SHELTON — In a request for a civil protection order, a local woman says an older brother of the Milford teenager accused of fatally stabbing Fairfield Prep student James McGrath during a house party last May, had threatened to kill her the day after the homicide.
The charge was made public in court papers in which the woman sought civil protection orders on behalf of herself and her two children, ordering 18-year-old Raul Valle to stay away and walk away. Refrain from contacting, attacking, threatening, following or harassing them.
The documents do not link the charges against Valle to those against his 17-year-old younger brother, whose first name is also Raul, in connection with McGrath’s death on the night of May 14 in a house on Laurel Glen Drive.
According to the Judiciary website, Valle, 18, has no pending criminal cases in the state or any records of adult convictions. A hearing in the case scheduled for Wednesday morning in Milford Superior Court continued after Valle asked a judge to let him return with a lawyer.
Valle and her father declined to comment afterward, as did the woman who accused him of threatening her.
It was unclear whether police had investigated the allegations made in the civil court filing Wednesday morning. A message left for the Shelton Police Department spokesperson was not immediately returned.
In an affidavit accompanying her request for protective orders, the 33-year-old said her relative “had an abusive relationship” with Valle.
The affidavit says May 15, 2022 – the day after Valle’s brother would have killed McGrath — Valle, 18, “got physical” with the woman’s parent.
The woman says she and another person went to the parent’s location, which was not specified in the affidavit, where she said Valle then threatened to kill her by banging on a patio railing as she “removed” the parent from the situation.
The affidavit also states that Valle repeatedly told the woman’s relative “that he hates me and wants to hurt me.” She said that on January 3, after an argument between the couple, Valle reached out to her on Instagram saying he would beat her husband “like a little child” and referenced the death of their baby girl.
In court on Wednesday, the woman told Judge Cherie Phoenix-Sharpe that she had copies of the social media posts to submit.
But the judge delayed the hearing after asking Valle whether or not he wanted an attorney to represent him.
“I have a question: does this remain in my file, a restraining order? Vallée asked. “Criminal record?”
“This is a civil proceeding. This is not a criminal proceeding,” the judge said. “But there will be a recording of the protective order.”
After consulting with his father, Valle asked for an extension so he could return with a lawyer.
The judge then continued Valle’s case until February 1 – the same day his younger brother, who was released after arrest after posting $2 million bondis expected at the courthouse in connection with McGrath’s murder.
The judge also extended the protective orders, which had been signed on a temporary basis pending Wednesday’s hearing, until the next court date.
Comments are closed.