Teen Killer Who Blamed Acne Drug for Friend's Murder Ripped Apart in Court

Stop snibbling. Stop crying. You did. this to yourself. I will never forgive. you. >> Those were the words from Benjamin Blak. to Connor Hilton. This was just moments. before a Texas judge handed down a. crucial sentence that would change both. of their lives forever. And it was a. conclusion to a case that began with a. 911 call from a bathroom hideout. featured a bizarre last ditch defense. blaming acne medication for this. violence and a confession so chilling.

it's hard to believe it came from a. teenager. Welcome to Sidebar presented. by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. You know that heavy awful quiet that. falls right before something huge. happens? That was the vibe in a Texas. courtroom this week as 18-year-old. Connor Hilton found out he's going to. prison for decades. This is after. admitting to shooting two of his friends. during what was supposed to be just a. casual hangout at his house. He ended up. killing one of them, leaving another.

fighting for his life. And right before. the judge made the sentence official, he. had to just sit there and listen, not to. his lawyers, but to the people he hurt. Benjamin Blake, the friend that he shot. in the head, who somehow miraculously. survived, looked right at him and didn't. hold back. >> Stop sniveling. Stop crying. You did. this to yourself. The grief you have. caused the riots and my own family.

I will never forgive you. >> Minutes later, the judge delivered the. words that would define the rest of. Hilton's life. But what we have to talk. about is what happened just days before. Hilton's defense team, they made a wild. lastditch move to explain the. unexplainable. They argued that severe. psychosis induced by a common acne. medication that was to blame for him. losing control. That's not a joke.

That's what happened. That theory, although clearly didn't exactly pan out. the way the defense had hoped. We're. going to get into that. We're going to. talk to whether or not that was ever. going to be successful. We'll get into. that. But to understand the full weight. of that moment, you have to go back to. the night before Christmas Eve in 2023. We go to this quiet street in. Friendswood, Texas. This is where a 911. call revealed an unthinkable horror that. would leave one teenager dead, another. fighting for his life, and a community. searching for answers. This all starts.

on December 23rd at around 8:51 p.m. According to the probable cause. affidavit, that is when the Friendswood. Police Department. The dispatch received. a chilling call. A young man hiding in a. bathroom reported he had just heard two. gunshots come from inside the two-story. home and that there were other people. inside with him. So, police were there. within a minute. Hilton was outside on. the curb, apparently distraught. And. here is where it gets really eerie. According to the affidavit, this is how. that interaction with police went down.

Quote, "Sergeant Schmidt approached. Hilton, who was visibly distraught, and. asked if anyone was hurt." Afient was. advised that Hilton responded by nodding. his head, indicating yes, and was asked. who was hurt. Sergeant Schmidt advised. Afient that Hilton held up his hand with. two fingers extended, motioned toward. the residence, and stated there were two. teenagers inside that Hilton believed to. be deceased. So before cops even set. foot inside that house, Hilton is. outside confirming the worst, telling. them there are two dead teenagers.

inside. So officers they enter the home, they find the caller hiding in the. bathroom. They escorted him to safety. and he was able to tell them what he. heard and this detail straight from the. affidavit. It is haunting. It says. afient was advised that the caller. reported being in the bathroom hearing. the gunshots and then it was silent in. the residence. Afient was advised that. the caller reported hearing Hilton walk. by the bathroom door crying and stating, "What have I done?" Now, what officers.

found next was every parent's worst. nightmare. In the main area of the. house, the officer saw one male, later. identified as 18-year-old Ethan Riley, lying on the floor with a gunshot wound. to his head and a pool of blood beneath. him. Towards the back of the residence, they find that second male, again, Benjamin Black was lying on his back. with a gunshot wound to the head. And on. a table inside, officers noted a. revolver with a teal handle and a gray. finish. Now, I have to say this real. quick. At Long Crime, we are so proud.

that viewers turn to us because we try. to bring common sense and unbiased. analysis to the world of law. But just. like a jury that needs to be aware of. any biases to be fair, we need to be. fully aware of any bias in the news that. we cover too. And that is where Ground. News comes in. So Ground News is an app. that shows how stories are covered from. right to left to center, plus who owns. the outlet, who funds it, and its. factuality rating. If you want to get. the full picture, knowing who holds the. purse strings and what their interests.

