The mystery behind a skydiver's tragic death | Forensic Files

from audio boom comes mafia a brand new podcast taking us into America's criminal underworld
exploring the lives and careers of the most powerful gangsters the world has ever seen through extensive research and
eyewitness stories mafia reveals what life was really like inside the mob from the people who lived it every Wednesday
mafia dives into the larger than life stories of mobsters and introduces us to the key figures who brought them down in
season one host fleet Koopa will bring us closer than ever to the most notorious mob bosses of all time by
taking us inside the lives of Sam Giancana Dutch Schultz Bugsy Siegel Charles Lucky Luciano John Gotti and
Donnie Brasco discovering how they built their criminal enterprises and revealing
how the Mafia is connected to the assassination of JFK subscribe to mafia on Apple podcasts and every other
listening destination [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website [Music]
accidents are to be expected in skydiving it is after all an extreme sport over 99% of people who jump out of
an airplane will do it just once attached to an instructor those people are unlikely to come to any harm they're
strapped to a professional who has performed thousands of jumps and who makes all the decisions for the majority
of participants skydiving is a once-in-a-lifetime thrill just a tick on a bucket list they never do it again for
the tiny fraction who go on to jump solo skydiving becomes more than just a thrill it's an obsession a lifestyle
something they are rather than merely something they do as those studying out get used to the elements of the sport
freefall can it be flying into landing they are bound to experience scrapes and bruises perhaps even a broken bone or
two skydivers do what they can to minimize risks they look out for each other check their own gear into that of
the people they are jumping with looking out for anything amiss frayed loops that
may not hold a closing pin in properly flaps that have become untucked webbing that is wearing out
this close-knit community is built on equal parts adrenaline and trust accidents are to be expected in
skydiving but deaths are rare most skydivers are prepared to encounter a fatal accident at some time if they
stick with the sport for long enough when a jumper loses his or her life a universal traditional toast is given
blue skies black death [Music] 20 year-old Stephen Hilda was embarking on what he hoped would be a solid week
of skydiving his girlfriend root would house often joked Stephen would get withdrawal symptoms if he hadn't jumped
for a few days by 2003 he had become obsessed with the sport he missed an exam in favor of going jumping and maxed
out credit cards to buy expensive equipment he jumped as often as possible even traveling to other parts of the world
when the weather in Britain became too cold in mid-2003 Ruth had taken her first jump with the enthusiastic support
of Stephen but she was not yet sure the sport was for her Stephen hadn't been able to jump on Saturday June 28 2003 he
spent the day at a Bon Jovi concert at Hyde Park he took his father along as an early
birthday present though it was hard to say whether the gift was more for his dad or for him the following day Stephen
managed to get in a couple of jumps at his home parachuting dropzone the village of nether Aven in England's
south on Monday June 30 Stephen visited a theme park with his girlfriend Ruth that evening he made the
160 kilometers rod to the drop zone at Hilde Stowe airfield in Lincolnshire he bolts though airfield was hosting the
upcoming collegiate Nationals a competition between college skydiving clubs Stephen was participating as a
member of a three-man team at around 300 jumps Steven was considered an intermediate level
skydiver as were his teammates Adrian Blair and David Mason both nineteen years old
Adrian and David were cadets with Steven at the Royal Military College of Science
at shriven M both were on a military course and would be arriving to Hibbert's though airfield for the compa
later in the week Steven hopes to get a few practice jumps in before then there were bunk rooms where jumpers could hire
a bed at the drop zone if they wanted to but few did that they preferred the pitch tents throw down a mattress in the
corner of a hangar or sleep in their cars as Steven did the money they saved on accommodation was better spent on
jumps it was a quiet night when Steven arrived to the airfield he had a couple of drinks at the dropzone bar and two
then went to his car and retired for the night the weather was threatening to be
unkind to skydivers that week the plane couldn't take off at all on Tuesday July
1 and 2 chief instructor Paul Hollow soon announced that jumping was off for the day so Steven drove 11 miles to a
gas station where he bought some snacks on Wednesday July 2 there were just two or three jumps before the skydivers were
again grounded Stephen was on one of these with him was his coach wearing a camera on his helmet so that when
Stephens teammates arrived later that evening they could watch the footage and critique his style
nobody knows whether Stephen packed up his parachute himself after landing or if he hired one of the professional
Packers to do it for him but it was likely to be the former no skydivers packed their main parachutes themselves
but there was always someone else ready to do it for five quid after his parachute was packed Stephen left it in
the kit room the kit room walls were lined with racks of parachute kids hanging on by their shoulder straps the
racks kept them off the ground and made it easy for skydivers to identify and grab their kit when it was time for a
jump age skydivers parachute harness was distinctive Stevens was black white and
gray unusual in its lack of brighter colors kit rooms are not usually monitored and are accessible to anybody
on the drop zone to come and go as they please the kit room at Hibbard Stowe airfield also doubled as a lounge room
skydivers could hang out or watch TV there when not jumping that Wednesday evening
Stephen Hilda's teammates Adrian and David arrived a welcome party was hold at the drop zone bar
the trio drank conjoining games like past the pass for most of the 78 competitors for the collegiate Nationals
had arrived they all hoped the competition would be starting the next day but the weather on Thursday July 3
had other plans thunderstorms lashed much of the United Kingdom signaling the beginning of a
heat wave skydivers were advised early that there would be no jumping that day and quite likely none the next with
skydiving not an option the competitors dropzone staff and other skydivers known
