A coroner has recorded an open verdict in the inquest of skydiver Stephen Hilder, who plunged 13,000ft to his death.
The 20-year-old fell to his death at Hibaldstow Airfield, North Lincolnshire, in July 2003 after both his main and reserve parachutes had been sabotaged.
Humberside Police launched a ten-month murder investigation, but concluded the Army cadet probably cut the straps himself.
Mr Hilder's family sat and listened quietly as the North Lincolnshire coroner Stewart Atkinson read out the open verdict.
After recording his verdict, Mr Atkinson turned to the Hilder family and said: "I hope it will be some relief to the family.
"I hope it begins some closure to the Hilder family. I offer to them, I am sure from everyone in court, my sympathy and condolences.
"How you cope, I do not know. I admire your dignity in such adversity."
Mr Atkinson continued: "I hope you will be able to remember the way in which Stephen lived his life rather than the manner of his death."
Earlier, the coroner said Mr Hilder's death had been referred to as "unique and mysterious".
He went on: "Perhaps it is still mysterious."
Mr Atkinson ruled out murder as Mr Hilder's cause of death. He said police had found no evidence that any third party had been involved in the sabotage of the skydiver's parachute.
Mr Hilder's two jump partners, Adrian Blair and David Mason, were both arrested and questioned over Mr Hilder's death. But both were released without charge and were no longer being treated as suspects.
The coroner added that he was unable to record a verdict of suicide because he could not be sure the skydiver intended to take his own life.
Detective Superintendent Colin Andrews, who led the investigation, had told the inquest police were sure Mr Hilder had not been murdered but could not definitively say that he had committed suicide.
Mr Atkinson said he agreed with the police and added that forensic evidence was not sufficient to reach a verdict of suicide.
The five-day inquest heard that the 20-year-old, who had debts of more than £17,000, may have tried to make his death look like murder.
His girlfriend Ruth Woodhouse, aged 25, of Stafford, said the couple had discussed committing the "perfect murder" after watching the film, Murder By Numbers.
She said her boyfriend had been forensically aware and that there was "no way" he would have killed himself.
The inquest also heard the army cadet carried out the correct safety procedures as he descended from a height of 13,000ft.
David Mason, one of the skydivers who jumped with Mr Hilder on the day, told the inquest how Mr Hilder was "excited" and "jubilant" on the way down.
Mr Mason and team mate Adrian Blair were arrested during a ten-month police inquiry into the incident but later fully exonerated after forensic evidence led detectives to believe Mr Hilder had most likely killed himself.
Mr Mason said the trio's jump on July 4 2003 was a "text book" performance as they had performed 19 manoeuvres on the descent before the tragedy unfolded.
The inquest also heard a statement from Dr Anthony O'Leary, the skydiving instructor who found the skydiver's body.
The dead man' parents Paul and Mary, who were at the inquest throughout, listened as the doctor's statement said it was clear their son's body had bounced on impact and it had left a head-shaped dent in the ground.
A graphic video of the body of Mr Hilder as it lay crumpled in a cornfield, was played to the court.
Mr Hilder's parents left the hearing as the harrowing footage of their son, wearing a blue and grey jump-suit and a blue helmet, was shown.
Forensic officers and parachute experts could be seen removing the parachute from his body and explaining how the equipment worked.
The inquest also heard that Mr Hilder had racked up debts of more than £17,000 and was splitting up with his girlfriend.
The skydiving enthusiast also wrongly assumed that he had failed his degree course.
Detectives said they were murdered. convinced he had not been murdered and may have cut his parachute straps.
Earlier yesterday, forensic expert Peter Grant refused to rule out the possibility that Mr Hilder could have been
After the inquest, Detective Superintendent Colin Andrews, who led the inquiry for Humberside Police, said Mr Hilder's death was "unique" but he was convinced the army cadet was not murdered.
Mr Andrews said officers travelled "the length and breadth of the country" to speak to anyone who knew Mr Hilder or who had known him in the past.
But he said new forensic evidence in April last year, when DNA samples taken from a pair of orange scissors found in Mr Hilder's car showed they had been used to cut the straps on his parachute and that only Mr Hilder's DNA was found on them, had changed the police position.
He said: "It was those findings that convinced me Stephen was not murdered.
"The police investigation into Stephen's death was unique. It was unprecedented and has drawn national and international attention.
"It was also an exhaustive investigation and I believe that no stone was left unturned in our pursuit of the truth behind what happened
to Stephen back in July 2003.
"My thoughts and sympathies remain with Stephen's family, who I am sure will still have many unanswered questions about his death."
He said Mr Hilder's parents and his sister Katherine had behaved in a "most dignified manner" throughout the inquiry, despite the fact that they were going through a truly dreadful time.
He added: "For his family, the inquest has undoubtedly been another very painful experience and I hope that they can now feel some relief that the long process has concluded.
"Humberside Police do not intend to make any further inquiries into Stephen's death.
"However, if at any time in the future we receive new information about Stephen and the circumstances surrounding his death we will, of course, investigate."
Flanked by his wife Mary, Mr Hilder's father, Paul, said: "It's natural to want answers and to remove uncertainty. An open verdict does neither.
"The inquest has been thorough and probing.
" Steve's life has been dissected and examined in great detail and we still do not know why he died nearly two years ago.
"We do not know why anyone would want to kill him nor is there evidence that he took his own life.
"If murder has not been proved or ruled out and suicide has not been proved or disproved then we really do not know.
"As for the future the police assure us that should anything come to their attention that may have bearing on what happened to Steve they will fully investigate it."
Mr Hilder, who was speaking outside the North Lincolnshire Council headquarters in Scunthorpe where the inquest took place, continued: "We are painfully aware of the impact that his death has had on his many friends and colleagues.
"What has become clear to us over the last two years and particularly in the last two weeks is that Stephen who died on July 4, 2003, was the same Steve that we knew and loved. He hasn't changed."
