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You're telling me they shot you with a revolver in your eye? Yes. Is it a BB gun?
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No, it was a real gun, man. It was just a revolver. They shot you in the eye, you wouldn't
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be talking to me right now. Most likely you'd be dead. But little did police officers know, he
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was actually telling the truth. As well, 18-year-old Ryan was being mocked by detectives, he was suffering from a
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gunshot to the head and experiencing a brain bleed that could end his life at any moment. I'm going to go back to
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sleep and try to go back to sleep. You're not going back to bed. On the 23rd of December 2006, two men
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broke into Ryan Waller's house looking for revenge for a past argument. Ryan heard the noise at the door, but when he
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went to investigate, a hand reached inside and shot him twice in the eye. The two men, Richie and Larry Carver,
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then entered his house and shot Ryan's girlfriend, Heather, killing her instantly. By some miracle, 18-year-old
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Ryan survived and was able to talk to police when they arrived hours later. Given he'd just been shot in the head,
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he told them he had no idea what happened, but instead of being taken straight to the hospital, he was taken
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to the police station and interrogated for the longest hour of his life. Before the interview started, Ryan was left in
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the room alone. He squirmed in pain for 20 minutes straight and worse yet, he was handcuffed to the desk and unable to
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scream for help. Man. Ryan is obviously not okay, but the detectives begin the interrogation
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anyway. You would know why you're down here, right? You have no idea why you're down here.
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Mhm. Okay. I don't know what happened. Okay. So, I'm going to read you something to
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make sure that understand your rights, okay? You ever seen that TV show Cops or CSI or anything like that? Okay. You
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ever seen that? No. You've never seen any kind of cop show, lawyer show, any kind of show? Yeah. Okay.
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I want you to listen up real closely. Okay, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used
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against you in a court of law. What's the highest grade you went through school?
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I don't know. I don't know. You don't know what the highest grade you went through?
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Eighth. Eighth grade? Did you graduate? Yeah. Did you Do you have a GED? I don't know.
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You don't know what? I don't know. I don't know. I just want to go home. All right, you're You're not going to go
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home right now. What's the highest grade that you completed? B. No. Not Not grade as in letter grade. I'm
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asking did you graduate high school? No. And the highest you went was eighth grade? Mhm. Yep.
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Do you know how to read and write, Brian? Yeah. The way the detective is talking
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to Ryan implies that he knows something is wrong. He's raising his voice slightly, slowing down, and talking in
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very simplified language just as you would a child. Yet, even with the massive red mark around Ryan's face and
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the dazed responses he's giving, the detective still decides that nothing is wrong and continues questioning him. Do
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you have a girlfriend? Mhm. Mhm. No? Do you know Do you know a girl named Heather?
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Mhm. What is Heather's last name? Mhm. The one that lives there right now? I guess, I don't know. Her name is
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Heather. What's her last name? I don't know what her name she's trying to use as her last one.
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She's trying to have a real last as a nickname. I don't know. What nickname does she go by?
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She probably wants the last name, Kaiman. Kaiman? How old is Heather? 16 or 17. She's a white girl? Yeah.
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How did you meet Heather? From the owner. She's in school. I don't know. She used to be a stoner from school?
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She used to be a business name. She used to be in a class? Your business class? Mhm.
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All right. What happened to your face? I don't know. You told the officer just a few minutes
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ago that someone hit you. Do you remember who hit you? I think it was Heather. Why would Heather hit you?
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It was an accident. I forgot why. What was an accident? Heather's last name? No. What was an
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accident? Heather hitting me. What did she hit you with? Her hand in the eye. Did you guys have an argument?
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Not really, no. Not really? Uh-uh. What happened for her to hit you in the eye like that? She just hit me in an
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accident. She was giving Christina a head. She was what? She was helping Christina with her hair
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or something. I don't know. Who's Christina? She's on the couch. Christina is on the couch? Ryan and
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Heather lived with another person whose name isn't public. There's a possibility
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that it's the Christina he's referring to here, but either way, nobody else was home at any point of the night of the
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attack. Ryan is clearly suffering traumatic brain injury, and it's astonishing that the detective isn't
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connecting the dots. Even if it was just blunt force like Ryan is telling him, he still should be
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checked out by a doctor given how he's acting. But, of course, that's not how it
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happens. Instead, it somehow gets even more messed up. What happened last night?
