UPDATE: Judge denies Connor Hilton's defense request to have a psychiatrist testify at trial that acne med caused a psychotic break The defense team had hoped to use that argument at trial as a primary defense to argue that at the moment Hilton shot his two friends, he was suffering from a medication-induced psychotic break in which he "had no control" over his actions. Hilton was taking the acne medication isotretinoin, marketed under the brand name Accutane, which the FDA had determined can cause suicidal and homicidal ideation. Psychiatrist, Dr. James Douglas Bremner of Emory University, said he believes Hilton was unable to control homicidal thoughts because the drug had shut down his brain's ability to inhibit his thoughts of homicide. The judge determined that, despite three hours of testimony in a Monday hearing, Bremner's research was not significant enough to warrant introduction at trial as a means for the jury to consider in determining guilt or innocence. Should the jury find Hilton guilty, the judge stated that the expert's research and testimony could be used during the sentencing phase of the trial. It was unconfirmed if Hilton's defense team would seek to have the judge reconsider their motion. Since the defense had sought to argue that temporary insanity caused by the medication-induced psychotic break was a significant contributor to the shootings, the judge's ruling could be used as a reason to appeal any possible guilty verdict. It was unclear what Hilton's defense team's next steps would be, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for Friday morning (8/29/2025). Jury selection for the trial is scheduled for Sept. 8. Hilton's defense team already acknowledged, and Hilton already told police, that he fatally shot his friend Ethan Riley, 18, and severely wounded Brian Bliek, 21. In Texas, for any form of an insanity defense to be accepted, the defendant must have had an inability to determine whether their actions were right or wrong. During his interview with police after the shooting, Hilton reportedly told Friendswood detectives he understood his actions were wrong and he was able to determine right from wrong. His defense team was and still may try to convince a jury that at the time of the shootings, Hilton was suffering from some form of diminished capacity and was unable to differentiate between right and wrong. From the start of the case, Hilton's attorneys J.L. Carpenter and Adam Brown said that mental illness would be a key to the defense. Attorney Rick DeToto recently joined the defense team. DeToto was one of the defense attorneys of Antonio “AJ” Armstrong Jr., who, after three trials, was found guilty of the 2016 killing of his parents, former NFL linebacker Antonio Armstrong and his mother Dawn Armstrong. •••••••••••• Friendswood Teen’s Defense Seeks to Present Evidence That Fatal Shooting Was Driven by Psychosis Caused by Acne Medication Connor Hilton, the Friendswood teenager who fatally shot his friend Ethan Riley, 18, and severely wounded Brian Bliek, 21, was experiencing a psychotic episode largely triggered by medication prescribed for serious acne, a defense expert said during an evidentiary hearing on Monday (8/25/2025). Hilton, now 18, is scheduled to go to trial in September for Riley’s murder and for aggravated assault related to shooting Bliek while the three were at Hilton’s house on LaSalle Street on Dec. 23, 2023. Hilton’s defense team, consisting of J.L. Carpenter, Adam Brown, and Rick DeToto, aims to introduce evidence that the acne medication isotretinoin, marketed under the brand name Accutane, caused or contributed to Hilton’s mental state. Monday’s hearing in Judge Rebecca Millo’s Galveston County 10th District Court was to decide whether the testimony and research of defense expert psychiatrist Dr. James Douglas Bremner can be used at trial. Bremner is the director of the Emory University Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit in Atlanta. Besides extensive research on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among military service members, Bremner has also studies mental disorders caused by isotretinoin. According to the Food and Drug Administration, that medicine, which dries out the skin to reduce severe acne, has also been linked to mood changes, depression, personality shifts, and thoughts of suicide and homicide in some users. The FDA reports these cases are rare, but Bremner noted he documented 17 homicides reported to the FDA as connected to patients who took the drug. While not all these cases directly attributed the murders to the medication, Bremner said he reviewed or participated in civil cases where he testified about his research. Hilton had been taking the medicine to treat acne that caused large, painful cysts and bleeding across his body. He had been on the medication since July of 2022, and on the day of the shootings, he took four 80-milligram pills — much more than what was prescribed. Bremner, who said he only interviewed Hilton via Zoom in the last two months after reviewing medical and case records, stated he found Hilton had a “medication-induced psychotic disorder” the night he shot Riley and Bliek. During cross-examination by Galveston County Assistant District Attorney Shawn Connally, who is handling the case alongside First Assistant District Attorney Kayla Allen, Bremner admitted that there have been no known criminal cases in the U.S. where isotretinoin-induced psychotic disorder was used as a defense or judged to have caused a murder. Connally also pressed that Bremner had not conducted a medical examination or brain scan of Hilton to determine if he showed any changes to his brain as a result of taking isotretinoin. Bremner had earlier testified that his research included multiple brain scans of patients that showed isotretinoin caused changes in the orbitofrontal cortex of the brain. That’s the area of one’s brain that controls emotions and inhibits people from acting on harmful thoughts or ideation. Connally also got Bremner to acknowledge that Hilton admitted to being a regular marijuana and THC user and did not always take the isotretinoin as prescribed. However, Bremner noted that Hilton’s medical records showed that he reported to his dermatologist that he and others noticed personality changes while he was on the medication. Hilton, who, as a condition of his release on bond, has been staying with family outside of Galveston County, was in court for the hearing, often crying and holding his head down. At one point during a break, however, he turned to his family seated behind him to tell them he was OK. The families of Riley and Bliek were also in the courtroom, along with Bliek himself, who still has a hard time walking and limited use of an arm as a result of the shooting.

Posted by i45NOW TJ Aulds at 2025-08-26 04:11:49 UTC