VAN NUYS, Calif. from www.kabc.com -- Police searched Wednesday for a porn actor suspected of killing one coworker and injuring two others with a Samurai-style sword that was used as a movie prop at a production studio where the suspect had been living.
Stephen Hill, 34, allegedly attacked his colleagues at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ultima DVD Inc.'s distribution and production center at the Hayvenhurst Airport Business Park near Hayvenhurst Avenue and Saticoy Street in Van Nuys. There was allegedly filming going at the adult-video distribution business and Hill was working on the set.
Hill attacked one man near the back of the facility and turned on two others when they tried to intervene, police said. A 30-year-old man who tried to help suffered a stab wound to the torso and died at a hospital. The other two victims were expected to survive.
"I was on my computer, and I heard a really loud man's voice, and it sounded aggressive," said Gary Sanders, who works nearby.
Apparently the weapon was a prop used in porn films. One man who didn't want to be identified told Eyewitness News that Hill always carried weapons and swords in his vehicle.
"It's not a shock that he snapped," said the man. "He was kind of odd. He was friendly to people but there was just that look in his eye, the way he would act. He had about 30 pictures of him and his swords. I think he had like two Samurai swords."
Hill was living in the building where the attack took place. He was reportedly about to be fired for inappropriate behavior and was told he would have to move out.
Hill appeared in some Ultima films and is credited with having appeared in 13 adult films and went by the stage name Steven Dryver. He had also worked on Ultima film's website, according to police.
"We are in the middle of porn valley. I do know a lot of people in the industry, and crystal meth and cocaine are prevalent in that industry, so it doesn't surprise me that somebody would react that crazy," said Sanders.
Investigators were searching for Hill, who may have fled in a 1996 blue Toyota RAV4, with license plate number 5YTC423. They said he might still be armed. Anyone with information was urged to call the LAPD at (877) LAPD-24-7.
According to several reports, Hill has had a history of violence. In 1998, he attended the University of Maryland where he was arrested for threatening a teaching assistant with a gun in order to get an A on his test.
from www.latimes.com A machete-wielding porn performer went on a rampage at a Van Nuys production facility, killing one of his former co-stars and badly wounding two other men, Los Angeles police investigators said Wednesday.
Police said the assailant, porn actor Stephen Clancy Hill, was last seen driving a blue Toyota RAV4.
The attack was reported around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday at Ultima DVD Inc., [pictured] a video distribution business where Hill did production work and apparently lived, police said.
Police said they are investigating whether Hill was angry with his colleagues after learning that he was being fired and evicted.
Homicide Det. Joel Price said Hill attacked one man in a back room of the business with a machete-style weapon. Two colleagues heard loud screams and rushed to the man's aid.
Hill turned on them and swung the weapon repeatedly, cutting and gashing both men, police said. All three victims were rushed to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where one was pronounced dead. The other two were treated.
The man slashed to death was described as a 30-year-old Canoga Park resident. Authorities have not released his name [Herbert Wong aka Tom Dong], but the victim appears to have performed in numerous adult films, including at least two with the suspect.
A Glendale-based production firm issued a statement on Twitter saying the victim had starred in its movies. An employee at the office confirmed the Twitter post to The Times.
Late Wednesday, police were searching for Hill, who fled in the Toyota RAV4 with license plate 5YTC423. Hill performed in adult films under the name Steve Driver.
Sources familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly said Hill had a history of violence that included a 1999 assault-with-a-firearm conviction for threatening to kill one of his college instructors for not giving him an A.
Hill, of Riverdale, Md., allegedly told the University of Maryland instructor that he was "a mobster and would dismember the instructor's body if he didn't get the grade," according to a 1999 story in the Washington Post.
from www.examiner.com - Porn star murder suspect Stephen Hill, AKA Steve Driver, had sword fascination.
Update, Thursday, 12:05 a.m. PST: KABC is reporting that the porn star, Stephen Hill, who went by the name of Steve Driver or Steve Dryver, is alleged to have used a Samurai sword to stab three victims, killing one. The sword may have been used as a film prop but according to KABC-TV, Hill had a fascination with swords.
Someone who knew Hill but didn’t want to be identified told KABC that Hill always carried swords and other weapons in his car.
“He had about 30 pictures of him and his swords,” the man said. “I think he had like two Samurai swords."
Update, 3:45 p.m.: According to the Los Angeles Times, Hill had a prior record for assault. In 1998, he threatened a teaching assistant at a Maryland college with a gun if he didn’t get an A in class.
He reportedly said he was "a mobster and would dismember the instructor's body if he didn't get the grade."
Hill testified at trial that he threatened to kill the teacher after the instructor requested oral sex. The teacher denied Hill’s claim.
Los Angeles Police are looking for porn actor Steven Hill who they say went on stabbing rampage that left one of his co-workers dead and two wounded. Hill, 34, used a machete-style or Samurai-style sword that had been used as a film prop, police said.
The attack happened just before 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Ultimate DVD Inc on Saticoy Street and Hayvenhurst Avenue in Van Nuys. Ultimate DVD was one of several businesses in an an industrial park.
Police said that Hill did production work and acted in several porn movies. He had been living at the business and was about to be fired and would have been forced to move out, police said. His pending dismissal was the result of his "inappropriate" conduct.
A victim who worked next door told KABC-TV that he heard the screams, came in to help and was also attacked. His had minor injuries. He was one of the three people who was taken to Northridge Hospital, one of whom died. The injuries to the third victim are not life-threatening.
Another neighbor told the KABC-TV, "I was on my computer, and I heard a really loud man's voice, and it sounded aggressive."
The station obtained a surveillance photo that shows a man, apparently Hill, running from the business holding an object that may have been the sword used in the attack. (See video below.)
Hill took off after the stabbing. Los Angeles Police said Hill was driving a Blue 1996 Toyota RAV4 with the license plate 5YTC423. The SUV has right-side damage. Police have not released a photo of Hill and have only have a vague description of him as being an African-American male about six feet tall.
Some bloggers have written that Steven Hill is a gay porn actor. There is a gay porn star named Steven Hill but he is white and Steve Hill is his stage name. Los Angeles Police told this writer that they don't know what name Hill used in the porn movies that he acted in.