as fun jumpers had to find something else to do Stevan Hilda went shopping for something
to wear for the fancy dress party that was to be held that evening whilst his teammates went to the cinema in the
great college tradition a scavenger hunt was organized in the afternoon with porn
and female underwear on the list of items competitors had to come up with bonus points were awarded for completing
random gross tasks Stephan valiantly scoffed down some dog food in an effort to win the prize which was so
inconsequential nobody could remember what it was after a barbecue dinner Stephan Adrian
and David spent a couple of hours getting ready for the party they arrived at the dropzone bar around to 9 p.m. the
party was already in full swing with many people having started drinking in the early afternoon the oppressive heat
inside the shed where the bar was housed ensured everyone was thirsty the party had a fancy-dress theme to come as any
character starting with the letters B C P or a the acronym of the British collegiate parachute Association the
organizers of the competition the truly lazy turned up in their jumpsuits as parachutists among the cops
cheerleaders Punk's pilots and angels several men dressed in drag claiming they had come as [ __ ] Steven Hilda
was one of the [ __ ] wearing a leather dress he had found at a thrift store earlier that day skydivers party hard at
the best of times with a bunch of college-age competitors who had pent-up frustration of not having jumped many of
them took partying to the extreme the bar did a roaring trade that night Steven grabbed the karaoke microphone to
build out some of his favorite Bon Jovi tunes it was a natural performer whose other hobby was amateur dramatics
he sang deliberately terribly to the delight of the crowd throughout the night he was joined by Adrian and David
the group howling progressively cheesier tunes into the microphone together the party broke up at 2:30 a.m. if the
weather cleared there was still the chance of competition jumps the next day there is a strict rule skydivers and
pilots must adhere to 80 hours between bottle and throttle when weather permits jumping starts soon after sunrise if a
safety officer saw a skydiver drinking at 2:00 a.m. they wouldn't be allowed to board the plane until at least 10 a.m.
in a competition that could mean forfeiting around and scoring a zero partygoers memories were hazy the
following morning Friday July 4 Stephen Hilda slept late as did a good number of
people at the drop zone knowing that once they started moving the hangovers would kick in there was no hurry to get
up the day was overcast and parachuting through cloud is dangerous and in most cases prohibited after emerging from his
car Stephen joined a game of cards in the drop zone cafe competitors waited onward
from their chief instructor to give the all-clear to junk it was touch-and-go but finally the competitors were told
that if the break in the weather hold on they could jump after lunch Stephen Adrian and David were more than
ready to be on the first flight of the day they were particularly excited for this competition as their team called
Black Rain was doing well earlier that year they came third in a regional competition and first in another they
grabbed their gear from the kick room the first step prior to boarding the plane was the turn on a tiny electronic
device known as a Cyprus the Cyprus was a fail-safe that automatically released the reserve parachute if its owner was
still in freefall at 1,200 feet that is far lower than they should be if a skydiver had not released their
parachute by then there were only around six seconds from Impact most skydivers had a Cyprus including Stephen Hilde
they are a backup if a skydiver gets distracted and forgets to deploy their chute or if they get knocked or somehow
incapacitated in freefall in that case the Cyprus fires it cuts through the loop that holds in the spring-loaded
reserve pilot chute and releases it giving the skydiver the best chance of landing safely even if unconscious once
the little screen confirmed that the Cyprus was activated Stephen gave his ear a quick check over to ensure nothing
looked amiss no flaps untucked no frayed closing loops and ensuring the pilot chute was snugly tucked in its sleeve
the pilot chute is a miniature parachute that sits in an elastic sleeve at the bottom of the parachute container with
just a padded cushion sticking out when it's time to deploy the skydiver grabs hold of the pad and pulls the pilot
chute then comes out once it hits the air it inflates it then pulls the pin that allows the main parachute out of
the container Stephens team donned their jump suits and parachutes and performed
a dirt dive a ritualistic dance mimicking the formations they planned to do in the sky each new formation would
count as a point in the competition they laughed and ribbed each other and handed
up for the cameraman someone drawn from the competition's camera pool and whom they didn't know particularly well the
cameraman's job was the saw a little above the team and make sure every formation was captured on film so that
it could be judged some people considered Stephen a little cocky but that was par for the course for young
men involved in extreme sports especially when they were doing them older skydivers are well aware of
the problems of being too cocky and make sure young jumpers don't forget their safety checks the highest risk group for
serious injury is young male skydivers with around 200 to 500 jumps using a fast high-performance parachute Stephan
Adrienne and David had all pumped out jumps at a much faster rate than average Adrienne and David had gone through
training together the previous December since then virtually all of their sky dives had been together and the two had
become close many of their jumps occurred in the United States where planes were bigger drop zones busier and
two jumping was a year-round sport previously the team had candidly talked about different ways of dying Steven
told the others that if we was going to end his own life he would want to jump out of a plane the other two agreed for
all his larrikin behavior Steven took safety seriously Adrienne and David often found his rigid adherence the
safety manuals annoying as a result they play pranks on the older cadet lock booking him in for a student jump that
he was overqualified for or hiding pieces of his skydiving gear these pranks were designed to annoy Steven
rather than endanger him prior to boarding the plane the men performed a flight line check on each other once
again they made sure everything was as it should be safety conscious Steven performed with a check on both his
