Warrant: Shelton parents knew minors were drinking at house party before James McGrath death

SHELTON — Police claim two local parents knew minors had alcohol at a party at their house leading up to the fatal stabbing of Fairfield Prep student James McGrath during a gathering later that night a few miles away, arrest warrants said.

Police said Raul Valle, a former student at St. Joseph High School, stabbed McGrath and three others during a melee outside a Laurel Glenn Drive home.

The incident happened about an hour after the teens dispersed from a Lazy Brook Road home where police said Paul and Susanna Leifer allowed their daughter to have a party on May 14, 2022.

The Leifers were charged Thursday with permitting minors to possess alcohol. Susanna Leifer, 51, was also charged with second-degree reckless endangerment because she had interactions with some of the minors at her home, police said. The Leifers were released on promises to appear April 3 in state Superior Court in Derby.

According to police, the Leifers allowed their daughter to invite 15 to 20 people to their home that night.

Paul Leifer, 59, told police he had COVID-19 and spent the night in his room, according to the warrant. Both parents could hear that more than 20 people gathered at their home, so Susanna Leifer told her daughter to start shutting down the party, the warrant said.

The warrant said a fight broke out at the home when Shelton High School students arrived with beer.

Susanna Leifer told police she heard commotion and discovered two boys fighting outside, according to the warrant. She told the teens to leave and handed them back beer one of them had brought, witnesses said, according to the warrant. Valle was one of the teens involved in the fight, the warrant said.

The Leifers told police they don’t allow their children to have alcohol when they invite friends to their house, but admitted there could have been alcohol at the party, the warrant stated.

They stopped answering questions regarding alcohol on the advice of their attorney, the warrant said.

Other teens told investigators some minors brought their own alcohol and Susanna Leifer shut down the party around 10:30 p.m., the warrant stated.

Before the party dispersed, some of the teens took “selfies” with a can of beer and what appears to be a hard seltzer while inside a Jeep, police said in the warrant. Another photo shows a teen with a bottle of vodka in the Leifers garage, the warrant said.

After the fight at the Leifers, the students from Shelton High School and St. Joseph High School engaged in an exchange of text messages daring each other to continue the fight at another location, police said in the warrant.

Another fight erupted when a group of St. Joseph students, including Valle, arrived at a Laurel Glen Drive home where the Shelton High students had gathered, the warrant stated.

Police said Valle stabbed four people, including McGrath, during the brawl around 11:55 p.m. that night.

Valle faces charges of murder and three counts of first-degree assault, and is scheduled to appear in court April 25.

It’s unclear whether the owners of the Laurel Glen Drive home will also face charges.

Attorney Michael Rosnick, who represents the McGrath family, said they had “mixed emotions” about the Leifers’ arrest and would likely file a lawsuit, but didn’t specify against whom.

“Everything is still raw,” Rosnick said. “They’re still in tremendous pain. This doesn’t bring them excitement.”

Shelton Police Department / Contributed photo Paul Leifer, 59, and Susanna Leifer, 51, were arrested on a warrant charging them with permitting minors to possess alcohol, according to Shelton police.