A young man is found alive inside a home where his girlfriend lies dead. Police interrogate him for hours as the prime suspect. But Ryan Waller was not a killer. He was a victim with a bullet lodged in his brain.

On December 23, 2006, 18-year-old Ryan Waller and his 21-year-old girlfriend Heather Quan were at home in Phoenix, Arizona, when Larry Carver and his son Richie arrived seeking revenge for a presumed altercation[citation:1]. Richie, a former roommate of Ryan, shot Ryan in the head through the doorway before both men entered and killed Heather because she was a witness[citation:4]. The Carvers stole weapons and a computer and fled, leaving Ryan for dead[citation:1].

When police arrived two days later after Ryan's parents requested a welfare check, they found Heather's body and Ryan barely conscious[citation:2]. Instead of rushing him to a hospital, officers handcuffed him, left him in a patrol car for four hours, then interrogated him for another six. In the interrogation footage, Ryan's left eye is swollen shut, his face is bruised and bloody, and he repeatedly says he just wants to sleep[citation:1]. Detective Paul Dalton accused him of lying, even asking if his injury came from a BB gun[citation:1]. Ryan was finally taken to the hospital only after the detective noticed an entry and exit wound through his nose.

Ryan lost his left eye and a portion of his brain. He suffered seizures for the rest of his life and died from one in January 2016 at age 27[citation:4]. The Carvers were both convicted and sentenced to life in prison[citation:1]. Heather's Law was enacted in Arizona, compelling spouses to testify against each other in criminal cases[citation:1].

Turn down the lights, put on your headphones, and press play because Ryan Waller was dying while police tried to solve a murder he did not commit.

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