48 Hours - The Rx Defense

Episode Date: February 9, 2026

A Texas teenager shoots two of his friends. He says a popular acne medication made him do it. Tracy Smith reports. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Uh, it's middle south street. I heard two guns to spark. Please, hurry. I'm both shocked. I'm not. I think the killer's going out, so I don't know. He's my friend, no. The one with the gun. What's his name?

I call him. 17 years of age. What's going on? Somebody hurt? He's hurt. Who are they at? When police get to the scene, the first person that they come upon is Connor. And they're trying to figure out.

what happened. Two teenage males. Okay. Inside. Okay. I think they're deceased. The officers aren't exactly sure when they walk into the house what they're going to see. And what did the police see?

Ethan first. And then you see Ben. They were both shot in the head. I'm just going to detain you, okay? They immediately turn around and they say detain him. Talking about Connor. Connor. I have your son in the back seat of the patrol car because he's indicated to us that he took two people's lives today in your house. Okay. Dear God. He never had a temper, always very

mild, laid back. Had he ever been in trouble? No, never. My son, he's a good boy, he's a good kid. That was not him that night. I know that was him physically, but mentally, that was not him. Set a seat in here for me, okay? That night, he was just like, why would I do this? You know, those were my friends. Can you tell me anything about your friends, about Ethan and Ben? I'm sorry.

All I'm gonna say is that they were very good friends to me. That's all I'm gonna say. I'm so evil. He talked about that it was evil. that it was evil, what he did. He knew what he was doing. He wanted to pull that trigger, and he did. Hey, listen to him, brother.

Take you some deep breath, okay? Connor's accused of shooting two friends. He admits that he did it. What am I missing here? Why take this case on? Well, because we wanted to get to the truth of what happened, the why's. It is baffling to me.

Out of the blue, a extremely, incredible act of violence was committed. After our research, we realized that there was a reason. Do you take any prescribed medications? Yes, sir, I do. What do you take? An expert with a defense saying the shooting was driven by psychosis caused by a popular acne medication. You think the acne medication puts you in a mental state where you could commit murder?

Yes, ma'am. Tracy Smith reports. The R.S. Defense. It was just before 9 p.m. on December 23rd, 2023, when police arrived on scene in Friendswood, Texas. What happened? I screwed out so bad. Somebody hurt? He's hurt.

It's hurt. People. People. Where are they at in the house? Where are your friends at? They're in the walkway. There is a walkway. When police entered Connor Hilton's home.

They found 18-year-old Ethan Riley and 19-year-old Benjamin Bleak lying on the floor, each with a gunshot wound to the head. Hello? Hello. Who's in here? They also discovered the boy who called 911. He was 15. Over the door. Let me see your hands. Let me see your hands.

It's just me. How many? Pull you from the house. Pull your shirt up. Pull your shirt up. Let me see the back. Turn around. Because he's a minor, we're blurring the face of the 15-year-old.

Is there anybody else supposed to be in the house? No. How many, four total? It was four total. The teen told police officers how quickly everything unfolded. We literally tend, not even two minutes of being in the house, we come in, he's on the couch or something. He stands up. I walk right to the bathroom.

I have to pee. And then I heard two loud gunshots, and everybody was quiet. And I felt like I could hear laughing, but I think it was just. them breathing and Connor was like, what have I done? What have I done? And started crying. And I don't know where y'all found him, but I thought he was going to shoot through the door or something. In the house, unbelievably, paramedics saw signs of life in Ben and Ethan and worked to keep them alive. Outside, police bagged Connor's hands to preserve evidence before putting him into a squad car.

Connor at first, claimed he fired the gun in self-defense. It's an argument. Okay. He tried to come at me and... I tried to come out me and I got freaked out. And he tried to grab for my throat. At the time of the shooting,

Conner's mother, Janice Hilton, wasn't home. I got a message from my neighbor that said, hey, something's going on at your house. And I was already on my way home. You pulled up and what did you see? Yellow tape, police cars everywhere. I'm going to talk to you something. It's going to be very hard to talk about.

The police had me sit in a car and he told me. I cannot believe this. This is insanity. What was going through your mind? I just was like, how could this happen? I was just there 45 minutes ago and he was perfectly fine. It wasn't long before Conner's father, Neil Hilton, received word. Janice and Neil divorced back when Connor was a toddler.

