The father of a slain Fairfield, Connecticut, prep school lacrosse player reacted with shock after his son’s suspected killer was acquitted on a murder charge on Wednesday afternoon. 

“I’m astonished at the results, but, you know, it’s due process,” a stoic Kevin McGrath said outside the state Superior Court in Milford, Connecticut, later describing his son as a “wonderful person.”

“He’s entitled to it,” said McGrath. “And at the end of the day, the jury made their verdict. I’m not sure if, you know, they were in the same courtroom as we all were together, but that’s the verdict. And we’ll live with it.” 

Kevin McGrath, right, father of slain prep school lacrosse player Jimmy McGrath, speaks to reporters outside the state Superior Court in Milford following Raul Valle’s acquittal on July 9, 2025. He is with family attorney Michael Rosnick. (Fox News)

McGrath family attorney Michael Rosnick spoke briefly about the possibility of further legal action. 

“There are lesser included charges,” he said. “I anticipate, we anticipate, that the state’s attorney’s office will file an information, but I’m going to let the state’s attorney’s office speak for itself.”

The parties are currently embroiled in civil litigation. 

Valle attended St. Joseph High School in Trumbull near Fairfield Prep, where McGrath was a junior. Both had been at a house party on the evening of May 14, 2022, that involved a fight and underage drinking prior to the stabbing, which occurred at another house party later that night.

Raul Valle stands with his defense attorney Kevin Smith, left, on the first day of his murder trial in state Superior Court in Milford, Connecticut, June 17, 2025. (Ned Gerard/Connecticut Post via Getty Images)

At one point, there were about 25 people engaged in the fight on the front lawn of the home, whose owners were present during the brawl, witnesses told police. At least three juvenile suspects are mentioned in the report, including Valle, who was suspected of having a knife.

McGrath had “one stab wound to the left side of the chest,” the warrant states. “The stab wound went through the rib and heart.”

Valle claimed during his trial that he acted in self-defense, and that he was protecting one of his friends.