THE parents of murdered skydiver Stephen Hilder have acknowledged the support given to them by the Herefordshire community.

Paul and Mary Hilder also said the coverage of their son's tragic death in the local media had been 'very fair'.

The parents of the former army cadet are confident that the culprit responsible for his death will be caught.

The Hilders spoke publicly last Friday for the first time since their 20-year-old son plunged 13,000 ft to his death at Hibaldstow Airfield, Lincolnshire, in July after his main and reserve parachute cords were cut.

The Hilders took the decision to speak publicly just a week before Stephen would have celebrated his 21st birthday.

At a press conference at Hereford Racecourse, Mrs Hilder said: "Just a week after Stephen died we said we could not understand why anyone would want to do this to him. We are now five months on and it makes even less sense.

"The Steve we knew was bright, intelligent, funny, loving, energetic. He could also be stubborn and selfish - a normal 20-year-old. Through his friends we have now seen another Steve who was supportive and caring and there for them when they needed him."

"This has been devastating not just for us but for all of his friends who are trying to carry on studying or working. Steve loved Christmas. It has always been a family affair. There has always been a lot of fun and silliness with Steve the joker in the thick of it. His sister is 24. She cannot remember Christmas without her little brother."

Mr Hilder said Stephen's death had had a 'profound' and 'devastating' affect on their family and friends.

Confident

"Life will never be the same again. We continue to support each other and receive so much help and support from our family and friends," he said, "but we cannot begin to rebuild our lives in a different reality, the reality of life without Steve, because of the investigation into his murder."

Humberside police have now interviewed 2,417 people, taken 765 statements and also made inquiries in Cyprus, Russia and South Africa.

Det Supt Colin Andrews said the police still did not have a motive for Stephen's murder but remained determined and confident about catching the killer.

Mr Andrews said his professional judgement led him to believe that Stephen knew his killer. And if it was a prank that went wrong, he urged the person responsible to get in touch.

"This is a unique investigation and no other police force in any part of the world has dealt with this before. But we strongly believe this person knew Stephen and had some grudge against him," said Mr Andrews.

"There is a good chance that whoever did it will have done it in the heat of the moment and is likely to tell a third person. Stephen did have one or two disagreements that week but they have been brought to our attention and we are still investigating."

Mr Andrews added that files have been prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service with a view to possible charges.