It's never in a million years with you. I think I would get that kind of phone call, just knowing, you know, just knowing my son. Ben and Ethan were taken to area hospitals where they were fighting for their lives. Nick McAnlis, then a detective with the Friendswood Police Department, was tasked with calling Ben's mom, Shannon Bleak. I get her phone number through dispatch and call her up. And I said, look, your son has been injured, and I need you to come up here. I just got in the car and I just started praying.

And what happened when you got to the hospital? Nick met me outside the doors. And he told me that Ben had been shot. And I remember falling to my knees. And he, you know, he was like, come on, let's go upstairs and wait in the way. waiting room and let's find out what's going on. Eventually, a doctor came out to speak with them. He said that Benjamin had been shot in the head.

It was all very surreal. It just didn't make any sense. I just kneeled on the floor and just prayed. What did you say in that prayer? I just asked that he'd be with Ben and that he please get us through this. While Ben underwent surgery, Where are me being transported to? Connor Hilton was taken to the Friendswood Police Department.

Oh, this isn't a time to bring this up, but are you having a good Christmas office? Nothing about that night was making sense. Listen, what I got to do is read me my Miranda rights. I have the right to it's not. Soon, Connor would end up in an interrogation room with an entirely new story to tell. You just got straight to the chase. He literally just kind of opened up, right?

And it was an emotional roller coaster. You know what, I need to be honest with you guys. I just need to be your job. Oh, my God. Oh. As his two friends were in the hospital fighting for their lives. Do you know if my parents are here? Yeah, I think you're on with dad.

Connor Hilton was in a Friendswood Police Department interrogation room so that detectives could start to unravel the truth of what happened. I know it, sir. This is Detective McCandless. I knew nothing about him. I kind of went in blind. And so I had no idea if he was going to be aggressive towards me.

I don't know you, man. You know what I'm trying to get to know. Just trying to understand. Yes, sir. Yes, sir, no, sir. Very polite. Very polite. Not who I normally would sit across from an interview right after a shooting.

You just got straight to the chase. It appeared the 17-year-old didn't want to waste any time. He launched into a story, and this time he didn't mention an argument. Instead, he said it was an accident. Oh, no. It just all kind of... It just all that. Tell me how the gun goes off.

It happened so fast. I had it in my hand. I breathe. I don't know. I was just standing next to Ethan. I don't know, but I heard it come off. I'm letting him stick with a story about it just went off, right? My fucking idiot self had a stupid finger on the trigger.

So I'm like, okay, well, how did it go off the second time? And so I said, Connor. I've got two guys that are both been shot in the head, right? So, you know what I mean? Like, how does that happen as an accident? That's what I want you to explain to me. That's when Connor Hilton broke down. It's like his whole personnel, everything changed.

And so did his story yet again. You know what, I need to be honest with you guys. I just need to be... Oh, my God. Okay, I've had suicidal homocidal, homocidal thoughts for so long. I've, I, I, I, I went up to, I went up to me. I'm sorry for like, you guys, it's okay. And Hilton didn't stop there.

I convinced that my mom to buy that gun for me so I could either shoot myself or shoot somebody. Hilton told the detectives that he hadn't told anyone, including his mom, that he'd been experiencing those. suicidal and homicidal thoughts. What did you think you were going to be able to achieve to help you by doing this tonight? Was it something you felt you had to do to be able to get this pressure off of you? Yes. You said it right there. That's going to be exact words.

I know it's going to sound really psychopathic and just like straight up disgusting. It's weird. But the idea of murder is just super interesting for me. I don't know why. I don't know why it is. I don't know why. That interview was probably one of the most honest interviews I've ever had with a suspect in a case where literally they just poured everything out on the table.

And like, you could see the sigh of relief. So walk me through what Connor said happened. Connor says that he had planned this. His plan all along was to shoot his friends. We're planning it for so long. But he said he had not. no specific target in mind. He'd invited a whole group of friends over that night.

Ethan and Ben just happened to be the ones who showed up. I was convinced maybe he was going to try to kill me too. As for that 15-year-old who went to the bathroom as soon as he got there, he simply got lucky. I think he closed the bathroom door. And I thought it was risky to either shoot through the door or go because he locked the door. Okay. I'm really glad. I'm really, I'm so, so glad that he closed.

the door and I didn't kill him. Before the interview ended, Hilton made yet another admission. What I did was wrong. I need to do the punishment. I know that. But I also need help. I need really, really, I need some help. I could tell he was

struggling that night with, I knew this is what I felt, I knew this is what I wanted to do, but how I got here, I don't know. Connor Hilton was arrested on two counts of aggravated assault with serious bodily injury. That night, in jail, Hilton was allowed to make a phone call to his mother.