are, that is a major first step. So, let's take the release of the Epstein. files, right? It is causing a legal. uproar and every outlet on both sides of. the spectrum have been covering it. But, as I click from right to left to center, the tone and framing completely shifts. So, according to left-leaning headlines, the demands for release are an. unnecessary political distraction and. that the release isn't in the victim's. interest. In this one headline from. MSNBC, federal judge publicly calls out. Trump Justice Department for its Epstein. case diversion. Meanwhile, the. right-wing headlines, they claim that.

keeping them sealed is actually just. more political theater. Like this one. from Breitbart, disingenuous New York. judge blocks unsealing of Gain Maxwell. grand jury transcripts. So, look, as you. can see, as a crime reporter, I use. ground news because it cuts through the. noise. It's like having a legal brief. for the news. Right now, Ground News, they're offering a special discount for. new subscribers to their Vantage plan. Listen to this. Go to the link in our. description, groundnews.com/sidebar, or check out the QR code for 40% off. unlimited access to their worldwide.

coverage. In today's climate, knowing. why a headline is written the way it is. might be the most powerful tool you. have. And Ground News puts that power in. your hands. EMS, they rush both victims. to different hospitals. And meanwhile, Connor Hilton, right, the suspect, was. taken to the Friendswood Police. Department for questioning. detectives. They swapped his hands for GSR, gunshot. residue, and then just after midnight on. Christmas Eve, they read him his Miranda. rightites. The affidavit states that. Hilton said he understood his rights and. he agreed to talk. And what he gave them.

was a full detailed confession. Now, we're going to get to that. We'll talk. about that. But first, I want to bring. on Texas trial attorney Bridget Williams. to talk more about this. Bridget, thank. you so much uh for coming here on. Sidebar. Really appreciate it. So, this. individual hiding in the bathroom, you. don't always have it in a case like. this, right? An eyewitness. How critical. is that testimony? Is that account to. the initial probable cause affidavit and. the early case strategy? >> I think you hit the nail right on you.

hit it right on the nail with that. Um, when we talk about that, you do not. always have information or a key witness. like that. someone who is able to say. this is exactly what happened as soon as. the offense occurred and he can say well. there was silence and then I heard the. defendant say these exact words that. information is critical and that is. going to be testimony that would come in. in a trial that's testimony that is. brought up in a probable cause affidavit.

also just the negotiations between the. prosecution and the defense council. before we get to trial that's going to. be such a key factor and consideration. for both sides. Um, so that's something. that is extremely important for defense. council and for the prosecution u for. consideration, right? Because it also. lays out a timeline of events having. that witness, whether or not there was. any kind of self-defense or argument. that might have brought any of this up. But this affidavit also noted Hilton and.

it noted that Hilton was quote visibly. distraught at this scene, was read his. rights hours later at the station, was a. prosecutor. How do they assess whether a. confession given under these emotional. circumstances is voluntary and whether. or not it's admissible? I mean, what. should we be considering in terms of the. statements from a suspect at this state? But the thing is that so many people. think that they're supposed to be red. Miranda rightites as soon as officers. come over and start talking to you. What. if the officers come and they ask,

"Well, what happened?" They're just. asking general questions to try to. figure out what's going on. They don't. have to necessarily give Miranda rights. Once they start asking questions more. detailed about actually the crime that. happened, then that's when they have to. ask Miranda rightites and if the person. is in custody. So there's two prongs. with that. Is he in custody? and are we. going to now start asking questions. about the development of what actually. happened with the charge in question? So. the officer's coming over and asking him. questions about what happened and him. giving a statement at that time. I don't.

see anything wrong with that in that. stage. He's actually going to be. extremely transparent because he doesn't. have any counsel or anyone or anything. to hide. Right? So everything that he. says at that time he volunteered to give. to police officers. And from a legal point of view, I. thought it was interesting. They. immediately do a gsr test, right, to see. if he has gunshot residue on him. You. know what what happened here? My. understanding though, if I'm correct. here, is that the gsr test was done.

before reading his Miranda rights? Is. that valid under the law? Um, as a. defense attorney, is that something uh. they can work with? Is does it create a. vulnerability for the evidence? Is there. anything improper by immediately. collecting gsr on a suspect's hands? >> Well, I mean, the thing is that they. have to do it because otherwise that can. be something that is bleeding. That. could be something they wash off. That. that is something they're trying to get. evidence for as soon as possible. So, they need to be able to do that. The.