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I don't know. You don't know? I really don't. I just want to go to sleep and go to
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sleep. Well, you remember Heather hitting you in the eye, right? I don't know what anybody was doing. I
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really don't. Who was in the house when you went to sleep? Christina and Heather.
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Christina and Heather? Mhm. And Christina was on the couch? Heather was. Heather was on the couch?
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You told me Christina was on the couch just a minute ago. I don't know, man. I really don't. I
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really don't. You just don't know? I really don't, man. I just want to go home and go to sleep, man. Well, Ryan,
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you're not going to go anywhere. Do you know what happened in your house last night? Mhm.
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Is that house yours? Mhm. Yours or your parents'? Mine. Mine. What happened? I don't know what happened. You're all
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beat up. So, tell me what happened. I don't know. I just want to go to sleep, man.
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That's it. There's a dead girl in your living room. She's dead? Yes. Heather? I don't know.
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I want to know what happened in your house last night. The girl on the couch is dead?
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I don't know. If she's on the couch, she's dead. All these people came over, Richie and
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his dad. With shooting arrows, bow and darts. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah.
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They hit me and her with those. That's it. And Heather wasn't there. And Eric wasn't there. It was just me
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and Heather. Who was there? You and Heather were there. And then what happened? And that's it.
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Richie and dad tried to break in through the back. Richie and dad, his dad? Mhm. Who's
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Richie? I don't know. Well, you obviously know him. You know his name by your own
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to live there. Was he a roommate of yours? He used to be. They hit you? Yeah. Now, was Richie that hit you, not
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Heather? No, Richie and his dad. Richie and his dad. They hit you? Yes. Why? Cuz they were trying to get their stuff.
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I don't know why. And they had some kind of bow and arrows? Mhm. They each had two revolvers and they
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didn't leave any shells. Okay, you just said they had bow and arrows. Now they have revolvers? That's
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what I meant. They have revolvers. They have revolvers. Yes. And then what happened? And then they shot us with
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those. They shot both of you? Yeah. Where'd they shoot you at? I shot in the eye.
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You got any shot in the eye? I think so. With a revolver? I think. I don't know,
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man. I don't know. [ __ ] Then what happened? I don't know. You don't know a lot.
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All right, I don't. I don't, man. I really don't. I'd like to see this detective try and articulate himself
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anywhere near as Ryan is in this situation. He's managed to recount the exact sequence of events as well as the
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perpetrator's names with the revolver bullet still in his brain. It does sound like an unbelievable story
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and that's probably why the cop is essentially laughing at him by now. But that still doesn't excuse any part of
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what's going on. He's obviously distressed, in pain, and needs to go to the hospital. But he's still more than a
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half an hour away from any form of salvation. Ryan, why don't you tell me what really happened there? Cuz I don't
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believe I really don't know, man. I really don't. I don't know. I didn't tell you anything, I swear. Well, I want
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you to tell me the truth. That's all I want. Richie and his dad came there, and I
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don't know why. I don't know why. I don't know why, but they put me in sleeping hold, and like you put me in
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sleeping hold, put the arrows and [ __ ] Like I lived through the through that crap.
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Okay, they they put you in a sleeping hold? Yeah. What is that? I don't know. I don't know. I really
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don't. I don't know, man. You're telling me they put you in a sleeping hold. What is a sleeping hold?
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I don't know. Well, explain it. Tell me out of your mouth. Explain that to me. What's a sleeping hold?
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I really don't know, man. Okay. You're telling me you're you're all over the board here,
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number one. You're saying bows and arrows, you're saying revolvers, and you're saying some other thing, and they
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You're saying they shot you in the eye, okay? They shot you with a revolver in your eye.