teammates David performed the check on Steven David had a patent he followed when conducting checks of his teammates
gear he did so in a methodical order that he stuck to every time he believed if you changed your system it was too
easy to miss something once finished each man firmly padded the backpack of the other code for you're good to go
black rain shed the light single-engine aircraft with one other team a total of eight skydivers were on board dropzone
planes have no seats so the skydivers sat on the floor facing the rear each person was between the legs of the
skydiver behind them the two cameramen node at the back of the group so they could see everyone on board the
propeller fired up for the first load of the day and black rains first jump for the competition as the plane took off
black reigns videographer turned on his camera the footage caught Steven the hill dart laughing and joking as the
plane got near the competition height of 13,000 feet he and his teammates did one
last gear check they performed a ritual handshake before climbing into position in the door of the airplane the three
then launched up the edge into the open sky their exit didn't go completely to plan had funneled in skydiver speak
meaning they didn't come off cleanly but they recovered after a few seconds and started their pre-planned formations
after 10 seconds they reached the terminal velocity the speed at which the body stops accelerating at this stage
they were falling at around 200 km/h toward the earth for the next 45 seconds the team
continually changed their hand and leg grips to maneuver in the sky with each new formation they earned points for the
competition for an intermediate team 10 points was good 15 points was excellent that day black rain received a
competition winning 19 points it was the best jump the team had ever done together they knew they'd ace that
before their free fall was even finished barring a miracle from another team that
would be crowned national champions the three exhilarated men made eye contact and screamed through their huge grins at
each other even though it was impossible to hear anything through the rushing wind at 4,000 feet around a minute after
they had exited the plane the three teammates turned away from each other to gain horizontal separation before they
deployed their parachutes the camera no longer needed to stay on them but in any
case the camera lost sight of them due to cloud after deploying their parachute the
first thing a skydiver is trained to do is to look around to see where everyone else is two people colliding midair
spells disaster as he descended a big wad of white fabric swept past Adrienne's vision it registered as out
of place but he didn't make anything of it at the time he was still buzzing from
the amazing jump and was focused on preparing his landing usually the most dangerous part of the skydive chief
instructor Paul holo was on the ground eyes on the sky with the cloudy weather he knew it was possible first god of it
over shooed the hanger in the land in the nearby cornfields anyone making such a transgression would be made to buy a
case of beer that night entering a bell above the bar alerting everyone that there was free beer to be had that
looked like there would be freebie that annoy Hollow noticed the skydiver had landed in the cornfield he dispatched
one of his instructors to go and retrieve them the instructor returned with a bundle in his arms
that was a white parachute a main parachute maybe many colors but only reserve parachutes of what years of
experience meant hollow only had the glance at the straight white parachute to know something had gone seriously
wrong accidents are accepted as being an integral part of skydiving deaths are rare death by double malfunction we're
both parachutes fail is almost unheard of usually some sort of error on behalf of the skydiver causes a fatality they
may turn their parachute too close to the ground hoping to build up speed for a really cool ending but misjudge and
hit too hard they may deal badly with the malfunction of their main parachute and deployed their reserve parachute
into it causing the two to tangle two skydivers might collide midair either in freefall or under their parachutes
rendering one or both unconscious and unable to land safely but never had Paul Holocene nor heard of an incident where
a reserve parachute broke away from the rest of the skydiving kit and the person
wearing it a main parachute has special release rings so a skydiver can detach it if
it's malfunctioning however a reserve parachute is permanently attached there's no getting rid of it unless you
cut it with a knife or climb out of the harness in midair Paul hollow clunk under the roof of a
car and scanned the surrounding fields he spotted a large unnatural indentation in the tall stalks of corn he climbed
down and headed into the field towards the indentation he found Steven Hilda having hit the ground at almost 200 km/h
the corn had done nothing to break Steven's fall he was still wearing his skydiving harness but neither of his
parachutes were billowing around him as he would normally expect a single glance
at Stevens shoulder area told hollow all he needed to know Stevens gear had been
tampered with his parachute sabotage chief instructor Paul holo called the police
detective Superintendent Colin Andrews of homicide police arrived at the airfield
Paul Hollow took him aside and told him immediately that this was no ordinary skydiving accident the dead man's
equipment had been interfered with skydiving experts were able to piece together what happened a long piece of a
webbing called the bridle connected the pilot chute to the pin that opens the container where the main parachute is
stored Stevens bridle had been cut the cut bridle and the pilot chute had been stuffed back into the elastic sleeve
there would be no way of telling it was tampered with without pulling the pilot chute out of the sleeve and there would
be no reason to do that unless you suspected something was wrong this meant the pilot chute was no longer
attached to the pin when Stephen pulled it out at the ployment height and let it
go there was nothing to pull the pin and drag the main parachute out of the container so it stayed lodged in there
impossible for Steven to do anything to get it out when he realized his main parachute was malfunctioning
Stephen pulled the handle that deployed his white a reserve chute it launched but all four pieces of webbing that
attached the reserve canopy to his harness called the risers had also been cut the reserve parachute simply flew