Mom, I need help. I need, like, mentally help. I know she was hurt. It's okay. We'll get it for you, okay? I did a very bad thing. The next day, Christmas Eve, Connor Hilton was released on Bond. We got him home, and then he just lost it. fell on the floor. Did he tell you what happened?

I couldn't hear any of it. I, like, I mentally didn't want to hear. The Riley family spent their Christmas Eve in the hospital and were there when their son Ethan died. On Christmas night, officers were back at Connor Hilton's door to arrest him on. on a murder charge.

I look out the window and there's a SWAT truck outside. Johnny? Yes, sir. They came in. They came in. Where's he at? Where's he at? There, he's right there.

I was kind of like in the back of the house, sort of. And I just had my hands up. Turn around, face away from me. And they had their guns drawn? Yes, ma'am. You're under arrest for murder, okay, Bob? All right, oh, well. Okay.

Is it right? May I give him a hug? No hugs. No, it's no. No, no. Let's go. No hug. Hey, we love you, Connor.

We're working on it, okay? Be strong. Hilton was booked into jail, but again, the stay was short-lived. He was eventually given a bond, and his family posted it. As Connor's parents began grappling with what their son had done, Shannon Bleak was still in the ICU with her son. Ben. His head was bandaged significantly. She'll never forget the moment she was first allowed to see him. I saw him and I started to hyperventilate. And a nurse grabbed me and hugged me. I composed myself and I walked over.

I said, Benjamin, Ben, mom is here. And Ben opened his eyes and kind of like, I hear you. You know? If there is any good news in this story, Ben, are you comfortable with walking over here? It's that Ben Bleak survived. How are you feeling today? Good. He has shown more resilience and more grit

than any person I could ever even know. It's just like he's on a mission to get better. And he just does it. Shannon Bleak believes it's a miracle her son Ben survived. Both bone flaps were removed, meaning the two big parts of the skull. He had a tracheotomy put in to breathe,

and he had a feeding tube put in to eat, and he was paralyzed on the right side. Following the shooting, Ben spent more than three weeks in the hospital before being transferred to an inpatient rehab. Not long after arriving there, remarkably, he was up and walking. He was working out. so hard, so hard.

According to Shannon, Ben would stay in that rehab for over a month. Excellent job. He had to learn to swallow again. I mean, everything. During that time, Shannon shielded her son from the details of the shooting. Ben doesn't remember anything from that night. It wasn't until he came across an article on his mom's phone, that he learned his friend Connor Hilton pulled the trigger,

and that his best friend, Ethan Riley, was killed. I was really sad. What was Ethan like? He was just an outstanding guy. He looked on things with a positive life. You learned that this guy that you were friendly with was the one who shot you and shot Ethan. I was furious.

But Ben forced himself to stay focused on his recovery. At that point, Connor Hilton was out on house arrest awaiting trial. His parents say they were still dumbfounded. We knew that our son not in a million years in his right mind would do that. We knew that. You think he wasn't in his right mind. Oh, yeah, he definitely wanted, in his right mind, he would never do this. It's always been the sweetest loving boy ever.

In search of an explanation, Connor's father needs to be. Neil began researching a prescription acne medication his son had been taking, called Accutane. The drug label warns of risk of, quote, depression, psychosis, suicide, and aggressive and or violent behaviors. Neil encouraged his son's lawyers to look into it. Something happened here. Adam Brown. Something happened. It's an emotional case.

J.L. Carpenter. These type of cases are a challenge. And Rick de Toto make up Connor's defense team. Connor had no trouble with the law, no trouble with school. This doesn't make sense. Something changed. The kid changed. What changed it?

What it came down to in our research was the acne medication. And my research led me to Dr. Bremner. My name is Dr. Doug Bremner. I'm a professor of psychiatry and radiology at Emory University School of Medicine. His CV is 96 pages long. We didn't play around when we had our expert. I don't think there's another human being on this earth who knows more about this topic than Dr. Douglas Bremner.

Dr. Bremner says he's done extensive research on ISOT retinoin, the generic version of acutane. The drug is sold under several brand names. He also gets paid to testify in cases. It's a very strong medication. There's a large number of people, you know, throughout the world that have experienced side effects from it, including psychiatric side effects. Why is it still in the market? Well, it's a great treatment for acne, especially severe acne that's cystic. And that's what Connor Hilton says he has.

