Police hunt for porn actor accused of sword slaying

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police are looking for a porn actor suspected of killing a colleague and injuring two others with a sword that was used as a movie prop in Los Angeles.

Stephen Hill, 34, fled in an SUV with the weapon after Tuesday night’s attack at Ultima DVD Inc.’s production center and tape warehouse in Van Nuys, where he had been living, Detective Joel Price said.

One man was attacked and two others tried to intervene, police said. A 30-year-old man who tried to help was stabbed in the torso and died at a hospital. His name has not been released.

The other two victims were expected to survive.

Hill had been told a week earlier to leave where he had lived for several months in the studio that appeared to double as an adult movie set.

“There was no indication that things were going to get violent, there was nothing that provoked this attack, but at some point Stephen chose to arm himself with what can be best described as a sword,” Price said. “He then used that sword against those three victims.”

The victims were not well-known porn stars.

Eric Jover, who is listed as Ultima’s contact on public documents, did not respond to phone and e-mail messages seeking comment.

Ultima had ended its business relationship with Hill, who had worked on the studio’s website and appeared in some of its films, police said.

Hill was on probation for carrying a concealed weapon in an unrelated case, Price said.

The production center is located near Van Nuys Airport in the San Fernando Valley, which is sometimes called “Porn Valley” because it serves as headquarters for numerous porn purveyors.

A witness to the attack also lived in the building, sleeping in a studio furnished as a bedroom.

Steve Nelson, editor-in-chief of Adult Industry News, said he had met Hill at social gatherings.

“He seemed like an OK guy who was trying very hard to get recognized and get his name out there,” Nelson said.

Nelson said Hill appeared in films under the name Steve Driver. The Internet Adult Film Database lists 13 credits for him, including fetish films for Ultima and other companies.

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Associated Press Writer John Rogers contributed to this story.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.