- 5 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:16Friends with 9-1-1, what's the location of your emergency?
00:18I heard two guns fired.
00:22Please hurry.
00:24They're both shot.
00:25Both of my friends.
00:27I think the killer's still in the house.
00:29I don't know.
00:29This is my friend.
00:32The one with the gun, what's his name?
00:35Connor, I hope he's 17 years at age.
00:40What's going on?
00:41Somebody hurt?
00:43He's hurt.
00:45He's here.
00:46He's people.
00:46He's people.
00:48Where are they at?
00:48When police get to the scene, the first person that they come upon is Connor.
00:53And they're trying to figure out what happened.
00:55Two teenage males.
00:57Okay.
01:00I think they're deceased.
01:03The officers aren't exactly sure when they walk into the house what they're going to see.
01:09And what do the police see?
01:11Ethan first.
01:12And then you see Ben.
01:13They were both shot in the head.
01:15I'm just going to detain you, okay?
01:18They immediately turn around and they say detain him.
01:22Talking about Connor.
01:36He's going to buckle you up, all right?
01:38I have your son in the back seat of the patrol car because he's indicated to us that he took
01:44two people's lives today in your house.
01:47Okay.
01:49Dear God, I'm going to hell.
01:57He never had a temper.
01:59Always very mild, laid back.
02:03Had he ever been in trouble?
02:05No.
02:05Never.
02:10My son, he's a good boy.
02:12He's a good kid.
02:15It's okay, relax, okay?
02:18That was not him that night.
02:19I know that was him physically, but mentally, that was not him.
02:25Set a seat in here for me, okay?
02:28That night, he was just like, why would I do this?
02:31You know, those were my friends.
02:37Can you tell me anything about your friends, about Ethan and Ben?
02:46I'm sorry.
02:54All I'm going to say is that they were very good friends to me.
02:57That's all I'm going to say.
03:01I'm so evil.
03:02He talked about that it was evil, what he did.
03:06He knew what he was doing.
03:08He wanted to pull that trigger, and he did.
03:15Hey, listen to me, brother.
03:17Take you some deep breaths, okay?
03:19Connor's accused of shooting two friends.
03:21He admits that he did it.
03:23What am I missing here?
03:25Why take this case on?
03:27Well, because we wanted to get to the truth of what happened, the whys.
03:31It is baffling to me.
03:33Out of the blue, an extremely incredible act of violence was committed.
03:41After our research, we realized that there was a reason.
03:44Do you take any prescribed medications?
03:48Yes, sir, I do.
03:48What do you take?
03:49An expert with a defense saying the shooting was driven by psychosis caused by a popular acne medication.
03:56You think the acne medication puts you in a mental state where you could commit murder?
04:02Yes, ma'am.
04:32You think he did not take any control, no.
04:48It was just before 9 p.m. on December 23rd, 2023, when police arrived on scene in Friendswood, Texas.
04:56What happened? I just threw it out so bad.
05:00Somebody hurt? Who's hurt?
05:03It's their people.
05:05Their people.
05:06Where are they at in the house?
05:08Where are your friends at?
05:10They're in the walkway.
05:12They're in the walkway!
05:15When police entered Connor Hilton's home.
05:20They found 18-year-old Ethan Reilly and 19-year-old Benjamin Bleak lying on the floor, each with a
05:27gunshot wound to the head.
05:29Hello?
05:29Hello? Who's in here?
05:31Hello, Cole. I'm in the bathroom.
05:32They also discovered the boy who called 911. He was 15.
05:36Open the door. Let me see your hands. Let me see your hands.
05:39It's just me. I don't even touch this.
05:41Is there anybody from the house?
05:42Pull your shirt up. Pull your shirt up. Let me see the back. Turn around.
05:47Because he's a minor, we're blurring the face of the 15-year-old.
05:50Is there anybody else supposed to be in the house?
05:52No.
05:52How many? Four total?
05:53It was four total.
05:54The teen told police officers how quickly everything unfolded.
05:59We literally tend not even two minutes of being in the house. We come in. He's on the couch or
06:05something. He stands up. I walk right to the bathroom. I have to pee. And then I heard two loud
06:11gunshots and everybody was quiet. And I felt like I could hear laughing, but I think it was just them
06:15breathing. And Connor was like, what have I done? What have I done? And started crying. And I don't know
06:20where y'all found him, but I thought he was going to shoot through the door or something.
06:23In the house, unbelievably, paramedics saw signs of life in Ben and Ethan and worked to keep them alive.
