Friendswood teen accused of Christmas weekend murder makes first court appearance • Judge signs warrant for DNA test; pretrial hearing reset for April 4 Connor Hilton, 17, the Friendswood teen accused of shooting two of his friends over Christmas weekend, made his first court appearance on Monday (2/5/2024). In a brief appearance, District Court Judge Kerry Neves signed a search warrant to enable investigators to collect a DNA sample. Hilton faces a murder charge for the Dec. 23 shooting death of Ethan Riley, 18, and aggravated assault in the shooting injury of 20-year-old Ben Bliek. Bliek is still recovering from his injuries. Hilton was joined in court by his mother and father. The families of Ethan Riley and Ben Bliek also attended Monday’s brief proceedings. J.L. Carpenter and Hilton’s parents went into a small witness room where a Friendswood police officer retrieved a mouth swab of Hilton. The DNA test is a routine move by the prosecution to “dot the i’s and cross the t’s,” Carpenter said. Carpenter said Hilton asked the deputy how the families of his two victims were doing. The cases have not been presented yet to a Galveston County Grand Jury, Carpenter said. Friendswood police said the two victims and another friend were at Hilton’s house the night of December 23. Hilton had a revolver that belonged to his mother and opened fire at his house. Police allege in a charging document that Hilton told investigators he “thought about and wanted to commit a homicide for a long time.” Hilton, under an agreement reached by his defense attorneys, prosecutors, and District Court Judge Neves, is out on bonds totaling $1.5 million.

Posted by i45NOW TJ Aulds at 2024-02-05 16:40:29 UTC