Teen who shot two teen boys claims his prescription acne medication drove him to kill | 48 Hours | Forensic Files

Friends of 911, what's the location of your emergency? All right, we're on 125th Street. I heard two guns fired.
Please hurry. I know Sean. He's one of my friends. I think the killer's still here. Sean
He's my friend now. The one with the gun, what's his name? Connor Elsen, 17 years of age.
What's going on? Somebody hurt? Who's hurt? Two people. Two people? Where 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 going to detain you, okay? They immediately turn around and they say,
"Detain him." Talking about Connor. He's going to buckle you up, all right? I have your son in the backseat of the
patrol car because he's indicated to us that he took two people's lives today in your
house. Okay. Dear God. I'm going to go now. He never had a temper. Always very mild, laid-back. Had he ever
been in trouble? No. >> No. Never. My son is a good boy. He's a good kid. Hey, it's okay. Relax, okay?
That was not him that night. I know that was him physically. But mentally, that was not him.
Take 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 going to say is that they were very good friends to me. That's all I'm going to say.
So evil. He talked about 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 your brother. Take a few deep
breaths, 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 whys.
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
uh 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 put you in a mental state where you could commit murder? Yes, ma'am. It was just before 9:00 p.m. on December
23rd, 2023, when police arrived on scene in Friendswood, Texas. Is somebody hurt?
Who's hurt? Two people. Two people. Where are they at in the house? Where are your friends at? They're
They're in the walkway. They're in the walkway. When police entered Connor Hilton's
home, Oh. they found 18-year-old Ethan Riley and 19-year-old Benjamin Bleek lying on the
floor, each with a gunshot wound to the head. Hello, who's Who's in here? The caller
in the bathroom. They also discovered the boy who called 911. He was 15. Open the door. Let me see your hands. Let me
see your hands. It's just me. I'm the only person in the Who else is in 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 It
was four total. The teen told police officers how quickly everything unfolded. As we We literally 10 Not even
a 2 minutes of being in the house, like we come in, he's uh on on the couch or something. He stands up. I walk right
to the bathroom. I have to pee. And then I heard two long loud gunshots, and everybody was quiet. And I 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 I don't know where y'all found them, 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. Where's the gun at, bro? I I really have no idea. Where did you
put Outside, police bagged Connor's hands to preserve evidence before putting him into a squad car. He needs
to be sent to be put in the mental hospital. Connor, at first, claimed he fired the
gun in self-defense. We got into an argument. Okay. And Ethan tried to He tried to come at me and
He tried to come at me and I had three guns, and I He He He tried to tried to grab for my throat.
At the time of the shooting, Connor's mother, Janiece Hilton, was at home. I got a
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
that's going to be very hard to talk about and >> Okay. 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?
>> was like, "How could this happen?" I was just there 45 minutes ago and he he was perfectly fine.
It wasn't long before Connor's father, Neil Hilton, received word. Johnnie and Neil divorced back when Connor was a
toddler. It's never in a million years would you think you would get 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 McCandless, then a detective with
the Friendswood Police Department, was tasked with calling Ben's mom, Shannon Bleek. 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 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 be with Ben and that he please get us through this.
While Ben underwent surgery, Where am I being transported to? Friendswood. Connor Hilton was taken to the
Friendswood Police Department. I know this isn't a time to bring bringing this up, but uh are you having
a good Christmas, officer? Nothing about that night was making sense. Listen, what I'm going to do is
read me my Miranda rights. I have the right to attorney. So well, yeah, but I don't want to I'm going to read them,
man. You Soon, Connor would end up in an interrogation room with an entirely new
story to tell. Let me just go 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'm just going to give you the truth.
Oh my god. Hey, man. How are you? I'm doing good. How are you? Good, man. I'm happy to see you.
As his two friends were in the hospital fighting for their lives, >> Do you know if my parents are here? Uh
yeah, they can call my mom and dad. Connor Hilton was in a Friendswood Police Department interrogation room so
that detectives could start to unravel the truth of what happened. How you doing, sir? Hey, so 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 you, right?
Just trying to understand, you know? 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 to go 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. The whole the whole
it just all happened. It just all happened. Tell me how the gun goes off. It happened so fast.