Ever since I was little, I've always had these bumps on my bottom. Sometimes with my armpit, they would be extremely painful. I couldn't even walk. That's how bad they were. We tried all sorts of medicine to make it go away. And then one day we went to the dermatologist and they said, hey, we're going to give you acutane. That was in late July 2022, about a year and a half before the shooting. Connor was 15 at the time.

His mother signed this document acknowledging the risks. According to court-adminid dermatology records, about a month later, Connor reported that he stopped taking the medication because he was, quote, feeling symptoms of depression. I was feeling real down and didn't really feel like doing anything. But Dr. Bremner interviewed Connor at the defense's request, and And Connor told him that he wasn't completely honest back then. He said that it was after he started on the medication that he began experiencing homicidal thoughts too.

Did you tell anybody that you were having these thoughts? Did you try to get help? I was scared to tell people of my actual thoughts because I didn't want to go to mental hospital and people think I'm crazy. Connor told Dr. Bremner that when he stopped taking the medication, the thoughts subsided. They slowly disappeared. I was feeling more energetic. more like will to do stuff, but I was also in pain because of the bumps.

They got worse again because I wasn't taking the acutane. In January 2023, after several months of being off the medication, Connor's dermatology records show that he went back on it. This time, he was given a lower dose than initially prescribed. Were you at all apprehensive? Like, oh, this is messed with my mind the first time. Maybe I shouldn't go back on this stuff? The bumps were so painful, I just needed something to cure it because it was so, it was just unbearable.

Did the thoughts come back? Yes, ma'am. Slowly, but yes, it did. Suicidal and homicidal thoughts. Connor told Dr. Bremner that the thoughts eventually became consuming. It just amplified the longer I was on it. But he never reported any issues to his dermatologist again. Connor would continue taking the medication on and off for the next 11 months, up until

until the time of the shooting. Connor told Dr. Bremner that on that day, he took double his prescribed dose. He said that he had missed the dose of the day before, so instead of taking two pills, he took four pills. After pulling the trigger that night, Connor said he stopped taking acutane and never experienced homicidal thoughts again.

After speaking to Connor and reviewing the evidence in the case, Dr. Bremner formed an opinion. Why do you believe Connor Hilton shot friends that night. I think he became psychotic on acutane and he had recurrent homicidal ideation that he was not able to control. Dr. Bremner is firm in his opinion. These thoughts did not occur before he took acutin.

He went off the drug and those thoughts went away and then he started the drug again and the thoughts came back. So that's considered to be proof basically of a causal effect between a drug and a symptom. You know that people are going to look at this and say, this is just a family looking for an excuse, for the horrible thing. that their kid did. Well, I think that, you know, there was no motivation. There was no history whatsoever of conflict. This person was psychotic.

J.G. Pharma, the distributor listed on the box of Accutane that Connor Hilton was taking at the time of the shooting, did not respond to our request for comment. But Conner's defense attorneys would build their entire case around Dr. Bremner's opinion, even though they were unaware of any other homicide case in which an Accutane defense worked. You see this kid, you see how upset he is, you see how remorseful he is. It's not just some young man deciding,

I'm just gonna go on this rampage. That's not what we have here. But prosecutors wouldn't be so convinced. It's not Accutane, he was evil. A tins donut and coffee is the original collab. And now any classic donut is a dollar when you buy any size original or dark roast coffee. Get a deal on the iconic duo with a tins dollar donut plus tax at participating restaurants for limited time. Terms apply. See app for details.

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In August 2025, just weeks before Connor Hilton's murder trial was scheduled to begin, a hearing was held to determine whether defense expert Dr. Doug Bremner would be allowed to testify. He's the most qualified expert I've ever had on a case. Defense attorney Rick de Toto had to convince a judge that the doctor's testimony was reliable and relevant. What we're arguing is that through the expert, Connor was in psychosis from the acutane and he could not control himself. Murder has got to be done intentionally and knowingly. He could not control his behavior. And that takes out the element of intentionally and knowingly in murder. At the hearing, Dr. Bremner testified that it was his opinion,

that Hilton was suffering from a medication psychotic disorder on the night of the incident. He pointed to a study he conducted, which found that ISotretinoin, the generic version of acutane, impacts a part of the brain that regulates emotion. There's the brain on the left before treatment and then after three months of treatment. You can see there's a visible decrease in function in the upper part of the brain. See the reddish area on the left? It's not on the right. Dr. Bremner says that illustrates the brain on acutane has less activity.

