TV clues in skydive murder hunt

Stephen Hilder on a skydive last year

The detective leading the hunt for the murderer of a skydiver is urging two callers to BBC's Crimewatch programme to contact his officers.

The two women telephoned Detective Superintendent Colin Andrews, from Humberside Police, following the appeal on Thursday evening.

Previously unseen video footage of Army cadet Stephen Hilder moments before he plunged to his death was shown on the BBC One programme.

Mr Hilder, 20, a Bristol University student, was filmed as he travelled by bus to what was to be his final jump at Hibaldstow Airfield, north Lincolnshire, on 4 July.

Detectives launched a murder inquiry after discovering that the cord on his main parachute and the strapping on his reserve chute had been deliberately severed.

Mr Hilder on the bus travelling to the aircraft

Detective Superintendent Andrews told Crimewatch Update the witnesses were "crucial" to the investigation.

"I believe that there is somebody out there, more than likely a member of the skydiving community, who knows exactly what happened to Stephen's parachute pack and why, and I am confident we will get that information.

"It is a wicked crime and somebody out there holds the key to this investigation."

Police say the crime is likely to have been committed by another skydiver as expert knowledge would have been required to sever the key elements of the parachute.

Other video footage on Crimewatch showed Mr Hilder, who was from Hereford, giving a thumbs-up shortly before jumping from the plane.

Last jump

He was also seen holding on to his two colleagues in free-fall formation, moments before he plunged 13,000 feet to his death.

It was the trio's last jump in a week-long competition.

On the night before his death, the officer cadet from the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, had been enjoying a fancy dress party where he was pictured wearing a blond wig and a black dress.

Mr Andrews said: "We were very keen to get this inquiry on to Crimewatch UK because it has very good results and may just provide us with the break we need to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Stephen's death."

Police believe the killer was at the airfield during the competition, as Mr Hilder had jumped successfully two days earlier and repacked his own equipment.