I I I had it in my hand. I I really don't know. I I was just standing next to Ethan.
I I don't know, I but I I heard I heard it off. I'm letting him stick with the story
about it just went off, right? My idiot self had the stupid finger on the trigger of So, I'm like, "Okay,
well, how did it go off the second time?" And so, I said, "Connor, So, I've got two guys there that have 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 personality,
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 honest. Oh my god. Okay, I've had suicidal homicidal thoughts for so long. I I I I went up
I went up to to Ethan and just I'm sorry for lying to you guys. I'm really sorry. And Hilton didn't stop
there. I convinced that my mom might not come for me so I can either shoot myself or shoot somebody.
This feels so much better. Hilton told the detectives that he hadn't told anyone, including his mom,
that he'd been experiencing those suicidal and homicidal thoughts. And 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 you said it right there. Those are the exact words. I know it's going
to sound really like psychopathic and just like straight-up disgusting and just weird, but that the idea of
murder is just super interesting for me. I don't know why. I don't know why it is. Listen, listen.
Hey, it's okay. 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. >> I've been planning it for so long. But
he said he had 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. And he closed the bathroom door.
And I thought it was risky to either shoot through the door or go cuz he locked the door. Okay.
And I'm really glad. I'm really I'm so so glad that he closed the door and I didn't kill him. I was Before the
interview ended, Hilton made yet another admission. What I did was wrong. I need
to do the punishment. I I 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 I need I need help. I need like like mental like mental like
mentally help. I know you're hurt. It's okay. We'll get it for you, okay? I did I did 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 like crying. Did he tell you what happened? I I couldn't hear any of it. I
like I 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. Somebody spotlight these windows. On Christmas night officers were back at Connor Hilton's
door to arrest him on a murder charge. I looked out the window and there's a SWAT
truck outside. Johnny They came in. >> Yeah, they came in. Where's he at? Hey. So, I was kind of like in the back of
the house sort of and I just had my hands up. And they had their guns drawn? >> Yes, ma'am.
You're under arrest for murder, okay, buddy? All right, come on. No hugs, man. Go.
Let's go. 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 Bleek 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, Mama's here." And Ben
opened his eyes. He 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 Bleek 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 Bleek
believes it's a miracle her son Ben survived. Both bone flaps were removed, meaning the two big parts of the 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 3 weeks in the hospital before
being transferred to an inpatient rehab. Not long after arriving there, remarkably, he was up and walking.
Straighten it out? He was working 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 light. 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, and yeah, he definitely
wouldn't In his right mind, he would never do this. He's always been the sweetest, loving boy ever.
In search of an explanation, Connor's father, 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 DeToto 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 got 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 isotretinoin, the generic version of Accutane. 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 that including
psychiatric side effects. Why is it still on the market? Well, it's a 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 on my armpit. They would be extremely painful. I couldn't even walk. That like
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 Accutane." 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-admitted 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 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 cuz I didn't want to
go to mental hospital and 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 cuz of the bumps. They got worse again because I wasn't taking Accutane.
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 has messed with my mind the first time, maybe I shouldn't go back on this stuff?
The bumps were so painful I 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, they 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 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 Accutane 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 his friends that
night? I think he became psychotic on Accutane 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 Accutane. 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.
JG 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 Connor'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 going to 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. 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 DeToto had
to convince a judge that the doctor's testimony was reliable and relevant. You have first to win the show? We may. What
we're arguing is that through the expert, Connor was in psychosis from the Accutane and he could not control
himself. Murder is 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 Accutane, impacts a part of
the brain that regulates emotion. There's the brain on the left before treatment and then after 3 months of
treatment, you can see there's a 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 Accutane has less activity. Why
is that important to what we've been talking about? Because we know that that part of the brain is involved in
depression and 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 Conrad 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 Accutane 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, "Isotretinoin 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 he was
>> believe it did. No. She argues Conrad 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 come at me and he
he he tried to tried to grab for 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 for themselves. But 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 Allen
says Conrad'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. Allen 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 Connor's
online activity. On YouTube, he downloaded numerous videos about murder. His social media posts referenced it as
well. Connor'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 Accutane. So all of that can be blamed
on the acne medication? Absolutely. And they say the police investigation supports their case because several of
Connor'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? Well, he was starting to isolate. He was getting
more involved into true crime. He wanted to be a homicide detective. >> But Allen 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 two phases, guilt and innocence, 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 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 till you
get the punishment and then we put on an aggressive case regarding the Accutane.