Miranda rightites are more so for being. able to ask him questions that what. exactly happened here in this particular. offense that happened. So, the Miranda. rightites are going to talk about the. questions as it relates to the offense. that occurred. So, is he in custody? And. then, are we asking him questions, but. the actual gun residue, they're going to. try to get that as soon as possible. because that is something that can be. washed off, can be pleading, but they. want to get that and get it in right. when they can. >> Right. So, let's talk about this because.

what was said, according to police, Hilton offers this detailed confession. and it all started with this. This is. per the affidavit. quote, "Hilton stated. to Afient that he had thought about and. wanted to commit a homicide for a long. time. And he said that Blak Riley and. another friend were over at his house. He had a handgun, one that he admitted. he talked his mother into buying for. him. They were all just hanging out in. the main area when Hilton started. showing them the gun. And then without.

warning, without argument, he decided to. act." The affidavit states he decided to. shoot Riley Black and another individual. once inside the residence. Hilton stated. that he stood up, raised the gun, and. shot Riley first in the left side of the. head. Hilton stated that he then turned. to his right and shot Blak in the left. side of his head. Hilton was specific, stating that Blak raised his hands in a. defensive manner as Hilton shot him. Talk about a damning account. And then.

he finished by saying he fully. understood what he had done and that he. should be held accountable. December. 24th, Christmas Eve, Ethan Riley. succumbed to his injuries, and the. medical examiner later ruled his death a. homicide. As for Benjamin, he nearly. died from his wounds, but he recovered. It was a miracle. But Hilton, he was. arrested. He was charged with murder and. aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His trial was set to begin September. 8th, but Hilton instead waved his right, pleaded guilty as part of a deal, and. we're going to get to that in a little. bit. But Bridget, first of all, you.

know, as a prosecutor, what more could. you want? You have a detailed. confession. You have him saying he. completely understands what he's doing. Uh where does a defense attorney go from. there? I think the only place that they can go. is exactly where they went is trying to. find ways that could explain exactly why. this young man would do something like. this. And so they were trying to pull. anything that they possibly could. And. so that's when they went into can we. bring forward an expert that says that.

the medicine that he was on caused him. to do this. So that's one option. Other. option is going to be trying to find the. best possible plea agreement that they. could do and not take it to trial. So. those were two options. When something. like this happens, when you have an. outright confession, the facts are not. necessarily on your side. You know, you. have to try to find whatever you can or. work out the best possible plea. agreement so the client doesn't get the. maximum punishment that's possible. What's shocking about that confession is. it's not like, you know, there was an. argument or something.

precipitated this. It's I wanted to do. this for a while and there was nothing. that provoked it and literally took the. gun up and shot these individuals. It's. almost like a clear-cut law school. example if we talk about what murder is, right? >> That's such a great example of a law. school criminal class. But yeah, I would. say that the thing that's kind of just. about this case or that is just kind of. cringe a little bit about the case is. that he's been wanting to do a homicide.

for quite some time and not necessarily. a homicide against these individuals. He. just said a homicide and that could have. been against anybody, right, at all. And. so he's a danger. He's a danger to. himself and others. He wanted to commit. a homicide. Those are the words that he. used. And so the fact of the matter is. that he could have done that to anyone, but it was to these individuals who were. there while he was showing them this. gun. >> And here's what complicates the defense. Okay, I mentioned there's going to be. blaming uh certain medication on this.

Okay, let's go to that. September 2nd, so this is just a week before his trial. was set to begin. Hilton did something. He stood in front of a judge and plead. guilty. Plead guilty to murder and. aggravated assault. In that courtroom, he had to listen to powerful victim. impact statements. Benjamin, who. survived this traumatic brain injury. after weeks in the ICU, months of rehab, spoke directly to Hilton. >> First of all, stop snibbling. Stop crying. You did.

this to yourself. Secondly, the grief you have caused the Riley's. and my own family. I will never forgive you. >> Ethan Riley's father, Matthew, had to. choke back tears as he remembered his. son. >> I sit here with so much love, love in my. heart. for my son, Ethan, Matthew Ryder.

[Music]. He's a beautiful soul. full of love and um. it's a love that. will never diminish. It'll just grow stronger.