away Stephen had no more parachutes left all this would have happened between 4,000 and 2,000 feet above the ground
plummeting at terminal velocity Stephen had to endure at least 10 to 20 seconds of knowing he was going to die and if
there was nothing he could have done about it the Cyprus he had so carefully set prior to takeoff did its job and
fired but there was no reserve parachute for it to release from the moments they've been exited the
aircraft he was a dead man nothing could have saved him whoever sabotage this kid knew exactly
what they were doing both in terms of guaranteeing the sabotage would kill him and ensuring it was done in a manner
that it would not be picked up by a regular pre-flight gear check the damage to the reserve Rises would only have
been made evident by firmly pulling on them this action is not part of a regular check and he's not recommended
from a safety perspective as it could disturb the back job whoever tampered with Stephen Hilda's parachute knew
exactly how to hide the evidence from even experienced skydivers therefore that could only have been done by
somebody with intimate knowledge of skydiving equipment a skydiver thank you for listening we'll be back
soon today's episode is brought to you by quip no matter who you are brushing your
teeth is one of the most important parts of your day to stay healthy Equipe knows that and their team of
dentists and designers is focused on helping you take care of your mouth better quip is an electric toothbrush
that's a fraction of the cost of bulkier brushes while still packing just the right amount of vibrations to help clean
your teeth quips built-in tamo helps you clean for the dentist recommended 2 minutes with gliding pulses that remind
you when to switch sides 75% of us don't refresh our bristles every three months
let alone visit the dentist every six that's why you need quip to put a necessary yet annoying aspect of your
personal care on autopilot they deliver new brush heads on a dentist recommended schedule every three
months for just five dollars including free shipping worldwide their subscription plans are for your health
not just convenience quip also comes with a mount that suctions right to your mirror and unsticks to use as a cover
for hygienic travel wherever you take your teeth everyone loves quip they were on Oprah's
o list named one of Times best inventions and it's the first subscription electric toothbrush
accepted by the American Dental Association plus they're backed by a network of over 20,000 dentists and
hygienists and hundreds of thousands of happy brushes who use quip every day quip starts are just $25 and if you go
to get quip comm slash case file you'll get your first refuel pack free with a quip electric toothbrush that's your
first refill pack free at get quip comm slash case file that's a GE t qu IP dot-com slash case file
today's episode is also brought to you by ship station when you're selling online getting your orders out the door
quickly can be tough that's why you need ship station calm it's the fast and easy
way to manage and ship your orders all from one place whether you're using Shopify Squarespace Etsy BigCommerce
WooCommerce or over 75 other popular selling channels ship station brings all your orders into one simple interface
making them really easy to manage from any device even from your cell phone ship station helps you get orders out
quickly and keep customers happy you can create shipping labels for all the top carriers including UPS FedEx and USPS
with shipstation you'll ship more in less time with the best rates available and ship station is
also available in the UK Australia and Canada no wonder ship station is a popular
choice of online sellers right now you can try ship station free for 30 days plus get a special bonus when you use
promo code a case file don't wait go to ship station calm before you do anything
else click on the microphone at the top of the homepage and type in case file that's ship station comm enter promo
code case file ship station make a ship happen the drop zone was officially declared a
crime scene detective Superintendent Andrews was certain whoever killed Stephen Hilda was present and watched in
door police said to work interviewing everybody on the airfield the 78 competitors and 20 or so others every
person willingly agreed to submit to a DNA swab as soon as they were allowed to all of the skydivers checked their own
parachutes the police insisted everyone pop out their reserve parachutes this was a big
deal as a reserve parachutes are rarely deployed and they have to be repacked by
certified reserve Packer no skydivers are not qualified to pack their own police wanted to determine whether
Stephen had been targeted specifically or if the perpetrator had targeted other skydivers all other parachutes were
checked but there was no evidence any other reak had been tampered with police asked an expert from the British
parachute Association John Hitchin to cut some of Stephens riser webbing so that it could be sent for DNA testing
they provided itchin with a pair of kitchen scissors but he was unable to cut through the webbing so Heejun asked
for a hook knife which was easily able to cut through hook knives are a standard part of a skydive this kit they
have a protected blade a compact easily stowed and removed and attached to the harness they are a last resort used to
cut through any malfunctioning or hazardous equipment such as a parachute cord wrapped around a limb or helmet
every skydiver carried one this meant police had around a hundred potential murder weapons on the drop zone that day
police wanted to shed some light on the events leading up to Stephens death specifically the party the night before
partygoers were asked to hand over video and photographs from that night to police who spent hours poring over them
but all they found was a raucous party there was no sign of any tension arguments or fights
when asked for a possible motive for the murder everyone came up blank it was not
Stevens usual drop zone so he wasn't as well-known as if he were a local everyone who did know him or who had
interacted with him repeated the same thing Steven was popular fun-loving and enthusiastic one friend stated it was a
good lad fun in the air and on the ground the time frame of his parachute being sabotaged was believed to have
occurred sometime between Stevens last jump on Wednesday and the early hours of Friday morning there were a finite
number of suspects and had the base guard over who was at the drop zone over those days which came to less than 100
people police left the crime scene with over 200 pieces of potential evidence and they had DNA samples from everyone