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 5 years in prison, all the way 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 the Accutane.
So you didn't want to take the plea deal? I didn't. You didn't want to take the plea deal? No. But Connor? Well, he
did. What did Connor tell you? I don't want the families 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 to risk receiving a life sentence. He was trying to get us on board with it and I said,
"But I said it's just a long time." But ultimately, the decision was Connor's and he chose to accept the
deal. Connor'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 juries' hearts to sentence a young kid to life.
We did not plea the case because we were worried about the Accutane. It was more
his age. She says she offered the deal only after confirming the victims' 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 Yes, you're right.
How do you plead to each of these charges? Guilty. He was crying because he was going to
prison, not because he felt bad for what he did. Do you think that Connor's acne medication
played any role? >> No. No. We know a lot of people who've taken 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 did this to yourself. Secondly, the grief you have caused the Riley's
and my own family, I will never forgive you. Shannon addressed the court next. She
turned her attention to Connor'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 my mom to buy that gun for me, so And in the
hours after the crime, Janise also told that to police. What was the reason for buying the gun? He wanted to get it.
Okay. But when we interviewed both Connor and Janise 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've no idea. I I I even remember
that they showed me the interview. I don't have I have no memory of that. Do you think you were covering for him?
What Why would you say that? I have 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 Hiltons 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, no. Still, Janice says she lives with an enormous amount of regret. I'm so sorry
that this happened and and I do feel responsible. I wish I could go back and change
everything and I wouldn't 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 it just it sucks. For Ben Bleak, everyday life remains a challenge. Ooh. He plays pickleball and basketball
to help restore his mobility. But he says one person has helped him the most. My mom.
She is always there for me. Can you explain how difficult this has been? It is very difficult.
But pouting about it is not going to get anything back. So just got to keep going.
Yeah. Go easy on me, my friend. Whoops. Oop. See, my backhand is bad, too. Yours is not as bad as my mom.
Oh, is that what we do? Yeah. Good game. Good job, guys. >> Welcome back to Post Mortem. I'm your
host Anne Marie Green, and today we are discussing the case of 17-year-old Connor Hilton who shot two of his
friends, Ethan Riley and Benjamin Bleek, after they arrived at his home in Texas
for a scheduled hangout on December 23rd, 2023. Ben miraculously survived, but when
Ethan died in the hospital, Connor was charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In his
defense, that he was on a prescription acne medication called Accutane that completely altered his thoughts and
behavior. So, joining me today to talk about this fascinating case is CBS News correspondent Tracy Smith. Tracy, thank
you so much for joining us. Hi Anne Marie, thanks for having me. Um, I want to remind the listeners, if
you haven't uh listened to this 48 Hours episode, the audio version, head on over
to your podcast feed. You can find the full audio version uh just below this episode in the feed. Go take a listen
and then come on back for this conversation. All right, Tracy, let us get into this
very unique uh defense strategy. Connor's defense team found an expert in isotretinoin, which is the generic
version of Accutane. And through this expert, Connor's defense team argued that Connor was driven to kill due to
the side effects of Accutane, which the expert says caused Connor to have a recurrent homicidal ideation that he
simply wasn't able to control. Now, I know that Accutane comes with side effects, and and sometimes those side
effects can be, you know, quite powerful, but I'd never heard of anyone being driven to kill because of it.
Yeah, I hadn't heard of it, either. If you look at the label, the label does warn of risk of depression, psychosis,
suicide, and aggressive or violent behaviors. And there have been other homicide cases that people have tried to
use Accutane as a defense, but none of those have been successful. As a mom, I know kids who've been on Accutane, and
it's a wonder drug for a lot of teenagers who struggle with acne. And a lot of people are on this drug and don't
suffer any severe adverse reactions. And we did reach out to JG Pharma about this case, and they did not respond to
our request for comment. They are the folks who distribute the Accutane that Connor Hilton was on at the time of the
shooting. So then let's talk about the science that the defense's expert presented.
