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On April 4, 2015, experienced free-fall instructor Victoria Cilliers was set to complete her 2,650th jump. The jump was a gift from her husband, Emile, as a way to celebrate the birth of their 2nd child together.
However, the weather on April 4th, wasn’t good enough for the group of skydivers to jump. While the group waited for the weather to improve, Emile took Victoria’s parachute with him to the restroom. He would later claim he took it with him to keep on eye on it.
The group of 12 jumpers, including Victoria, decide to postpone the jump until the following day, April 5th. Emile leaves Victoria’s parachute in her locker, against the airfield’s protocols.
The following day, Victoria and the group of jumpers return to the British airfield to complete the jump. The weather still isn’t great, so the group decides to do a “hop and pop” style skydive. The group of jumpers were going to jump at 4,000 feet and immediately pull their parachutes.
Victoria exited the airplane and immediately went to deploy her main chute. But it failed. The chute was tangled. True to her training, she cut away the main chute and attempted to deploy the reserve. The reserve also failed.
Victoria fell 4,000 feet to the ground, landing in a freshly plowed field of dirt.
She survived.
Victoria was rushed to the hospital with nearly life-threatening injuries, but she was alive. Right away, her follow skydivers suspected that someone had tempered with her parachute. The parachute lines were frayed or damaged, they were intentionally cut.
While Victoria recovers in the hospital, British police discover that there was a gas leak in her home just one week before the accident. When police investigate the gas leak, they found Victoria’s husband, Emile’s blood on the loosened gas pipe.
Police suspect that Emile might have had something to do with the gas leak incident and Victoria’s skydiving accident. They believe he tampered with her parachute.
A digital forensic search of Emile’s cell phone revealed he was having an affair with another woman. The search also revealed he was still sleeping with his ex-wife and regularly contacted sex workers.
Emile was no Husband of the Year.
Police also learned that Emile was in a large amount of debt and took out a life insurance policy on his wife, Victoria. He was standing to receive over $100,000 if Victoria died the day of the accident.
Emile Cilliers were arrested and charged with 2 counts of attempted murder and 1 count of reckless endangerment. He was charged with intentionally trying to cause a gas leak in the house and tampering with her parachute.
Police believed Emile tried to kill his wife not only once, but twice.
The count of reckless endangerment was because the couple’s two children were inside the house when he attempted to cause a gas leak in the house.
At trial, the prosecution argued that Emile had the opportunity and the motive to want his wife dead. They presented the digital forensic evidence on Emile’s cell phone, the blood evidence on the loosened gas pipe and Emile’s own admission that he handled her parachute the day before the accident.
But, when Victoria herself took the stand, she surprised everyone in the courtroom. She defended her husband.
Victoria testified that she made a mistake by cutting away a perfectly good parachute. She said she exaggerated the amount of time her husband spent in the bathroom with her parachute.
Victoria didn’t believe her own husband tried to kill her twice.
The jury couldn’t reach a unanimous decision resulting in a hung jury.
The Crown Prosecution Service decide to retry the case against Emile Cilliers. This time, Victoria doesn’t take the stand.
During the second trial, Emile is found guilty of 2 counts of attempted murder and 1 count of reckless endangerment. This time, the jury believed that Emile caused the gas leak inside their house and intentionally tampered with his parachute.
Emile was sentenced to life in prison.
Immediately following Emile’s conviction and sentencing, Victoria stood by her husband’s side. She believed him.
In a July 2020 article for the Daily Mail, Emile has refused to give Victoria a divorce. Currently, she is dating a fellow skydiver and is looking to move on with her life, separate from Emile.
Episode Sources:
Parachute Murder Plot Document (Amazon Prime)
July 2020 Daily Mail Article
The Guardian article “He has the traits of a psychopath”
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