06:32Where's the gun at, but I really have no clue what I do.
06:35Outside, police bagged Connor's hands to preserve evidence before putting him into a squad car.
06:41I need to be put in a mental hospital.
06:53Connor, at first, claimed he fired the gun in self-defense.
06:59We got into an argument.
07:02Okay.
07:05And Ethan tried to, he tried to come at me and he tried to come at me and I freaked
07:15out.
07:16And I, he tried to, he tried to grab from my throat.
07:26At the time of the shooting, Connor's mother, Johnise Hilton, wasn't home.
07:31I got a message from my neighbor that said, hey, something's going on at your house.
07:36And I was already on my way home.
07:40You pulled up and what did you see?
07:42Yellow tape, police cars everywhere.
07:46I'm going to talk to you something that's going to be very hard to talk about.
07:49The police had me sit in a car and he told me.
07:54I cannot believe this.
07:55This is insanity.
07:57What was going through your mind?
07:59I just was like, how could this happen?
08:01I was just there 45 minutes ago and he's, he was perfectly fine.
08:09It wasn't long before Connor's father, Neil Hilton, received word.
08:14Johnise and Neil divorced back when Connor was a toddler.
08:17It's never in a million years would you think you would get, I would get that kind of phone
08:21call, just knowing, you know, just knowing my son.
08:25Ben and Ethan were taken to area hospitals where they were fighting for their lives.
08:31Nick McCandless, then a detective with the Friendswood Police Department, was tasked with
08:36calling Ben's mom, Shannon Bleak.
08:39I get her phone number through dispatch and call her up.
08:43And I said, look, your son has been injured and I need you to come up here.
08:52I just got in the car and I just started praying.
08:57And what happened when you got to the hospital?
08:59Nick met me outside the doors and he told me that Ben had been shot.
09:06And I remember falling to my knees and he, you know, he was like, come on, let's go upstairs
09:12and wait in the waiting room and let's find out what's going on.
09:16Eventually, a doctor came out to speak with them.
09:19He said that Benjamin had been shot in the head.
09:23It was all very surreal.
09:25It just didn't make any sense.
09:28I just kneeled on the floor and just prayed.
09:33What did you say in that prayer?
09:35I just asked that he be with Ben and that he please get us through this.
09:43While Ben underwent surgery.
09:45Where am I being transported to?
09:47Friendswood.
09:48Connor Hilton was taken to the Friendswood Police Department.
09:53I know this isn't a time to be bringing this up, but are you having a good Christmas episode?
10:02Nothing about that night was making sense.
10:04Listen, what I got to do is read me my Miranda rights.
10:08I have the right to attorney.
10:09Well, yeah, but I don't want more.
10:10I'm going to read them, man.
10:12Soon, Connor would end up in an interrogation room with an entirely new story to tell.
10:17You just go straight to the chase.
10:19He literally just kind of opened up, right?
10:21And it was an emotional rollercoaster.
10:23You know what?
10:24I need to be honest with you guys.
10:25I just need to be honest.
10:27Oh, my God.
10:39Hey, man.
10:40How are you?
10:41Doing good.
10:42Good, man.
10:43I'm Detective Seagull.
10:44As his two friends were in the hospital fighting for their lives.
10:48Do you know what my parents are here?
10:51Oh, yeah.
10:51I think he went home, Dad.
10:52Connor Hilton was in a Friendswood Police Department interrogation room so that detectives could
10:58start to unravel the truth of what happened.
11:01How are you doing, sir?
11:02Hey, you're welcome.
11:02This is Detective McCandless.
11:05I knew nothing about him.
11:06I kind of went in blind.
11:07And so I had no idea if he was going to be aggressive towards me.
11:13I don't know you, man.
11:14You know what I mean?
11:14I'm trying to get to know you, right?
11:17Just trying to understand.
11:18Yes, sir.
11:19Yes, sir.
11:19No, sir.
11:20Very polite.
11:21Very polite.
11:23Not who I normally would sit across from an interview right after a shooting.
11:27You just got straight to the chase.
11:29It appeared the 17-year-old didn't want to waste any time.
11:33He launched into a story.
11:34And this time, he didn't mention an argument.
11:37Instead, he said it was an accident.
11:40I don't know.
11:42It just all kind of...
11:45It just all happened.
11:47Tell me how the gun goes off.
11:49It happened so fast.
11:55I had it in my hand.
11:58I really don't know.
12:03I was just standing next to Ethan.
12:09I don't know.
12:10But I heard it come off.