Why is not important to what we've been talking about? Because we know that that part of the brain is involved in depression and also impulsivity. It is a bunch of court. Ben Bleak and his mother were in the courtroom. It was very convincing listening to that gentleman speak. And then once questions were asked on the prosecution side, Have you ever performed a brain scan of Connor Hilton? No.

It just fell apart. What was your reaction when you heard that their defense was going to be that this acne medication caused psychosis? Well, I thought it was ridiculous. Kayla Allen is the lead prosecutor on the case. I don't think a jury was going to buy the acutane made me do it. Defense. At the hearing, prosecutors argued Dr. Bremner's testimony should be excluded. And they introduced a more recent study that,

found that, quote, ISUTRetinoin users do not have an increased risk of suicide or psychiatric conditions. For Allen, the case is simple. I think that he just wanted to see what it felt like to kill someone. And that had nothing to do with the acne medication. I don't believe it did. No. She argues Connor Hilton was in his right mind at the time of the shooting

and points to that statement he made on scene as proof. He tried to make a statement. We got into an argument. That one of the boys had come at him. Ethan, he tried to grow mad. He tried to grab from my throat. He's working a self-defense argument right from the beginning. Someone who's insane at the time they've committed a crime

can't automatically start forming a defense from themselves. By the time he got to the police station, it was like, look, I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm not going to lie to you anymore. I'm going to tell you the truth. And Alan says Connor's police interview is also key. He told police officers that he had been planning it. He had acknowledged that he knew right from wrong, too.

I need to do the punishment. I knew what I did was wrong. He knew by loading that gun and putting up to someone and pulling that trigger that he was going to kill them. That's what he wanted to do. These were his friends. Yes. Why would he shoot them? I don't know.

Because there's no clear motive in this case, doesn't that support the defense's argument that Connor went into some sort of a psychosis? I don't think it does. There's just people that are evil and do evil things. Alan argues Connor Hilton is one of those people. Had you ever seen Connor pull out this gun before? Yeah. His friends told detectives about things he'd said in the months leading up to the shooting. He would say, one day, I want to be important.

I want to leave a legacy, and he would make comments about killing people. And detectives also pulled Conner's online activity. On YouTube, he downloaded numerous videos about murder. His social media posts referenced it as well. Conner's friends reported this post was made just hours before the shooting. It contains the lyrics, Murder One, Better Run, killing plenty, is so fun. It's chemically induced.

Connor's defense attorneys argue Connor became obsessed with murder after he went on acutane. So all of that can be blamed on the acne medication. Absolutely. And they say the police investigation supports their case because several of Conner's friends told police they noticed a change in him during sophomore year, which was after he went on the drug.

And when you say they noticed a change, what are they saying? He was starting to isolate. He was getting more involved into a true crime. He wanted to be a homicide detective. But Alan insists Connor's behavior had nothing to do with Accutane. That's just what the defense wants the community to believe because it gives them an excuse. He was having problems already before Accutane was even introduced in his life about not wanting to go to school.

In fact, Connor was prescribed the antidepressant Prozac months before he started on Accutane. But Connor says he was only struggling with normal teenage anxiety then. I was a freshman. I was nervous. Do I fit in? Do I not? And during that freshman year, did you have suicidal, homicidal thoughts? No, ma'am. But after that hearing, to determine whether Dr. Bremner would be allowed to testify, the judge dealt the defense a blow and ruled Dr. Bremner would only be allowed to testify during the punishment phase of the trial, if necessary.

So in Texas, we have a judge. two phases, guilt to incense, and then if there's a guilty verdict, the punishment phase. So what will you do during the first phase of the trial, the guilt to innocence phase, if you can't present your expert? There's not much you can do. You just have to sit there and take it and wait until you get the punishment and then we put on an aggressive case regarding the acutin. There was still a lot on the line. Because in Texas criminal court, Connor Hilton was considered an adult and a jury could sentence him to as little as five years in prison all the way up.

up to 99 years or life. How high are the stakes here? I don't think you get much higher. It's a kid's life. Two weeks before Connor Hilton was set to stand trial, a big development. Prosecutors offered him a deal, 50 years in prison if he pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated assault

with a deadly weapon. He would also have to waive his right to appeal. We know Connor would have never done this if it wasn't for acutane. So you didn't want to take the plea deal? I didn't. You didn't want to take the pleadale? No, no. But Connor? Well, he did. What did Connor tell you? I don't want the families to have to go through that. They say their son didn't want Ethan Riley's family and Ben Bleak and his family to have to suffer through a trial. And he also didn't want a risk receiving a life sentence. He was trying to get us on board with it. And I said, bud, I said, it's just a long time. But ultimately, the decision was Connors, and he chose to accept the deal.