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Yes. And that's Is it a BB gun? No, it was a real gun, man. It was just a revolver.
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you in the eye with a revolver. You wouldn't be talking to me right now. It's most likely you'd be dead. That's
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what I thought, too, man. I really don't know. I really don't know, and I just want to
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go back to sleep and try to go back to bed. You're not going back to bed. Okay? That's not going to happen. What
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happened to Heather? Heather got shot. Where did she get shot? Inside the face once. She got shot
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inside of the face? Mhm. How close were you to her when she got shot in the face? It was after I got
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shot, so I didn't even hear anything. So, you got shot first? Mhm. And what happened? Did you fall to the ground?
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Yeah, I was trying to get up and [ __ ] and I couldn't. And then she got shot? Mhm. And what Why did What
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What did you do? Did you call 911? Mhm. Did you see if she was alive? She was sleeping still, and that's it. I
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just let her sleep. She got shot in the side of the face, and you let her sleep?
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Yes. This does not make sense, Ryan. I know, I didn't mean to, man. I'm sorry. I didn't know if she was passing out.
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That's because I got shot wrong once, too, and I was going to pass out. Okay, this is now, not before. You're saying
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right now you've been shot. Yes. In the eye. Yes. With a revolver. Yes. All right. Ryan,
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you need to start telling me the truth, cuz your story doesn't make sense. I'm trying, man. I don't know.
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Just ask me anything. I'll tell you the truth. Just ask me. I'm trying to, and you're not even coming close to the
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truth. Go ahead and ask me. What happened with you and Heather last night? Her dad came and shot the house.
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And shot her. Mhm. Her dad shot her. Mhm. All right. And then leaves. Mhm. And what did you
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do? I tried to go back to sleep. After you've been shot? Mhm. In the eye. Mhm. You didn't know enough to call 911. Mhm.
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Why didn't you call 911? Cuz I was just trying to go to sleep. That's it. You just saw Richie and his
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dad shoot your girlfriend, and you just felt like you needed to go to sleep? Ryan, look at me.
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Ryan. Yes. I don't know, man. I really don't know. Why did you shoot Heather, Ryan? I
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didn't shoot Heather. She was already shot once by her brother, I swear. Richie. Yes.
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Richie shot his own sister? Yes, I swear. That's it. So don't hurt me. And you've been shot in the eye. Yes.
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Put your feet up on the table, please. My feet hurt, man. I don't know why. Get them off my table.
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Let me see the nose. Put your Put your legs Put your legs down. Put your legs down.
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And bring your face closer. Oh, my head hurts. Okay. Yeah, be be right back. Finally, the detective at least
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considers the fact that Ryan might be in some form of physical distress. He leaves the room to ask for an ambulance
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and returns momentarily to try and get a few more details about the shooting. Ryan clarifies that Heather isn't
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related to Richie or his dad and that he's got no idea why they attacked him that evening. 10 minutes later, the fire
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department arrives to take a look at Ryan's injury. He's acting uh like he has a serious head injury, which would
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make sense. What's your name? Can you confirm? Ryan. Yeah, we'll take him. I don't know why I am. Well, we can
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tell. Been that all has it been like that before or just happened tonight? I'm guessing it was today or so.
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When did this all happen, what? The other night? I don't know. You don't know what happened?
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Were there guns around? This kid, Eric, did it. I don't know how he did it exactly.
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I might have been shot. I don't know. What are you waiting on? I don't know. All right, it looks like it went right
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through, huh? Yeah, it might have. I don't know. Ryan gets his blood pressure taken and
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finally after 56 minutes of unnecessary and ultimately deadly interrogation, he's taken to the hospital. Upon
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inspection at the hospital, doctors immediately realized his status was critical and that he also had indeed
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been shot in the eye. They also told his father that he'd contracted an infection
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that could have been prevented had he received proper care. Ryan stayed at the hospital for 35 days and lost part of
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his brain and his left eye. Worst of all though, he experienced regular seizures
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from the day he left the hospital until 2016 when one finally took his life. Richie and Larry were both given life in
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prison without the possibility of parole.