12:17I'm letting him stick with a story about it just went off, right?
12:19My idiot self had the stupid finger on the trigger.
12:25So I'm like, okay, well, how did it go off the second time?
12:29And so I said, Connor.
12:30I've got two guys that have both been shot in the head, right?
12:34So, you know what I mean?
12:36Like, how does that happen as an accident?
12:38That's what I want you to explain to me.
12:40That's when Connor Hilton broke down.
12:43It's like his whole personality, everything changed.
12:45And so did his story yet again.
12:47You know what?
12:48I need to be honest with you guys.
12:50I just need to be...
12:51Oh, my God.
12:55Okay, I've had suicidal, homicidal thoughts for so long.
12:59I've...
12:59I...
13:00I...
13:01I went up...
13:06I went up to...
13:07I went up to...
13:08I'm sorry for lying.
13:11You guys, it's okay.
13:13And Hilton didn't stop there.
13:15I convinced my mom to buy that gun for me so I could either shoot myself or shoot somebody.
13:24Oh, this feels so much better.
13:27Hilton told the detectives that he hadn't told anyone, including his mom, that he'd been experiencing those suicidal and homicidal
13:35thoughts.
13:36What did you think you were going to be able to achieve to help you by doing this tonight?
13:41Was it something you felt you had to do to be able to get this pressure off of you?
13:47Yes, you said it right there.
13:49That's one of the exact words.
13:50I know it's going to sound really, like, psychopathic and just, like, straight-up disgusting.
13:55It's weird.
13:55But the idea of murder is just super interesting for me.
14:01I don't know why.
14:02I don't know why.
14:04It is.
14:04I don't know why.
14:06That interview was probably one of the most honest interviews I've ever had with a suspect in a case, where
14:12literally they just poured everything out on the table.
14:15And, like, you could see the sigh of relief.
14:17So walk me through what Connor said happened.
14:22Connor says that he had planned this.
14:25His plan all along was to shoot his friends.
14:31But he said he had no specific target in mind.
14:34He'd invited a whole group of friends over that night.
14:37Ethan and Ben just happened to be the ones who showed up.
14:40I was convinced maybe he was going to try to kill me, too.
14:43As for that 15-year-old who went to the bathroom as soon as he got there, he simply got
14:48lucky.
14:49I think he closed the bathroom door.
14:51And I thought it was risky to either shoot through the door or go, because he locked the door.
14:56Okay.
14:58And I'm really glad.
14:59I'm really, I'm so, so glad that he closed the door and I didn't kill him.
15:04Before the interview ended, Hilton made yet another admission.
15:08What I did was wrong.
15:09I need to do the punishment.
15:09I know that.
15:10But I also need help.
15:13I need really, really, I need some help.
15:17I could tell he was struggling that night with, I knew this is what I felt.
15:21I knew this is what I wanted to do.
15:22But how I got here, I don't know.
15:28Connor Hilton was arrested on two counts of aggravated assault with serious bodily injury.
15:35That night, in jail, Hilton was allowed to make a phone call to his mother.
15:40I need help.
15:42I need, like, mental, like, mental, like, mentally help.
15:47I know, sweetheart, it's okay.
15:48We'll get it for you, okay?
15:50I did, I did, I did a very bad thing.
15:55The next day, Christmas Eve, Connor Hilton was released on bond.
16:01We got him home and then he just lost it.
16:05Fell on the floor.
16:08I'm crying.
16:09Did he tell you what happened?
16:11I, I couldn't hear any of it.
16:13I, like, I mentally didn't want to hear.
16:22The Riley family spent their Christmas Eve in the hospital and were there when their son, Ethan, died.
16:34Somebody spotlight these windows.
16:36On Christmas night, officers were back at Connor Hilton's door to arrest him on a murder charge.
16:46I look out the window and there's a SWAT truck outside.
16:49Johnny?
16:49Yes, sir.
16:50Hey, is he here?
16:51They came in.
16:51They came in.
16:52Where's he at?
16:53Where's he at?
16:53There, he's right there.
16:54Hands, hands, hands.
16:55Show me your hands.
16:55I was kind of, like, in the back of the house, sort of, and I just had my hands up.
17:00Turn around, face away from me.
17:02And they had their guns drawn?
17:03Yes, ma'am.
17:06You're under arrest for murder, okay, Bob?
17:10All right.
17:15May I give him a hug?
17:17Sure.
17:18No hugs.
17:19No hugs.
17:19No hugs.
17:20Go.
17:20Let's go.
17:21No hugs.