What do we know about it? The defense's expert is Dr. Doug Bremner, and he's a professor of
psychiatry and radiology at Emory University School of Medicine. And Dr. Bremner says he's done extensive
research on the drug isotretinoin, which is the generic version of Accutane. He showed these brain scans where he says
you can see the difference between the brain without isotretinoin, and then the brain when someone is on isotretinoin.
The scans show that there's less activity in part of the brain that regulates emotions when a person is on
isotretinoin. And according to Dr. Bremner, he believes that in Connor's case, he was suffering from a medication
psychotic disorder at the time of the shooting. And it's important to note that Connor told Dr. Bremner that on the
day of the shooting, he took double the prescribed dose of his acne medication. Okay, so here's the thing though. He had
been taking this medication for a while. You spoke to his parents, and you asked
them whether or not they had seen any red flags in terms of his behavior. They didn't see any. Did anyone else see red
flags? Yeah, they said they didn't, but the police spoke to his friends. I spoke
to Ben and his friends said that that gun was out at the house all the time. It was not locked up where it was
supposed to be. Um and he also said concerning things. Um there's one story that Detective McCandless and also Ben's
mom, Shannon, told me that a week before the shooting, the 15-year-old who was hiding in the bathroom on the night of
the shooting, a week before the shooting, Connor had invited all of his friends over for to watch a movie and
the kids didn't want to watch a movie and this 15-year-old was sitting with Connor and Connor
turned to him and according to the 15-year-old, Connor said, "Have you ever thought about killing one of your
friends?" Mhm. Um there are also social media posts that Connor had made that showed a
fascination with murder and in fact his school received two anonymous reports from the
same person about 8 months before the shooting about these social media posts about
murder and they called in Connor's mother, they talked to Connor, they investigated and they determined that
there was no threat. Um we dug into the timeline a little bit just to try to figure out if this
fascination with murder happened after Connor went on Accutane and he did struggle with anxiety prior to going on
Accutane. He didn't want to go to school, but Connor said this fascination with murder happened after he was on
Accutane. Now, does that mean that there's a cause and effect here? The prosecution says, "Absolutely not. Acne
medication has nothing to do with this horrific act that Connor committed." You know, Tracy, as I was watching the
hour, that's kind of like one of the things that I was going back and and forth with, right? Um
I I know that that there can be experts to argue almost anything, but I believe this expert that, you know, perhaps
Accutane could have had these dire side effects. What I wasn't sure of was whether or not that could be a defense.
And the prosecution it sort of basically argued that, too. In fact, they argued against the science in court, the
prosecution um introduced a more recent study that found that isotretinoin, generic Accutane, uh that that those
users actually do not have increased risk of suicide or psychiatric conditions. And then the lead prosecutor
told you that this case is simple. What she believes is that it's not a side effect from medication, that some people
are just evil. You sat down with Connor um for an interview. I'm curious. I mean, how did he come across to you?
You know, we talked to him right before he took the plea. At that point when we spoke to him, um he thought he was going
to trial. So, he, at the advice of his attorneys, didn't talk a lot about what happened that night, but I feel like we
really did get a sense of who he was. And one of the things that stuck out to me was he was almost
unnervingly polite. Um he would say, "Yes, ma'am." and "No, ma'am." At one point, he actually kind of stopped the
interview to ask if I was feeling okay. I actually have a a clip of that. I had asked him
um about his friends who he shot. And this is what he said. Can you tell me anything about your
friends, about Ethan and Ben? I'm sorry. All I'm going to say is that they were very good friends to me.
That's all I'm going to say. And you didn't have any disagreements with them? No. I never hated them. I never hated
them. There was no argument? >> No. No, ma'am. How do you explain what happened?
I don't I don't know. Um, I mean I just need a water break. Just just just a water break. Of course.
I'm I'm sorry. It's okay. Like are you okay? You might not like freaking out or anything.
