WEST HILLS, Calif.—In a developing story, Stephen Hill, the part-time adult performer wanted for the brutal slaying of a colleague and the wounding of two others Tuesday at the Ultima DVD offices in Van Nuys, has been tracked to a nearby house in Canoga Park, not far from the Chatsworth Nature Preserve, the Los Angeles Police is saying.
The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday afternoon that a SWAT team surrounded the house "where a man matching the description of the porn actor suspected of killing one man and injuring two others at a Van Nuys production facility on Wednesday is threatening to jump off a cliff.
"Officers were sent to the home in the 8000 block of Azul Drive around 9:30 a.m. The home sits on a rocky hillside. Details as to why officers were called are unknown, said LAPD Officer April Harding."
According to the Associated Press, "Stephen Clancy Hill was clutching a sword as police tried to talk him down from the embankment near the home in the Chatsworth area, LAPD Officer April Harding said. It was unknown whether the sword is the murder weapon."
*UPDATE*
Police SWAT and negotiators were still in a stand-off with Stephen Hill as of 4:30 pm, seven hours after police first tracked the suspected killer to a home in the West Hills sections of the San Fernando Valley. Hill remained perched on the edge of a large rock, threatening to either impale himself on the samurai sword he was holding or throwing himself off the ledge, which had at least a 40 foot drop.
According to a neighbor watching the scene, every time members of the SWAT team would begin to approach Hill, he would hold the sword to his stomach and threten to fall on it. Videtape broadcast live on local news channels showed Hill gesturing in an animated fashion as a police negotiator tried to talk him down.
Police said the precarious nature of his position on the rock meant that they would spend as much time as needed trying to negotiate rather than take more pro-active measure to subdue the suspect.
AVN will update the story as it develops.
*UPDATE*
The daylong standoff between a sword-wielding murder suspect and Los Angeles SWAT came to a dramatic end at approximately 5:30 pm Saturday afternoon after the suspect, Stephen Hill, fell from the cliff that he had been perched on for about 8 hours after police finally used "less lethal munition" to subdue him. Hill fell about 40-feet to rocks below, sustaining injuries, and was taken into police custody.
Hill was wanted on one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder after attacking colleagues Tuesday with a prop sword. The owner of the Ultima DVD had offered a $2000 reward for information leading to Hill's arrest. it's unknown at this time whether someone tipped off the police to Hill's whereabouts in order to get the reward.
*UPDATE*
Authorities have reported that Hill died tonight in the hospital at approximately 7:50 pm as a result of massive head trauma he sustained in the fall.
“He was bent on taking his own life,” LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said. “It’s very unfortunate. We wanted this to end a different way.”
Video of the moments before Hill fell is available on the KABC website. The news station also reported that it was a neighbor of the home where Hill was staying who first alerted police that the suspect was there. The neighbor reportedly recognized Hill and his vehicle, according to authorities.
An unedited version of the final moments of the standoff, showing the entire fall, is here. (WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO)
It shows Hill sitting on the edge of the cliff surrounded by a half dozen officers, with what appear to be wires from a Taser attached to him. Hill inches closer to the edge as an officer fires another weapon at him that was later described by police as a "less lethal munition," presumably a beanbag gun. Another officer trains what looks to be his gun on Hill as the suspect takes a final look down and appears to let go, still holding the sword he had been threatening to use on himself during the eight hour standoff. He falls an estimated 60 feet, hitting a ledge hard before tumbling another 15-20 feet down the face of a boulder into a gulley where he finally comes to rest.
Police on the scene for the first time publicly released the name of the individual killed by Hill Tuesday, Herbert Wong, 30. The department spokesperson said they had only spoken with the Wong family Friday, which is why they had delayed releasing his name.