17:22Hey, we love you, Connor.
17:23I love you, Bobby.
17:24We're working on it, okay?
17:26Yes.
17:26Be strong.
17:28Hilton was booked into jail, but again, the stay was short-lived.
17:32He was eventually given a bond, and his family posted it.
17:39As Connor's parents began grappling with what their son had done, Shannon Bleak was still
17:45in the ICU with her son, Ben.
17:49His head was bandaged significantly.
17:53She'll never forget the moment she was first allowed to see him.
17:58I saw him, and I started to hyperventilate.
18:02And a nurse grabbed me and hugged me.
18:05I composed myself, and I walked over.
18:09I said, Benjamin, Ben, Mom is here.
18:12And Ben opened his eyes, and kind of like, I hear you, you know?
18:20If there is any good news in this story...
18:23Ben, are you comfortable with walking over here?
18:25It's that Ben Bleak survived.
18:30How are you feeling today?
18:32Good.
18:48He has shown more resilience and more grit than any person I could ever even know.
18:56It's just like he's on a mission to get better, and he just does it.
19:02Shannon Bleak believes it's a miracle her son, Ben, survived.
19:07Both bone flaps were removed, meaning the two big parts of the skull.
19:12He had a tracheotomy put in to breathe, and he had a feeding tube put in to eat.
19:17And he was paralyzed on the right side.
19:22Following the shooting, Ben spent more than three weeks in the hospital
19:26before being transferred to an inpatient rehab.
19:31Not long after arriving there, remarkably, he was up and walking.
19:36Straighten it out.
19:37He was working so hard, so hard.
19:40According to Shannon, Ben would stay in that rehab for over a month.
19:44Excellent job.
19:45He had to learn to swallow again.
19:48I mean, everything.
19:49During that time, Shannon shielded her son from the details of the shooting.
19:53Ben doesn't remember anything from that night.
19:56It wasn't until he came across an article on his mom's phone
20:00that he learned his friend Connor Hilton pulled the trigger,
20:03and that his best friend, Ethan Riley, was killed.
20:07I was really sad.
20:10What was Ethan like?
20:27You learned that this guy that you were friendly with was the one who shot you and shot Ethan.
20:33I was furious.
20:39But Ben forced himself to stay focused on his recovery.
20:43At that point, Connor Hilton was out on house arrest awaiting trial.
20:48His parents say they were still dumbfounded.
20:51We knew that our son, not in a million years in his right mind, would do that.
20:55We knew that.
20:56You think he wasn't in his right mind.
20:58Oh, yeah, he definitely wouldn't.
20:59In his right mind, he would never do this.
21:00He's always been the sweetest, loving boy ever.
21:05In search of an explanation, Connor's father, Neil, began researching a prescription acne medication
21:10his son had been taking, called Accutane.
21:14The drug label warns of risk of, quote, depression, psychosis, suicide, and aggressive and or violent behaviors.
21:23Neil encouraged his son's lawyers to look into it.
21:27Something happened here.
21:28Adam Brown.
21:29Something happened.
21:30It's an emotional case.
21:31J.L. Carpenter.
21:32These type of cases are a challenge.
21:34And Rick DiToto make up Connor's defense team.
21:37Connor had no trouble with the law, no trouble with school.
21:40This doesn't make sense.
21:44Something changed.
21:45The kid changed.
21:46What changed it?
21:48What it came down to in our research was the acne medication.
21:52And my research led me to Dr. Bremner.
21:55My name is Dr. Doug Bremner.
21:57I'm a professor of psychiatry and radiology at Emory University School of Medicine.
22:02His CV is 96 pages long.
22:04We didn't play around when we had our expert.
22:07I don't think there's another human being on this earth who knows more about this topic than Dr. Douglas Bremner.
22:13Dr. Bremner says he's done extensive research on Isot Retinoin, the generic version of Accutane.
22:20The drug is sold under several brand names.
22:22He also gets paid to testify in cases.
22:25It's a very strong medication.
22:27There's a large number of people, you know, throughout the world that have experienced side effects from it, including psychiatric
22:34side effects.
22:35Why is it still on the market?
22:37Well, it's a great treatment for acne, especially severe acne that's cystic.
22:43And that's what Connor Hilton says he has.
22:45Ever since I was little, I've always had these bumps on my bottom, sometimes on my armpit.
22:51They would be extremely painful.
22:53I couldn't even walk.
22:55Like, that's how bad they were.
22:57We tried all sorts of medicine to make it go away.