Conner's defense attorneys say they didn't counsel him one way or the other, but they believe he made the right call. I think the consensus between the three of us was there was a very strong possibility that he would get life. That body cam video walking in the house, it's a very difficult body cam video to watch. But while Connor Hilton and his defense team had worried about the possibility of a life sentence, Prosecutor Kayla Allen had worried about the opposite. My main concern was he was a young kid, and I think that at times it hurts jury's hearts

to sentence a young kid to life. We did not plea the case because we were worried about the acutane. It was more his age. She says she offered the deal only after confirming the victim's families were on board. All right. On September 2nd, 2025, a plea hearing was held. It's my understanding you're here this morning to enter a plea on both of these charges. Is that correct?

Yes, you're up. Yes, sir. How do you plead to each of these charges? Guilty? He was crying because he was going through prison, not because... He felt bad for what he did. Do you think that Conner's acne medication played anyone? No. We know a lot of people who've taken them.

that medication. And they don't have homicidal tendencies? Correct. Why do you think Connor pulled the trigger? Because he wanted to

murder somebody. After Connor Hilton formally accepted the plea, Ben got the chance to make a victim impact statement. He made it clear to Connor how he felt.

First of all, stop sniveling, stop crying. You do this to yourself. Secondly, the grief you have caused the right least and my own family, I will never forgive you. Shannon addressed the court next. She turned her attention to Conner's mother.

We are all living this nightmare because a mother chose not to tell her son no when he asked her to buy a gun. This mother put the gun in the hand of a child who should not have had it. Shame on you. Remember, Connor had told police his mother bought him the gun. I convinced that my mom to buy that gun for me. And in the hours after the crime, Janice also told that to police. What was the reason for buying the gun? He wanted to give it.

Okay. But when we interviewed both Connor and Janice Hilton, they denied. that the gun was purchased for him. I purchased that for myself. Why did you tell the police that you did buy it for him? I have no idea. I don't even remember that they showed me the interview. I have no memory of that.

Do you think you were covering for him? Why would you say that? I have no idea. Janice Hilton has not been charged with any crime in connection with the case. And even though she bought the gun less than two months before the crime, She insists she had no idea her son was homicidal.

There were these social media posts that he made about murder cases. He watched a lot of murder videos. Weren't these warning signs? No, I didn't think so. The Hilton's continue to blame the acne medication. You bought the gun in November. You didn't see any effects of the acne and medication psychologically that would lead you to think, I shouldn't have a gun in the house?

I didn't. I didn't know. Still, Johnny says she lives with an enormous amount of regret. I'm so sorry that this happened, and I do feel responsible. I wish I could go back and change everything. And I wouldn't have not have purchased the firearm. I wouldn't have made him take the acne medicine. The last person to address the court during Connor Hilton's plea hearing was Matthew Riley,

Ethan Riley's father. I sit here with so much love. Love in my heart for my son, Ethan. Ethan's mother, Tara Riley, stood behind him. They declined our request for an interview. He's a beautiful soul full of love and light. You could see that light in his eyes and hear it in his laughter. After that, Connor Hilton was taken into custody.

We spoke to him inside the Galveston County Jail the next day. Just the feeling of loneliness yesterday was unbearable. I mean, don't get me wrong, I did it to myself. I'm the reason why I'm here, but it just sucks. For Ben Bleak, everyday life remains a challenge. He plays pickleball and basketball to help restore his mobility, but he says one person has helped him the most. My mom, she's always there for me.

Can you explain how difficult this has been? It is very difficult, but how down about it is not going to get Ethan back. So. Just got to keep going. Yeah. Go easy on me, my friend. Whoops. See, my backhand is bad, too.

Yours is not as bad as my mom. Oh, is that what we do? Yeah. Good game. Honor Hilton will be eligible for parole in August 2050. He will be 43 years old.