And the. it's a light. a light that. will continue. to overcome the darkness of your evil. thoughts and actions. >> And in the end, Hilton was sentenced to. 50 years in prison for the murder of. Ethan Riley and 20 years for the. aggravated assault of Benjamin. The. sentences are running concurrently. Again, before I go into this planned.

defense and why it didn't work, Bridget, the 50-year murder sentence, the 20-year. aggravated assault sentence, they're. running concurrently, meaning he's going. to serve them simultaneously. Um, you. know, many in the public might expect. consecutive sentences for two separate. violent acts. What do you think the. rationale was there? >> That's a pretty common um ruling by a. judge. Whenever there may be two. offenses that occur at the same time at. the same occurrence, that's a pretty. common thing that judges do and they'll.

run the sentences concurrently. Um, and. so that's not something that's uncommon. that happens all the time. And so in. this particular situation, the person. he's facing now would be 50 years. He. probably will qualify for parole in a. third of that time period. So that's. probably why they agreed to that. You. have these victim impact statements. which I think are are always so. important in any case, but for people. who don't know, when you're hearing. Benjamin's raw anger, when you're. hearing Matthew Riley's profound grief, why is it important a in terms of.

sentencing, unless there's just a. mandatory sentence of, let's say, you. know, life in prison without the. possibility of parole, there's nothing. really statutoily a judge can do. differently. But if there is wiggle. room, why is it important for a judge to. hear these statements? Why is it. important just for the victim's family. members and their loved ones to provide. these statements? >> Well, so let's start with why is it. important for a judge to hear it? So the. judge hears the evidence that comes out. in the trial setting that is based off. of guilt innocence, right? Or guilt or.

not guilty. Um, and so they may or may. not hear how this this has impacted the. lives of all the family members of of. the victim or how it's impacted the. lives of just the community. And so this. gives that the judge that insight. It. gives them that opportunity to see, well, how has it impacted their lives? And so he takes that into consideration. for the punishment phase. So most of the. time there's a range of punishment. whenever somebody pleads guilty to an.

offense. not just oh you get 20 years. you can can have a range and so the. court takes into consideration how has. this impacted the lives of all these. people in the community and then and. then it gives each of those family. members the people who actually come up. and say their pieces about it. It gives. them just that opportunity to feel heard. gives them opportunity to actually. confront the defendant and say what it. is that they've probably been wanting to. say for years. So, by the way, with parole eligibility, my understanding is that Hilton could be.

released in his what, 60s, chances of. that happening? >> Well, it's so many factors that go into. if somebody qualifies for parole. Um, and so when when someone most of the. time that they are eligible for parole, they apply for that through the parole. board here in Texas. And so, I would say. there's a high chance of him being able. to get out on parole early. I think a. lot of times people can qualify that for. that years before the sentencing. So.

let's say if he's there for 50 years, he. can ask to be let out on good behavior. from parole, all those different things. So it can be much earlier than that. >> Now let's talk about this defense, right? This is the big thing I mentioned. earlier that just days before this, Hilton's defense team made one final. attempt to prove his innocence. This is. per KHOU1. His team argued that the. common acne drug Accutane is what caused. the psychosis that led to the shootings. And they called an expert witness to the. stand during a hearing on August 25th to.

make their case. Here's how that played. out. >> Did you form an opinion as to whether or. not Connor was suffering from psychosis. on the night of the incident in this. case that he is charged with? >> Yes. >> What is that opinion? >> Is that he had a medication induced. psychotic disorder. So basically, the. doctor testified that in his opinion, Hilton was not in control of his. thoughts or behaviors during the. shooting, essentially blaming Accutane. for causing a psychotic break. Prosecutors, they weren't having it. No, they aggressively challenged this.

theory. They demanded concrete proof of. a direct personal causal link, not just. a general possibility. >> Said he was psychotic because he was. taking the Accutane. I need you to draw a line and explain to. me how Connor Hilton taking the Accutane. made him insane at the time of the. offense. >> Well, we know the Accutane can cause. psychosis. >> in Connor Hilton. >> And that's what happened to his. >> mental.