23:02And then one day we went to the dermatologist and they said, hey, we're going to give you Accutane.
23:07That was in late July 2022, about a year and a half before the shooting.
23:13Connor was 15 at the time.
23:15His mother signed this document acknowledging the risks.
23:19According to court-admitted dermatology records, about a month later, Connor reported that he stopped taking the medication because he
23:26was, quote, feeling symptoms of depression.
23:29I was feeling real down and didn't really feel like doing anything.
23:32But Dr. Bremner interviewed Connor at the defense's request, and Connor told him that he wasn't completely honest back then.
23:40He said that it was after he started on the medication that he began experiencing homicidal thoughts, too.
23:48Did you tell anybody that you were having these thoughts?
23:51Did you try to get help?
23:52I was scared to tell people my actual thoughts because I didn't want to go to a mental hospital and
23:56people think I'm crazy.
23:57Connor told Dr. Bremner that when he stopped taking the medication, the thoughts subsided.
24:02They slowly disappeared.
24:05I was feeling more energetic, more, like, will-to-do stuff.
24:11But I was also in pain because of the bumps.
24:13They got worse again because I wasn't taking Accutane.
24:16In January 2023, after several months of being off the medication, Connor's dermatology records show that he went back on
24:24it.
24:24This time, he was given a lower dose than initially prescribed.
24:28Were you at all apprehensive?
24:30Like, oh, this has messed with my mind the first time.
24:32Maybe I shouldn't go back on this stuff?
24:34The bumps were so painful, I just needed something to cure it because it was just unbearable.
24:42Did the thoughts come back?
24:43Yes, ma'am.
24:43Slowly, but yes, it did.
24:46Suicidal and homicidal thoughts.
24:48Connor told Dr. Bremner that the thoughts eventually became consuming.
24:52It just amplified the longer I was on it.
24:54But he never reported any issues to his dermatologist again.
25:00Connor would continue taking the medication on and off for the next 11 months, up until the time of the
25:05shooting.
25:06Connor told Dr. Bremner that on that day, he took double his prescribed dose.
25:12He said that he had missed the dose the day before, so instead of taking two pills, he took four
25:19pills.
25:19After pulling the trigger that night, Connor said he stopped taking Accutane and never experienced homicidal thoughts again.
25:26After speaking to Connor and reviewing the evidence in the case, Dr. Bremner formed an opinion.
25:32Why do you believe Connor Hilton shot his friends that night?
25:36I think he became psychotic on Accutane, and he had recurrent homicidal ideation that he was not able to control.
25:42Dr. Bremner is firm in his opinion.
25:45These thoughts did not occur before he took Accutane.
25:48He went off the drug, and those thoughts went away.
25:50And then he started the drug again, and the thoughts came back.
25:54So that's considered to be proof, basically, of a causal effect between a drug and a symptom.
26:00You know that people are going to look at this and say,
26:02this is just a family looking for an excuse for the horrible thing that their kid did.
26:06Well, I think that, you know, there was no motivation.
26:08There was no history whatsoever of conflict.
26:12This person was psychotic.
26:15J.G. Pharma, the distributor listed on the box of Accutane that Connor Hilton was taking at the time of
26:21the shooting,
26:22did not respond to our request for comment.
26:26But Connor's defense attorneys would build their entire case around Dr. Bremner's opinion,
26:32even though they were unaware of any other homicide case in which an Accutane defense worked.
26:38You see this kid, you see how upset he is, you see how remorseful he is.
26:46It's not just some young man deciding, I'm just going to go on this rampage.
26:51That's not what we have here.
26:52But prosecutors wouldn't be so convinced.
26:56It's not Accutane, he was evil.
27:10In August 2025, just weeks before Connor Hilton's murder trial was scheduled to begin,
27:16a hearing was held to determine whether defense expert Dr. Doug Bremner would be allowed to testify.
27:23He's the most qualified expert I've ever had on a case.
27:26Defense attorney Rick DiToto had to convince a judge that the doctor's testimony was reliable and relevant.
27:34What we're arguing is that through the expert, Connor was in psychosis from the Accutane and he could not control
27:42himself.
27:43Murder has got to be done intentionally and knowingly.
27:45He could not control his behavior.
27:48And that takes out the element of intentionally and knowingly in murder.
27:52At the hearing, Dr. Bremner testified that it was his opinion that Hilton was suffering from a medication psychotic disorder
28:00on the night of the incident.
28:05He pointed to a study he conducted which found that isotretinoin, the generic version of Accutane, impacts a part of
28:12the brain that regulates emotion.