present to compare against Stevens equipment they were confident who wouldn't be long before a suspect was
identified less than 48 hours later on Sunday July 6 skydivers including Stevens teammates Adrian and David were
back in the air in tribute they all had added an extra step in their preflight checks the sabotage of Stevens gear had
been expertly carried out to avoid detection from a standard check so now a firm tug on the reserved risers prior to
jumping became part of the routine over the next week police formally interviewed Stevens family friends his
girlfriend Ruth as well as skydivers who were at the drop zone they were hoping to find a motive someone he had a beef
with jealousy were perceived his flaw but the worst thing anyone could come up with was that Steven could be perceived
as arrogant his mother described him as quote an extraordinary son an ordinary infuriating lad who above all else loved
skydiving the forensics lab discovered nothing noteworthy on the vast majority of Stephens items the slashed risers had
many people's DNA on them so it was impossible to pick out individuals from the mix this was not unexpected as well
as Stephens DNA there would have been the DNA of anyone who had packed his reserve as Stephen was not qualified to
pack his own as well as DNA of the first responders and perhaps those who had been in the plane with him given the
close proximity in which the skydivers were packed together one week after Stephens death police had
no firm suspects and were no closer to making an arrest they sent a message to all four thousand active skydivers in
the UK who read the investigation into the death of Stephen is ongoing I am appealing for your help many of you
will have known him and enjoyed his company socially and through his love of skydiving someone knows who committed
this vile act and I ask that you contact me in total confidence you may have opinions or information as to how
Stephen met his death was he killed if so why or would he ever contemplate taking his own life I need to speak to
as many of his friends and associates as possible please contact the incident room if you have any information that
could assist us I would also like to thank the many who already have sincerely Humberside police
the mention of suicide seemed to be just covering all possibilities certainly suicides were more common on the drop
zone than murder however nothing in Stevens demeanor suggested he was in any way suicidal witness statements and
video evidence showed Steven was in a good mood too the night before and day of his death he displayed actions to
save his own life not end it this included setting up his Cypress pre-flight and going through life-saving
emergency procedures whilst falling these were not the desperate actions of a suicidal man changing his mind at the
last second and frantically trying any method to save himself they were the responsible practiced
actions of a seasoned skydiver media scrutiny in the weeks following Stevens death was intense his parents
made impassioned pleas for anyone who might know anything to come forward they visited the airfield patron makes some
sense out of what happened police hoped the presence of grieving family members would stir the conscience of someone who
was keeping a secret Stevens Black Rain teammates Adrian Blair and David Mason were interviewed
by the press they relived the day where that best jump ever became a nightmare they remarked Steven was bright excited
and in his normal buoyant mood before the skydive David felt guilty he had been the one to do Stevens gear check
prior to the jump he said he didn't notice anything amiss and the experts are great
there was no way a standard pre-flight check would have discovered the sabotage on July 12 2003 The Times reported quote
the police have failed to identify any suspects and skydivers are gripped by the fear that there is a murderer in
their midst a few facts are clear say the police the death of Steven 20 was neither an accident nor suicide this was
not a prank gone wrong and the killer is almost certainly a skydiver he or she may strike again Stevens case
was a major topic of discussion because of the competition there had been skydivers from all over the country at
Hill boards though that week this meant the culprit could be a jumper at any one
of the two dozen or so drop zones in the United Kingdom many skydivers changed their habits in fear of being targeted
by the unknown offender next parachutes were kept a lock in cars when not in use
Hibbert stow installed lockers to take the place of the pegs in the common room for you some drop zones toyed with
installing CCTV cameras in the hangars and sales of tamper-proof gear bags soared three weeks later the death of
Steven Hilda featured on the TV show crime watch police believed someone other than the person responsible knew
something they encouraged that person to come forward they also released the video footage of the fancy dress party
there not before Stevens death they hope that would jog attendees memories or that viewers would notice something that
the police had not the televised appeal resulted in several calls to police a number of people gave information about
an argument that had occurred at the party before Stevens death but whether this was determined to be relevant to
the events of the following day remained unknown stevan Hilda was laid to rest on July 31
four weeks after his death hundreds of mourners attended including skydivers college mates military personnel and the
detectives investigating his death Stevens coffin was draped in the Union Jack and too carried him to the church
by pallbearers one of which was his teammate and friend Adrian Blair Stevens girlfriend Ruth Woodhouse
spoke of the service she recounted Stevens love of theater and his many humorous antics
her words drew laughter from the crowd but there was a collective sense of unease within the 300 strong
congregation was there a murderer among them the month later detectives were still sure the answer to what happened
to Stephen Leigh among the skydiving community they suspected the overwhelming sense of loyalty within the
close-knit group stopped witnesses from coming forward with the investigation reaching a dead end it was decided fresh
eyes were needed on the case on August 27 senior officers from across the force were called in to review the case in its
entirety in the hope they would spot something that was missed Detective Inspector Steve clay now in charge said
police would write once again to all four thousand registered UK skydivers in the hope of the murderer had shared
their secret he was absolutely positive the killer was at the week-long parachute