No, of course not. And it's understandable why you would get emotional. I'm just worried about you. Like are you
okay? I'm fine. She's worried about you. Yeah, I'm just worried about you. Like I don't know
about you and Marie, but I've never had someone say that to me in an interview before. Absolutely not. Clearly you were
asking him a very uncomfortable question. A a question that he's struggling to answer.
Um, and so I'm I'm trying to figure out if that response is, you know, kind of authentic interest in what's going on
with you or if it is a kind of a stalling tactic, but it reminds me a little bit of him in the
police cruiser. When he asks like the officer about how his Christmas is going. Yeah, are you having a good
Christmas? I mean every time I see that it I I gasp. It's just it's so unusual. And the detective
said when they brought him down to the station right after that, it was the same sort of thing. This yes, sir. No,
sir. Um, this remarkable politeness. Welcome back. Let's talk about the victims. After
entering Connor's home, police find 18-year-old Ethan Riley and 19-year-old Benjamin Bleek. They're lying on the
floor. Each of them have gunshot wounds to the head. Both miraculously still alive when first responders arrive at
the scene, but Ethan later dies in the hospital. It is Christmas Eve. Yeah, I mean the timing of this is just
heartbreaking. Connor was released on bond for the first time the same day that Ethan died. So,
it's hard to fathom what's going on here at Christmas time with these families. You have one family who has their son at
home, the son who shot these two boys, and those two boys' families are in the hospital. I wanted to talk about Ethan
just a little bit. Um, his parents described him as handsome, athletic, bold, good-hearted. Um, they said he
could carry a conversation with anyone, and it was interesting. It struck me that both his father and Ben in
describing him used the word light. Um, his dad said in court that he was full of love and light. And, uh, Ben, when he
was talking about Ethan to me, he said that this is the kind of guy who always looked at things in a positive light,
that he was just this outstanding guy. Mm. Um, and we learn actually, this is sort of like almost the highlight in the
hour, is that Ben survives. And the way he's revealed, as he sort of walks around the corner, um, it was shocking
and thrilling. And, I mean, if you've got to have like something kind of positive to hang on to, there he was.
Yeah, I mean, walking miracle, right? >> Yeah. And just, um, I feel so lucky to be able to sit with Ben and his mom and
to see his remarkable recovery and also his sense of humor, as I'm sure you got watching this hour. He has this
astonishing sense of humor. Um, a quick story that his mom shared with me. Um, when Ben couldn't talk, she had his
friends put together a playlist of his favorite songs. Uh, and she would listen to that when she was with Ben. And a
song from Toto, you know, I guess it rains down in Africa, Toto comes on and Shannon his mom just burst out laughing
like this is ridiculous and she looks over at Ben and he has a smile on his face and she just knows like my son is
back like that sense of humor is intact. Um, you know, he has no memory of what happened that night. Um, but Ben is very
crystal clear about why it happened and he says it has nothing to do with the acne medication. Yeah, in fact he called
it he called the defense horse. Yeah. Yeah, well, that's yeah. He doesn't mince words. It's a little bit
of his humor, too, there. I you know, I wonder if it's a blessing that she that he actually can't remember
the details of that night. I wonder if it's actually helped him in terms of his recovery. Was Ben close to Connor?
