Stephen Hilder

Stephen Hilder was a 20-year-old officer cadet at the defence academy at Shrivenham, Wiltshire, England who on 2003-06-04 fell 4,000 metres to his death when, during a skydive, both his main parachute and his reserve parachute failed. The police initially reported that his parachute had been sabotaged, with the risers (fabric connectors between the harness and lines) for his reserve parachute having been cut. [cite news|date=2003-06-06|title=Police say sabotaged parachute caused sky-diver's death fall|work=The Scotsman|author=Nicholas Christian|url=http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=942&id=735512003] A 10 month search for a murderer with a motive ensued, with two of Hilders friends, Adrian Blair and David Mason, being arrested at one point and later released without charge.cite news|title=Skydiver's pallbearers held over his murder|author=Paul Stokes|date=2003-10-23|work=The Daily Telegraph|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/10/23/nsky23.xml] However, from the results of DNA tests on the parachute straps, which revealed the presence of Hilder's DNA alone, the police concluded that Hilder had cut the straps himself.cite news|title=Skydiver cut his own straps, say police|author=Paul Stokes|date=2004-05-22|work=The Daily Telegraph|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/22/njump22.xml] cite news|title=Why would Stephen kill himself?|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=2004-05-23|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/23/nsky23.xml|author=Olga Craig] A coroner's inquest recorded an open verdict on the cause of Hilder's death.cite news|title=Open verdict: skydiver's death still a mystery|date=2005-03-25|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Open-verdict-skydivers-death-still-a-mystery/2005/03/24/1111525293556.html|work=Sydney Morning Herald]

The jump took place at the Hibaldstow Parachute Centre in Lincolnshire. One of the few leads that the police had when searching for a saboteur was an old issue of an American skydiving magazine, found at the drop zone, that reported one of the four other recorded cases of sabotaged parachutes in the history of skydiving. The reports of sabotage had noticeable effects on the subsequent behaviour of parachutists at championship events, and resulted in an increase in the sales of secure bags for the storage of equipment. [cite news|title=The man who fell to earth|work=The Observer Sport Monthly|author=Richard Pedley|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1053330,00.html|date=2003-10-05]

The laboratory test results that revealed that Hilder had cut his own straps caused bafflement for both the police and Hilder's family and friends, who had seen no indication that Hilder was intending to commit suicide. One police officer stated that "Nothing we have discovered during the investigation and no one we have interviewed has said anything to suggest Stephen may have been contemplating killing himself.".

The Rev Jimmy Morrison of Burghill conducted Stephen Hilders funeral at St Marys Church in Hereford.

On 2005-03-25, North Lincolnshire coroner Stewart Atkinson refused to accept that the death was a suicide after a forensic scientist testified that the lack of DNA could be simply attributable to a murderer wearing gloves. Atkinson also stated that on the other hand there was no proof that someone else was responsible for the straps being cut, either.

References

Further reading

* — "The Scotsman"'s index of its coverage of the aftermath of Stephen Hilder's death