competition when Stephen fell to his death he said quote our line of inquiry is that the murderer could have told a
fellow skydiver about the dastardly deed the person who committed this dreadful crime probably has no criminal history
and is likely to be a well-educated young man with a bright future there's little doubt that he will have shared
the burden of what he has done with a loved one we are getting closer all the time the answer lies among the skydiving
community when the UK mail out didn't have the desired response inquiries were taken
worldwide police took out a full-page advertisement in skydiver for the magazine the leading magazine for the
sport asking for assistance in tracing the murderer skydivers from the United States responded to the inquiry
detailing two similar incidents from their homeland the first incident occurred in 1996 the sabotage parachute
belonged to champion skydiver Kirk Averna however Berner happened felonious parachute to his friend Carrie hot would
like Steven Hilde hopwood had a double malfunction during his jump video taken by hop woods helmet camera showed him
trying to deploy his parachute his pilot chute floated away juda were cutting the
bridle just the Stevens would have he then deployed his emergency chute but it too malfunctioned pop woods hands
reached up the camera caught his chilling shouts of oh my god I'm gonna die before he hit the ground
but remarkably Hopwood survived only one riser of the reserve parachute had been
cut it should have been enough to kill him but the parachute managed to catch enough air to slow him down before
impact the fall left him with permanent brain damage as well as pins and metal down his entire right side the person
whom it had been targeting Kirk Verner was never identified the following year in 1997 Charlie Mullins the son of a
well known and a controversial skydiving identity opened his reserve pack to swap
it with a new one in doing so he discovered his reserve risers had been cut if he had used it there was no way
he would have survived there were many people who were envious of Charlie as his father owned a drop zone and an
aircraft meaning Charlie had been able to amass an astonishing six thousand jumps by his young age of 25
he moved in many of the same circles as Kirk Verner like in Verna's case the person who cut Mullins reserve Rises was
never identified u.s. police provided British authorities with the names of all those present at the time of these
attempted murders they also handed over the video footage of Kari hop woods for giving real shocking insight into what
Stephen Hill don't must have gone through the u.s. police hoped a breakthrough in the Stephen Hilda case
might lead to a similar advance in their investigations which at seven years old
had gone cold but nothing came of it the similarities in the cases seemed to be mere coincidence on October 22 2003
three and a half months after Stephen Hilda's death police announced two arrests they didn't release their names
to the press but they eventually got out the two people arrested were Stephens black reign teammates Adrian Blair and
David Mason news of their arrests ripped through the skydiving community some condemned the pair immediately stating
they suspected Adrian and David from the beginning and unsubstantiated rumors spread about a love triangle being the
motive others recalled David's history of playing pranks on Stephens parachuting gear in one instance David
called our Stevens pilot chute causing the pin to dislodge and the main parachute to tumble out in its bag
skydivers had a mixed reaction to this prank on one hand somewhere angry anyone would mess around with another person's
gear knowing the risks on the other hand Stephen could not have put his parachute
on without replacing the pin and pilot chute first so it was more of a playful annoyance than an attempt to harm him
David said his pranks were merely a joke highlighting the hypocrisy of Stephen leaving his kid unsupervised in an
unsafe area when he was always going on about safety regulations after the initial anger about the
arrests skydivers adopted a wait-and-see attitude one friend said quote these two
are good friends and I've jumped with them many times as someone who knows them unwilling to give them the benefit
of the doubt for the moment there was also the fact that the team had pulled off the skydive of their lives that day
it was an incredible feat if either Adrian or David or both were focused on killing Steven could they have also
performed an intricate jump to such a sensational level the two men were held overnight the next
day police applied to the court for an extension to hold the pair for an extra 24 hours the request was granted
however after 48 hours both men were released on bail without charge the law in the UK allowed suspects to be
released on conditional police bail in cases such as Stephen Hilda's where the evidence was very marginal and police
weren't sure if it would get a conviction they passed the file to lawyers who act for the Crown
Prosecution Service the lawyers review the evidence and decide if it's sufficient to bring charges against the
accused despite there being no charges laid Adrienne and David found themselves under a cloud of suspicion their home
drop zone never even told them not to bother coming back three weeks later on November 17 police
announced another arrest in relation to the murder of Steven Hilda an unidentified 24-year old man from Leeds
was taken into custody the arrest came two weeks after police interviewed members of Leeds University skydiving
Club they regularly use tabled Stowe airfield and were present during the competition when Stephen was killed a
university newspaper didn't publish the arrested man's name but did reveal he was studying at Leeds after hours of
questioning this man too was released on bail without charge his identity as well
as his connection to Stephen or the reason he was a suspect was never released to the public
on December 5 2003 Stephen Hilda's parents made another impassioned plea determined to keep his case in the media
one police officer told the press they had found out Stephen Hilda had one or two disagreements with fellow skydivers
in the week before his death yet they also revealed they had discovered several witnesses lied to them over the
course of their investigation one witness had falsely suggested Stephen had been involved in a love triangle
Stephens teammates Adrian and David were officially released from Babel but homicide police refused to eliminate
them as suspects the third arrested man remained a mystery the police stated a dossier on