28:14There's the brain on the left before treatment and then after three months of treatment, you can see there's a
28:19visible decrease in function in the upper part of the brain.
28:24See the reddish area on the left? It's not on the right.
28:28Dr. Bremner says that illustrates the brain on Accutane has less activity.
28:34Why is that important to what we've been talking about?
28:37Because we know that that part of the brain is involved in depression and also impulsivity.
28:42It is a bunch of poor s**t.
28:45Ben Bleak and his mother were in the courtroom.
28:48It was very convincing listening to that gentleman speak.
28:51And then once questions were asked on the prosecution side...
28:57Have you ever performed a brain scan of Connor Hilton?
28:59No.
29:00It just fell apart.
29:03What was your reaction when you heard that their defense was going to be that this acne medication caused psychosis?
29:09Well, I thought it was ridiculous.
29:11Kayla Allen is the lead prosecutor on the case.
29:14I don't think a jury was going to buy the Accutane made me do it defense.
29:20At the hearing, prosecutors argued Dr. Bremner's testimony should be excluded.
29:24And they introduced a more recent study that found that, quote,
29:35For Allen, the case is simple.
29:37I think that he just wanted to see what it felt like to kill someone.
29:43And that had nothing to do with the acne medication he was doing?
29:45I don't believe it did.
29:46No.
29:47She argues Connor Hilton was in his right mind at the time of the shooting
29:51and points to that statement he made on scene as proof.
29:55He tried to make a statement...
29:57We got into an argument...
30:00...that one of the boys had come at him.
30:03Ethan, he tried to grab me.
30:05He tried to grab for my throat.
30:09He's working a self-defense argument right from the beginning.
30:13Someone who's insane at the time they've committed a crime
30:17can't automatically start forming a defense for themself.
30:20By the time he got to the police station, it was like,
30:22Look, I'm sorry I lied to you.
30:24I'm not going to lie to you anymore.
30:25I'm going to tell you the truth.
30:26And Allen says Connor's police interview is also key.
30:30He told police officers that he had been planning it.
30:33He had acknowledged that he knew right from wrong, too.
30:37I need to do the punishment.
30:38I knew what I did was wrong.
30:40He knew by loading that gun and putting up to someone
30:42and pulling that trigger that he was going to kill them.
30:45That's what he wanted to do.
30:47These were his friends.
30:49Yes.
30:50Why would he shoot them?
30:52I don't know.
30:53Because there's no clear motive in this case,
30:57doesn't that support the defense's argument
31:01that Connor went into some sort of a psychosis?
31:04I don't think it does.
31:06Because there's just people that are evil and do evil things.
31:10Allen argues Connor Hilton is one of those people.
31:13Have you ever seen Connor pull out this gun before?
31:16Yeah.
31:17His friends told detectives about things he'd said
31:20in the months leading up to the shooting.
31:21He would say,
31:23One day I want to be important.
31:25I want to leave a legacy.
31:27And he would make comments about killing people.
31:30And detectives also pulled Connor's online activity.
31:34On YouTube, he downloaded numerous videos about murder.
31:38His social media posts referenced it as well.
31:41Connor's friends reported this post was made
31:44just hours before the shooting.
31:46It contains the lyrics,
31:48Murder won, better run.
31:50Killing plenty is so fun.
31:53It's chemically induced.
31:54Connor's defense attorneys argue
31:56Connor became obsessed with murder
31:58after he went on Accutane.
32:00So all of that can be blamed on the acne medication.
32:03Absolutely.
32:04And they say the police investigation
32:06supports their case
32:07because several of Connor's friends told police
32:10they noticed a change in him during sophomore year,
32:13which was after he went on the drug.
32:16And when you say they noticed a change,
32:18what are they saying?
32:19He was starting to isolate.
32:21He was getting more involved into true crime.
32:24He wanted to be a homicide detective.
32:25But Alan insists Connor's behavior
32:28had nothing to do with Accutane.
32:30That's just what the defense wants the community to believe
32:35because it gives them an excuse.
32:37He was having problems already
32:40before Accutane was even introduced in his life
32:43about not wanting to go to school.
32:45In fact, Connor was prescribed the antidepressant Prozac
32:48months before he started on Accutane.
32:50But Connor says he was only struggling
32:53with normal teenage anxiety then.
32:55I was a freshman.
32:56I was nervous.
32:57Do I fit in?
32:58Do I not?
32:59And during that freshman year,
33:01did you have suicidal, homicidal thoughts?
33:04No, ma'am.