Ben wasn't super close to Connor, but he was friends with Connor through Ethan cuz Ben was super close to Ethan and
Connor's house was kind of the hangout house. Um, so they would hang out as a group at
Connor's house. Ben was a little bit older than the other guys. He was already taking college classes. Um, and
that's another part of this tragedy is that he was so independent. Uh, you know, really starting his life
and his mom said it was like having a baby again that she just had to redo everything with him. He had to learn to
walk, talk, swallow again. Just starting it all over. So, you know, we learn about the defense
that's coming, right? This the side effect of the this very common medication, but then 2 weeks before
Connor Hilton is set to stand trial, he ends up taking a plea deal. Uh, prosecutors offered him 50 years in
prison if he pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Can you he talk a little bit about that cuz when I heard 50 years, I I actually thought
that didn't seem like much of a negotiation. That's, you know, it's a pretty hefty sentence. I I said it was
it could have been worse. It could have been life. Here's the thing, when we were talking with Connor, they attorneys
had gotten they'd just gotten the plea deal and so as we're as I was leaving, they went into a conference room to talk
about this plea deal. And yeah, it's it's a little surprising. In Texas, a defendant gets to choose if they want
the jury to sentence them and the sentencing guidelines for murder are pretty broad. They're between 5 and 99
years or life. So you figure if he rolled the dice, he and he came off as this polite, sympathetic kid, maybe he
could have gotten a lighter sentence. So in this plea deal, he's eligible for parole in 25 years. If he would have
rolled the dice and gotten a life sentence, he would have been eligible for parole in 30 years. So it's a
difference of 5 years. So it is kind of surprising that he took the deal and his parents told us that
after sentencing he called them and said he regretted taking it, but he agreed to
this. He signed something saying he understood what he was doing. He waived his right to a trial. He waived his
right to an appeal. Um Ben gave a victim impact statement at the plea hearing and he told Connor that
he was never going to forgive him for the grief that he caused his own family and for the Riley's. He came across as
very very strong, but it's it's clear that this has had quite an impact on Ben. Um I know you asked him how he was
doing and I want to play some of that sound. Through this all you've managed to so
show such perseverance. You've been so strong through all of this. What has kept you going?
I want to get back to where I was. What do you mean by that? What do you want to be able to do?
I know it's not dumb, but I want to dunk a basketball. That doesn't sound dumb. That basketball
was so important to you. You want to be able to dunk You were You could dunk before.
>> Yeah. So, you want to be able to dunk again. You know, Tracy, sometimes we can be
distracted by a person's presentation, right? His speech is a little slower. It's a little tougher for him to move
his body. We can see in the hour. But when he speaks, I see and I obviously never knew Ben until,
you know, watching this, but you can almost see who he was before this when he speaks, you know?
Oh, yeah. I so agree. I so agree. And and it getting out and playing pickleball with him really gave me a
chance to see who he was. That strength I mean, he he absolutely kicked my rear end um in pickleball. And it's funny it
like that of all sports for this young guy to be into, but he started it in rehab. They had this group of other
people who had suffered spinal injuries, and they would all get together to play,
and he really took to it. Um so, he's kept playing, and he and his mom have actually joined a group of older people
playing pickleball. And they joke that the older people beat them all the time, but my guess is that's not going to be
for long. No, definitely not. Um you know that I have a teenager at home, and in watching this hour, it really made me
think you have to be on your teenagers all the time. And I certainly have been guilty of I don't know everything that
my kid looks up online. I'm constantly surprised by her awareness of things in the world. And when I ask her where she
got it from, she says, "Social media or YouTube." Um but I just hope when parents watch this, they realize like it
is okay to be nosy. You know, get up in that get up in that computer and see what your kid is looking up and what
they are writing on social media. That rings for me. I have teenagers, too. And that idea that we need to be on them and
we need to sometimes be the parent and not the friend and say no has stayed with me.
Yeah, um well, I hope that this is one of the messages that people get when they watch the hour. I'm glad that the
victims' families and Ben did not have to go through a trial, but I would have been very interested in hearing the
argument and counter argument and whether or not it would hold up as a defense. It's a very unique case, Tracy.
Thank you so much. Oh, my pleasure. Thanks for having me. If you like this episode, please rate
and review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

Watch "The Rx Defense" and then catch up with 48 Hours correspondents Anne-Marie Green and Natalie Morales on Post Mortem.

00:00 The Rx Defense 42:15 Watch the Post Mortem podcast.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Connor Hilton shot his friends due to alleged psychosis from Accutane, leading to a plea deal of 50 years in prison after Ethan's death.

Key points

The 911 Call. A frantic call reveals the chaos of the shooting.
The Discovery. Police find two teenagers shot in the head.
Connor's Confession. In an emotional interrogation, Connor reveals his dark thoughts.
Miracle of Survival. Ben Bleek survives against the odds after being shot.
The Aftermath. Families grapple with the consequences of the shooting.
Accutane Defense Strategy. Connor's defense claims his medication caused psychosis leading to the shooting.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Why would I do this? You know, those were my friends.

Connor's disbelief after the shooting.

2:38WatchMar 8, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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