>> Yes. >> The judge ultimately found the argument. unconvincing. Refused to even allow the. jury to hear that testimony. So, that. was a big blow to the defense. There was. really nowhere else for them to go, it. seems, but to plead guilty. So, Bridget, why did that not work? I mean, this. wouldn't be the first time you've heard. defense attorneys blaming a drug for. behavior. >> Not the first time at all. Um, I would. say that it's in the judge's discretion. of if he believes that the evidence that. the expert witness is bringing, is it.

going to be helpful to the jury or is it. going to make them be more confused or. does it just put evidence in a bad light. for the jury? So, the judge has this. range that he can decide if that is. something that should be brought into. evidence or if it should not. If the. judge decides that he's not going to. allow that into evidence and the. defendant then decides that he's going. to take a plea agreement that he cannot. go back and appeal any type of plea. agreement. If he had moved forward, let's say with the trial setting even. without expert witness and was found.

guilty, he could have then still had an. option of an appeal. Um, and so but he. he chose not to do that. So now he. doesn't even have that option anymore. has in your experience I mean does it. mean that Accutane or some medication. like this can never be used as a defense. that or you need to provide concrete. proof you need to show how it affected. someone's behavior because someone can. look at this and say this is crazy how.

is it possible someone just opens fire. on two people without any provocation. like it doesn't make sense does it need. to be explained by some sort of. medication some sort of drug. Does it. completely foreclose this argument or is. it just saying you didn't prove enough. here? There's not enough here to. actually move forward with this defense. >> I think it's just in this particular. situation, it doesn't have to be that. there has to be a concrete line that. draws the the drug Accutane to this. particular killing. So, the what we're.

looking for in a trial setting, in a. criminal trial setting, is it beyond a. reasonable doubt? Right? Everything is. can we prove this beyond a reasonable. doubt. It doesn't have to be this. automatically cause this. That's why we. have expert witnesses to give their. opinions. They are there to give an. opinion. And so the court has the. authority again to rule out the opinion. and say that it won't be helpful for a. jury. However, another judge may say, "Well, I do think that this will be. helpful before a jury and we can utilize.

this and a jury can then decide if they. think that that is enough um to say, well, this is what caused it." Um, I. think that that should have been led. into testimony and the jurors should be. able to determine if it was something. that actually caused it or not. >> Now, I I did quick research on this and. I I believe it has at least been. explored in other kinds of cases. So, it's not as if it's totally uh uh uh you. know outside the realm of possibility,

but obviously there does become a. question of whether or not it would. work. And because the judge ultimately. refused to allow this defense, I I said. it before, but Bridget, I imagine you. agree with me. There was really nowhere. else for them to go. They had to plead. guilty. >> There was absolutely nowhere else for. them to go. I mean, if you have a. outright confession and you have someone. who said that they want to do a homicide. before they there was nowhere else for. them to go. There was no other defense. for them to make at this time. So, they.

had to move forward in a plea agreement. Um, or if they moved forward in a trial, they more than likely would have lost. and his punishment range could have been. much higher than what he received in the. plea agreement. So, in the end, the uh. Friendswood Police Chief perhaps put it. best, calling this resolution, this plea. deal, a somber conclusion with no real. winners. He said, "This resolution. spares the surviving victim and. witnesses from the painful ordeal of a. lengthy trial while ensuring. accountability has been secured. Justice.

has been delivered, but this case. remains a solemn reminder that in. tragedy such as this, there are no true. winners. One family must endure the. unspeakable loss of a child. Another. family faces a long and difficult road. to recovery. And our Friendswood. community has suffered with innocence. lost, friendships broken, and lives. forever changed. I think Bridget, that's. probably the best way to explain it. You. know, some people will say if you don't. have a trial and a jury doesn't hear. this, and maybe the individual is not.

sentenced to what the potential maximum. could be, justice is not served. But. when you think about this and you think. about not having to go through a trial. and not have to having this this victim. take the stand and not having a jury be. exposed to all of this the crime scene. photos and difficult subject matter. Maybe not having a trial is the best. case scenario, right? It it certainly can be that way. Um, with not having to go through a full. trial and having each of the individuals.

who have been impacted there, they were. still able to say what they wanted to. say. They were able to confront the. defendant um, and actually have the. judge hear their side of what happened. and how it's impacted their lives and. without having to go through a 3, 4 day. trial, sometimes longer than that. um. where they have to be exposed like you. said to crime scene photos and just. reliving that. So sometimes this this is. the better way to go through it. >> Bridget Williams, thank you so much for.

taking the time. Appreciate it. Good. seeing you. >> Thank you, Jesse. >> And that is 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 Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcasts. I'm Jesse. Weber. We'll speak to you next time. [Music].