33:05But after that hearing,
33:07to determine whether Dr. Bremner
33:08would be allowed to testify,
33:10the judge dealt the defense a blow
33:12and ruled Dr. Bremner would only be allowed
33:15to testify during the punishment phase
33:17of the trial, if necessary.
33:19So in Texas, we have two phases,
33:21guilt and sentence,
33:22and then if there's a guilty verdict,
33:24the punishment phase.
33:25So what will you do during the first phase of the trial,
33:27the guilt-innocence phase,
33:28if you can't present your expert?
33:30There's not much you can do.
33:31You just have to sit there and take it
33:32and wait till you get the punishment,
33:34and then we put on an aggressive case
33:36regarding the Accutane.
33:38There was still a lot on the line
33:41because in Texas criminal court,
33:44Connor Hilton was considered an adult
33:45and a jury could sentence him
33:47to as little as five years in prison,
33:50all the way up to 99 years or life.
33:53How high are the stakes here?
33:55I don't think you get much higher.
33:57It's a kid's life.
34:10Two weeks before Connor Hilton
34:12was set to stand trial,
34:14a big development.
34:16Prosecutors offered him a deal,
34:1850 years in prison,
34:20if he pleaded guilty to murder
34:22and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
34:25He would also have to waive his right to appeal.
34:28We know Connor would have never done this
34:31if it wasn't for the Accutane.
34:32So you didn't want to take the plea deal?
34:34I didn't.
34:35You didn't want to take the plea deal?
34:37No.
34:37But Connor?
34:38Well, he did.
34:40What did Connor tell you?
34:42I don't want the families
34:43to have to go through that.
34:44They say their son didn't want
34:46Ethan Riley's family
34:47and Ben Bleak and his family
34:49to have to suffer through a trial.
34:52And he also didn't want to risk
34:54receiving a life sentence.
34:56He was trying to get us on board
34:57with it.
34:58And I said,
34:59Bud, that's just a long time.
35:07But ultimately,
35:08the decision was Connor's
35:10and he chose to accept the deal.
35:13Connor's defense attorneys say
35:15they didn't counsel him
35:16one way or the other,
35:17but they believe
35:18he made the right call.
35:20I think the consensus
35:21between the three of us was
35:23there was a very strong possibility
35:25that he would get life.
35:26That body cam video
35:27walking in the house,
35:28it's a very difficult
35:29body cam video to watch.
35:31But while Connor Hilton
35:32and his defense team
35:33had worried about the possibility
35:35of a life sentence,
35:36prosecutor Kayla Allen
35:38had worried about the opposite.
35:39My main concern was
35:42he was a young kid.
35:44And I think that at times
35:47it hurts jury's hearts
35:49to sentence a young kid
35:52to life.
35:53We did not plea the case
35:55because we were worried
35:57about the Accutane.
35:58It was more his age.
36:00She says she offered the deal
36:01only after confirming
36:03the victim's families
36:04were on board.
36:06All rise.
36:07On September 2nd, 2025,
36:10a plea hearing was held.
36:11It's my understanding
36:12you're here this morning
36:13to enter a plea
36:14on both of these charges.
36:15Is that correct?
36:16Yes.
36:17Yes, sir.
36:18How do you plead
36:19to each of these charges?
36:21Guilty.
36:22He was crying
36:23because he was going
36:24to prison,
36:26not because...
36:28He felt bad
36:29for what he did.
36:30Do you think
36:30that Connor's acne medication
36:32played anymore?
36:34We know a lot of people
36:35who've taken that medication.
36:37And they don't have
36:38homicidal tendencies?
36:39Why do you think
36:41Connor pulled the trigger?
36:43Because he wanted
36:45to murder somebody.
36:48After Connor Hilton
36:49formally accepted the plea,
36:51Ben got the chance
36:52to make a victim impact statement.
36:54He made it clear to Connor
36:56how he felt.
36:57First of all,
37:00stop sniveling,
37:02stop crying.
37:03You do this to yourself.
37:07I will never forgive you.
37:09the grief you have caused
37:12the Rylees
37:13and my own family,
37:16I will never forgive you.
37:19Shannon addressed
37:20the court next.
37:21She turned her attention
37:22to Connor's mother.
37:24We are all living
37:25this nightmare
37:25because a mother
37:26chose not to tell her son
37:28no when he asked her
37:30to buy a gun.
37:31This mother
37:32put the gun
37:33in the hand
37:34of a child
37:35who should not
37:36have had it.
37:37Shame on you.
