Case 88: Stephen Hilder

DESCRIPTION
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
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RESOURCES
For all credits and sources please visit www.casefilepodcast.com/case-...

[@stevebond7387]

Absolutely riveting. Casefile rules the true crime world.

[@Cloudbusting31]

I’m obsessed with your broadcasts. Can’t stop listening.

[@billie6814]

I had been thinking about the few terrifying seconds poor Stephen would have known he was about to die. My heart sank when the narrator said he would have been aware for at least 10-20 seconds.

[@aaronthomas2789]

The Opening Narration about Skydiving and the Skydiving Community reminds me of a former Skydiver I knew who said he stopped doing it because he felt he'd done it so much, he'd risked the statistics of an accident.

[@tebsa76]

That was very chilling! Sad, but very well narrated. Thank you.

[@stephenterrilltraveller]

Very disturbing thing to do to somebody's parachute.

[@julieblackstock8650]

chilling, poor Stephen

[@legentilhommedefortune]

Surfed the best waves in the world for fourty years , motocross racing & sportscars addict , 51 jumps paragliding from cliffs , but never ask me to jump from a plane with a parachute prepared by someone else...

[@samsitluoc2375]

This is one of my favourite casefiles. So chilling. I'm back to listen again. Lol.

[@foxit515]

I couldnt it makes me sad

[@lisetteeliseparis7070]

My Ma became a skydiver, and my youngest brother (he had some type of fancy license, perhaps). My youngest sister also, she was not a total fan. I swear Ma became addicted, but thought it was my imagination; the first part of this story resonates. Thank you!

[@jerrymarshall2095]

Knowing who has access to your chute and who is packing it is paramount. I don't let anyone pack my chute.

[@billie6814]

I have no idea about sky diving but I was thinking no way in hell would I let someone pack my parachute for me?! I would gladly do the task 6000 times no matter how boring or time consuming!

[@user-mt4ku7jw1y]

Too right man

[@user-mt4ku7jw1y]

Shocking

[@JimMilton-ej6zi]

1:00:40 "the person may still be among us" lmao i laughed hard at that

[@xWILZTAx]

I very live close to hibaldstow and remember this well.

[@christopherjameslee3341]

I'm only a few miles away too but I have to say it's the first time I've heard of this.

[@SlimSlashie]

"Going through life saving emergency procedures whilst falling." Including pulling his reserve and praying, I suppose. Horrible.

[@SlimSlashie]

Oh heck, he did it himself? Wow, that's a turn I wasn't expecting.

[@thedisabledwelshman9266]

miles in britain. not kilometers

[@therealmichaeljackson4622]

5:23 David Mason from black ops 😂

[@tturnr2077]

Bro.

[@Jolenesmart1980]

I hope they find the killer at the end of this -

[@vicguy1710]

Shut up.

[@billie6814]

So did I!

[@user-mt4ku7jw1y]

This was murder not suicide 100 percent

[@dashippo]

To sabotage a chute like that, wouldn't you have to open all of it then pack it all again ?

[@catherinegrace2366]

Good point.

[@billie6814]

Yeah and?

[@fender8421]

Not quite; the bridle is normally the last thing you tuck in after everything else is packed, and depending on the container, the reserve risers can be easily accessible without opening much. It definitely would take knowledge of equipment to think of that, but wouldn't take very long to do. I think they did leave out though that packers and riggers have that same knowledge, even if they're not jumpers

[@SHurd-rc2go]

I recently watched a video about a young man's suicide. He had started doing more and more riskier things, including sky-diving. He eventually jumped off a bridge to his death. Most suicides are cheerful before they take their own life.

[@maxinegrears2944]

S. Hurd, that’s right, I know many cases where people haven’t shown they were depressed or suicidal then randomly taken their own life, I think I’ve committed suicide, I have severe depression but you learn how to act normal and cheerful, you just never know what’s going on inside a person’s head ( sorry, he should say “I think he committed suicide”

[@carolball5764]

You’re right ! I’ve read that once someone has made up their mind to go through with it , it brings closure so to speak . So their last few days , they live like they haven’t a care in the world !!

[@FknNefFy]

They should have. He led everyone’s hook knives for fibers that day….. why would skydivers use scissors to do this? He may have used them at SOME point on his gear but less likely scissors would have been used to sneakily sabotage someone (especially from HIS CAR). This is a mystery still to me bc I don’t feel like he did it

[@Atomchild]

Kerry Carey Cary Hopwood hogwood hopward I can’t find anything about this person.

[@Argondish]

"The American parachutist, 36-year-old Cary Hopwood, hit the ground at an estimated 75 mph after he separated from his slashed parachute lines. He survived after plunging into a field in southern Illinois, but his would-be killer was never caught." New York Post

[@Atomchild]

@@Argondish Thank you! I couldn't tell what name he was saying.

[@carolinebishop681]

Omg. How terrifying. I have problems jumping on a plane, never mind jumping out of one. Rip poor Stephen.

[@marktrezise7312]

These are not funny they are just sad.