each man was prepared and forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service by the end of January 2004 Humberside
police had interviewed 2,500 people and still had no concrete motive for Stephen
Hilda's murder detectives set up in a room at the British parachute Association's annual general meeting on
January 24 and 25 hoping somebody would come forward with fresh information the AGM was a two-day affair that included
demonstrations of new equipment and talks from experts on different aspects of skydiving being in the middle of
winter that was attended by a large percentage of the UK skydiving population providing them with their
skydiving fix while there were no drop zones operating yet no further information was gained from the event
with all avenues for murder explored detectives returned to a theory that had been briefly raised then discarded at
the beginning of the investigation that Stephen Hilde had taken his own life police Renault viewed Stephens family
and friends except this time questions were focused on Stephen specifically not on others who may have had issue with
him they asked if Stephen gave any indication he was suicidal did he have problems in his life how was he in the
weeks days and hours leading up to the jump Stephens mother had spoken to him at length the Friday before the
competition she recalled he was his same talkative self he'd had a good time with
his father at the Bon Jovi concert the Saturday before his father said Stephen was an energetic enthusiastic fun-loving
and confident young man planning for his future nobody noticed anything different in his
demeanor before the jump they were adamant Stephen would never take his own life however there was known Stephens
skydiving obsession had caused him to neglect some other parts of his life including study and his relationship
there were no reports of what happened on the case over the next six weeks but it was clear police had not yet finished
with Stephen Hilda's teammates on March 10 2004 detectives searched the rooms of
both Adrienne Blair and David Mason without warning on David's personal computer they found a draft obituary for
Stephen written in a humorous style David said it was for a skydiving magazine although police did not
publicly reveal the contents of the obituary they found it disturbing and inappropriate David said it was being
misconstrued by police and it was merely the type of dark humor typical of Stephen and skydivers in general
the lawyer representing Adrienne and David stated quote they were taken aback when the police turned up out of the
blue I don't know what the police were looking for the boys had no involvement in Stephens death whatever the police
were looking for it seems they didn't find it two weeks later to their great relief Adrienne and
David were notified that they were no longer suspects they were cleared of any involvement in Steven Hilda's death
however the suspicion uncertainty and relentless targeting took its toll Adrienne quittez degree at the Royal
Military College and moved to Canada with all suspects officially cleared and to know others on the horizon police
doubled down on the suicide Theory speculation why Stephen would stage such an elaborate suicide was varied the
question being why if Stephen had decided he was going to die that day did he simply not the please parachute at
all and just for some suspected his conversion to Roman Catholicism a few years earlier played a part the church
regards suicide as a sin so perhaps he hid the act behind the illusion of murder others speculated that it was to
ensure his parents could cash in life insurance others wondered if he sabotaged his own gear to ensure he
couldn't back out of his plan tests found Stephens sweat around the frayed edges of material that was slashed on
one of his parachutes assuming this referred to the main bridle that had been cut this discovery was meaningless
it would have been far more surprising to discover the Stephens DNA was not on there a sweat would be expected to
transfer onto the main bridle every time the parachute was packed further tests found that my new fibers from the cut
webbing were found on stephen's clothing beneath his jumpsuit this was more interesting but still inconclusive he
may have done his agir check before putting on his jumpsuit and in doing so any fibers that were on the outside of
the wreck could have transferred then The Smoking Gun was a pair of scissors found in the locked trunk of Stephens
car they were determined to be the tool used to cut the Rises of his parachute the Rises fibers were found on the
blades and only Stephens DNA was found on the scissors during the initial investigation the scissors were given a
low priority due to a monumental misunderstanding between police and a British parachuting Association expert
John Hitchin when Hitchin was unable to cut through the Rises with the scissors he was supplied by police he requested a
hook knife police understood this as meaning that scissors in general were unable to cut through the tough material
however John Hitchin later clarified only the scissors supplied to him at that moment were unable to cut through
as they were loosened didn't work properly but another pair of working scissors would have been able to cut
through just fine the pair found in the trunk of Stephens car were ordinary kitchen scissors in good working order
they could cut through the material [Music] the scissors were in the locked trunk of
Stephens car but the keys were in the ignition meaning anyone could have easily grabbed the keys and accessed the
trunk all skydivers own gloves and too many wear them even when the weather is warm even on the hottest day
it's very cold at 13,000 feet they also guard against cuts and scrapes from bad landings seeing someone wearing gloves
would not be at all out of place even on a hot day investigators probed further into Stephens personal life they heard
about the time he told friends that if he was ever going to take his own life it would be by skydiving there were also
reports he was not enjoying his time at the Royal Military College of science he
admitted he was in a course he didn't like and he was also under the impression he failed his examinations
although the college said this belief was mistaken Stephen had racked up 17 thousand pounds in debt and maxed out
his credit cards much of it on skydiving he bought himself an expensive state-of-the-art parachute and then
there are the jumps themselves you could spend a hundred pounds on a slow day and
it was easy to spend a lot more especially when training for competition his deaths were bad enough that he had
