocket while I'm on the ground open it up right all intentional conduct and start stabbing kids right you heard him testify I was flailing my arms I would submit to you if you look at

any of the injuries on these kids from three years ago those are deliberate stab wounds those are not flailing slash marks stab wounds doesn't make sense when someone says I was very scared frightened and panicked to go put yourself back in that situation it makes zero sense and because of his conduct three people are going to have to live with scars for the rest of their lives both mentally and physically and James McGrath lost his life unnecessarily. And at one point, the prosecutor even got choked up as he delivered his argument. And with regards to Jimmy McGrath, he formed the specific intent to kill Jimmy McGrath at the moment he came back from that car, turned to him, and plunged the knife

into his heart. He didn't slashed at Jimmy McGrath. He plunged the knife into his heart through his rib cage, and through his heart, and the pork hit bled to death right there on the front lawn. You know. Yeah. the judge is going to give you an instruction on sympathy and need to file that instruction and I apologize for getting a little choked up here because I have a son as well and I can't imagine what it feels like to have that happen and I hope no one else

ever has to I hope no one else has to go through this ever. It's terrible. I apologize for taking a moment. But again, the judge are going to give you an instruction on sympathy, so please follow that instruction on sympathy. But we are confident that after you review all of this evidence, you will find the state has proved each and every element of charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Now you go to the defense, okay? And the defense during their closing, They portrayed the night as a series of escalating mistakes. This might be a hard case because it involves young people. It might be difficult because it involves young people, right?

But it is not a complicated case. It is a case about the most basic right that any of us have is the right to defend ourselves when we're faced with people that are intent on doing us serious physical harm. It could be as much. much as death, serious disfigurement, and all the other things you're going to hear about in that structure. You've heard from the state here telling you, I guess that Lido Valley is a criminal

mastermind who came over there with plan to be able to use all of this so that now I can claim self-defense. You heard Mr. Valley get on the stand. Mr. Valley, a criminal mastermind, can put together a plan like that. Back home, you know, we'd say, son, bless your heart, but that was mighty stupid. There was a whole lot of stupid to go around that night. There was a fire that got lit earlier in the night, and it started with all that drinking that was going on. and nobody there to say, what are we doing?

And the defense also pointed out that two of the other boys were there that night, Tyler De Silva and Jack Snyder, they were given immunity for their part in this altercation in exchange for their testimony. I hope it weighed heavily on your mind. Imagine if I came up here and asked you to believe witnesses, I can't even call them paid witnesses. they have something more valuable than any money they could ever be given. What is more valuable than a complete immunity agreement?

Anything? Is there anything that an 18, 19, 20-year-old kid would not come up here and do or say in order to avoid any penalty whatsoever for their actions? Does that bother you? Does that disturb you? It should. Does that sound like justice for all? Does that sound like justice for some? Does that sound like equal justice to you? Don't turn this into a kangaroo court by putting any more weight into the testimony of Tyler De Silva and Jack Snyder than what it deserves.

And it doesn't deserve any more weight than the paper. in the ink on which it is written because that incentive is overwhelming. They're telling you things that they can see that couldn't have been seen. Why are they doing that? They want to avoid consequences that Mr. Valley is now

saddled with they want to protect themselves They want to protect their friends, and they want to protect the memory of a loved one that they lost. But there was so much stupid running around that night. And now Mr. Valley is the only one sitting here facing anything for it. Because he got in that car and had a pocket knife in his pocket. You'll recall not a single witness telling you that he got out of that car.

and came on to that lawn with that knife displayed. None of them saw it. He didn't get out dancing around with it, licking the blade, asking who wants a piece of this, none of that. The attorney also reminded the jury of their very important job. You may feel inclined to try and solve the crime or somehow make things right.

That's not your job. You can't fix all the ills that led up to that night. Your job is to determine whether or not you have a reasonable doubt about what happened that evening based on the evidence that you've been presented. I think you've got more than a single reasonable doubt. Now what happened after the holiday weekend? Well, the jury returned to the courthouse to deliberate over two days. And at one point, they sent a note.

asking to watch Valley's testimony again. They also sent notes saying they were deadlocked on certain charges. So the judge told them to keep at it, keep deliberating, but eventually the judge accepted the split verdict when asked a third time. In summarizing the note, which does indicate to some extent the deliberative process, it appears that the jury has reached a verdict as to murder at count one, manslaughter in the first degree intentional at count one. assault in the first degree intentional at both counts two and three, and assault in the second degree intentional at count four. At this time, the court's intention would be to accept the partial verdict and declare a mistrial on any lesser included charges upon which the jury is unable to reach a verdict.

As a reminder, Valley was charged with murder, plus several lesser manslaughter and assault charges, and on July 9th, the jury returned their verdict. Mr. Fourperson, in the case of State of Connecticut versus Raul Alia Valley, has the jury agreed upon a unanimous verdict as to murder at count one, manslaughter in the first degree intentional at count one, assault in the first degree intentional at counts two and three, and assault in the second degree intentional at count four? Yes, we have.

Will the defendant Raul Alaia Valley please rise and face the jury? Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty? Not guilty. I'm sorry, I've got a moment. We have to go through the in docket number 8. Oh, it's not on here. Sorry. It's okay.

In docket number A-A-N-C-R-22-0. 1189-418T. Count one of the substitute information charges the defendant Raul Eliah Valley with the crime of murder in violation of Section 53A-54A of the Connecticut General Statutes. Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty? As to count one of the substitute information charging the defendant with the lesser included offense of manslaughter in the first degree and, intentional in violation of section 53A-55, perenn A, paren 1 of the Connecticut General Statutes, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty? Not guilty. So, in the end, Raoul Valley was acquitted of one count of murder in the death of Jimmy McGrath, two counts of first-degree assault for the stabbings of Ryan Hines and Thomas

Connery, and one count of second-degree assault in the stabbing of Faisant-Teal. And the jury was deadlocked on the reckless manner. slaughter and reckless first and second degree assault charges. So a mistrial was declared for those. And by the way, when you think about this verdict, Valley had previously turned down a plea deal that would have meant 40 years in prison for him. So choosing instead to go to trial where he could have faced up to 105 years behind bars if he was convicted. In the end, this was the right decision. No. Instead, he goes home a free man. Now, the verdict has been making a lot of waves on social media, especially TikTok, where interest in this trial has spiked.

Some have said that the verdict steals justice away from McGrath and his family. Kevin McGrath, this is Jimmy's dad, told Outlet's CT Insider, I'm shocked right now at the verdict. I'm just in shock that an innocent young man with a brilliant potential is not with us anymore, and the person that took his life is right now free tonight. I was not ready for not guilty. Now, from a legal point of view, it is possible. there could be a retrial and the charge is the jury deadlocked.

The prosecution can do that. Before the jury was brought in to make its announcement, the prosecutor told the judge that the state does intend to file the lesser charges, but beyond that, no official announcement has been made as of yet. I want to make that clear. And by the way, Valley could also still face legal trouble in civil court, right? Lawsuits. And as for Rule Valley, according to CT Insider, he declined to speak with reporters outside of

courthouse. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. Apple Podcasts or Spotify.