37:40Remember,
37:41Connor had told police
37:42his mother
37:42bought him the gun.
37:44I convinced
37:45that my mom
37:46to buy that gun
37:47for me.
37:48And in the hours
37:49after the crime,
37:50Janice also
37:51told that to police.
37:53What was the reason
37:54for buying the gun?
37:54He wanted to get it.
37:55But when we interviewed
37:57both Connor
37:58and Janice Hilton,
38:00they denied
38:00that the gun
38:01was purchased for him.
38:03I purchased that
38:04for myself.
38:05Why did you tell
38:06the police
38:07that you did buy it
38:08for him?
38:08I have no idea.
38:09I don't even remember
38:10that they showed me
38:12the interview.
38:13I have no memory
38:14of that.
38:15Do you think
38:15you were covering
38:16for him?
38:17Why would you say that?
38:18I have no idea.
38:20Janice Hilton
38:21has not been charged
38:22with any crime
38:23in connection
38:23with the case.
38:24And even though
38:25she bought the gun
38:26less than two months
38:27before the crime,
38:28she insists
38:29she had no idea
38:31her son was homicidal.
38:33There were these
38:34social media posts
38:35that he made
38:36about murder cases.
38:37He watched a lot
38:38of murder videos.
38:40Weren't these
38:41warning signs?
38:42No, I didn't think so.
38:44The Hiltons
38:45continue to blame
38:46the acne medication.
38:48You bought the gun
38:49in November.
38:50You didn't see
38:51any effects
38:51of the acne
38:52and medication
38:53psychologically
38:53that would lead
38:54you to think
38:55I shouldn't have
38:56a gun in the house?
38:57I didn't.
38:58I didn't, no.
39:00Still,
39:01Janice says
39:02she lives
39:02with an enormous
39:03amount of regret.
39:05I'm so sorry
39:06that this happened
39:07and I do feel
39:08responsible.
39:09I wish I could
39:10go back
39:11and change everything
39:12and I wouldn't
39:13not have purchased
39:15the firearm.
39:16I wouldn't have
39:16made him take
39:17the acne medicine.
39:22The last person
39:24to address
39:24the court
39:25during Connor
39:26Hilton's plea
39:26hearing was
39:27Matthew Riley,
39:28Ethan Riley's
39:29father.
39:30I sit here
39:31with so much
39:33love,
39:34love in my heart
39:36for my son,
39:37Ethan.
39:38Ethan's mother,
39:39Tara Riley,
39:40stood behind him.
39:41They declined
39:42our request
39:43for an interview.
39:43He's a beautiful
39:45soul full of love
39:48and light.
39:50You can see
39:51that light
39:52in his eyes
39:54and hear it
39:55in his laughter.
39:58After that,
39:59Connor Hilton
40:00was taken into custody.
40:01We spoke to him
40:02inside the Galveston
40:04County Jail
40:04the next day.
40:06Just the feeling
40:07of loneliness
40:07yesterday
40:08was unbearable.
40:13I mean,
40:14don't get me wrong,
40:15I did it to myself.
40:15I'm the reason
40:16why I'm here,
40:16but it just,
40:18it sucks.
40:22For Ben Bleak,
40:23everyday life
40:24remains a challenge.
40:27He plays pickleball
40:28and basketball
40:29to help restore
40:30his mobility,
40:31but he says
40:32one person
40:33has helped him
40:34the most.
40:34My mom,
40:36she's always
40:39there for me.
40:39Can you
40:41explain how
40:42difficult this
40:43has been?
40:44It is very
40:46difficult,
40:47but
40:49pouting about
40:50it is not
40:53going to get
40:55Ethan's back.
40:59So...
40:59You just
41:01got to keep
41:01going.
41:03Yeah.
41:04Go easy
41:05on me,
41:05my friend.
41:06Whoops.
41:07See,
41:08my backhand
41:08is bad,
41:09too.
41:09Yours
41:10is not
41:10as bad
41:11as my mom.
41:17Oh,
41:18is that
41:18what we do?
41:18Yeah.
41:19Good game.
41:19Good job, guys.
41:35Good job, guys.
41:36Good job, guys.
41:36Good job, guys.
41:37Good job, guys.
41:38Good job, guys.
41:38Good job, guys.
41:39Good job, guys.
41:40Good job, guys.
41:40Good job, guys.
41:41Good job, guys.
41:41Good job, guys.
41:42Good job, guys.
41:42Good job, guys.
41:43Good job, guys.
41:57Transcription by CastingWords
Comments