bounced the check in the mess hall which got him into strife with his military superiors several of Stephens friends
knew of his debts and they stated he was not concerned by them according to them
Stephen thought his debts would sort themselves out and he didn't dwell on them at all
there was also Stephens unexplained 11 mile drive to a gas station on the Tuesday before his death he claimed to
have gone there to purchase snacks yet there were closer gas stations to the drop zone he could have gone to the one
he visited was out of the way you would have to deliberately seek it out he didn't put any gas in his car either as
his tank was nearly empty when investigators looked at or later this led to speculation Stephen had gone to
the gas station to purchase trucks though there's no proof of this furthermore the truth of Stephens
relationship with Ruth Woodhouse was that it was strained they were at the point of splitting up
Ruth explained that their relationship was a casual uni student affair that grew from a mutual love of drama theater
rehearsals meant they saw each other twice a week but they didn't have the time for the relationship to develop
more deeply Ruth said that neither of them were clingy people and there had been no distress from either side both
were happy with what they heard and the decision to split was mutual one friend posted on skydiving forum
drop zone comm quote Steve was the kind of person who worried about something only when it was absolutely staring him
in the face his attitude was always it'll be okay no matter how unrealistic that was
splitting up with his girlfriend being in debt and having possibly failed exams wouldn't worry him until the point where
he'd been declared bankrupt been chucked out of uni and seen his girlfriend with
a new bloke Stevens closest friend non skydiver Jason Saunders spoke to the independent newspaper
Jason claimed Steven was full of plans for the future in the last conversation they'd had just before Steven left for
the competition as for Stevens previous remark about wanting to die by skydiving
those who knew him perceived this comment as a reflection of how passionate he was about the sport
nearly ten months after that fateful day at Hill boots though airfield detective
Superintendent Colin Andrews announced that they were no longer treating Stephen Hilda's death as murder police
marked the case as an unexplained death the police may have been satisfied with their findings but nobody else was none
of Stephens family friends his girlfriend nor fellow skydivers whether they knew him or not bought the story he
committed suicide or staged his own murder one skydiver summed it up on dropzone comm quote come on people we
all know that no skydiver would ever take their own life in this bizarre way this is total crap the cops are stumped
so they're covering their ass in March 2005 an inquest was held into the death of
Stephen coroner Stewart Atkinson ruled out murder as the cause of death as no evidence had been found proving the
skydivers equipment had been sabotaged by another party Atkinson added that he was unable to record a verdict of
suicide because he could not be sure the skydiver intended to take his own life that was thus ruled an open finding
detective Superintendent Colin Andrews told the BBC he was as comfortable as he could be that Stephen wasn't murdered he
said he was not complacent but confident and that the investigating team had left
no stone unturned in the pursuit of the truth many in the skydiving community of the
United Kingdom were left uneasy one jumper said quote the worst bit is if it was murder the person may still be among
us that freaks me out a bit considering the size of the active skydiving community there's only 19 drop zones in
England that means you've got a 1 in 19 chance of jumping at the same drop zone as whoever did this and two no one yet
knows who did this or why nevertheless as the new stories petered out memories faded and skydivers went back to their
old ways visit any drop zone and you will see unattended parachutes all the time chief
instructor Paul hollows whom found Stephens body in the cornfield after his fatal jump stated skydivers trust each
other we have to but as in any community that trust can be broken in November 2006 a 26 year old Belgian woman Bell's
claw durman's was convicted of murdering her fellow skydiver and love rival claw
demands sabotage her rivals parachute in exactly the same manner as Stephan Hilda's had been she was jailed for 30
years in May 2015 and nether Aven Stephan Hilda's home drop zone Army sergeant Emile cilia's was arrested for
attempted murder after sabotaging his wife's parachute she suffered multiple serious injuries including broken bones
but survived the audio cilia's was found guilty in May 2000 eighteen of trying to kill his wife to
pocket life insurance and start a new life with his secret lover however mystery continues to surround
the death of Steven Hilda his parents remain hopeful that somebody somewhere knows what happened and may still come
forward to give them closure in the meantime all skydivers can do when they remember Steven Hilda is recite their
well-worn refrain blue skies black death you [Music]

Case 88: Stephen Hilder

Accidents are to be expected in skydiving. It is, after all, an extreme sport. Over 99% of people who jump out of an aeroplane will do it just once, attached to an instructor...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Episode researched and written by Eileen Ormsby, author of ‘The Darkest Web – Drugs, Death and Destroyed Lives: The inside story of the internet’s evil twin’ Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-88-stephen-hilder

Brief Summary

Stephen Hilda's death in a skydiving accident raises questions of sabotage and murder, leaving the community in fear and uncertainty.

Key points

Mafia Podcast Launch. A new podcast dives into America's criminal underworld, revealing the lives of notorious mobsters.
A Fatal Jump. A skydiver's tragic accident leads to a shocking discovery of sabotage.
Skydiving Risks. Skydiving is thrilling but comes with inherent risks; accidents are expected.
The Sabotage Uncovered. Experts reveal that Stephen's parachute was tampered with, leading to his tragic death.
A Community in Fear. Skydivers react to the news of a murderer in their midst, altering their safety practices.
The Arrests. Two of Stephen's teammates are arrested, stirring controversy and suspicion in the community.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Skydiving becomes more than just a thrill; it's an obsession, a lifestyle.

2:06WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Casefile

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.