British Man Attempts Murdering His Wife By Sabotaging Her Parachute

A South African-born man who became a British army sergeant has been charged with attempted murder for trying to kill his wife by sabotaging her parachute.

Victoria Cilliers, 40, plunged to the ground from 4,000 feet up when her parachute failed to open on Easter Sunday 2015, but she didn’t die; a reserve parachute partially opened, and despite the fact that she was traveling 30 mph when she hit the ground, she suffered broken ribs, broken collarbone, a broken leg and spinal injuries but did not succumb to death.

One report said Victoria Chilliers had given birth only five weeks prior to the parachute jump.

Emile Cilliers, 36, an instructor with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, was arrested for attempting to murder his wife. The Telegraph reported that police were alerted to the possibility Victoria Cilliers’ parachute might be sabotaged before she jumped.

Cilliers has two charges of attempting to murder his wife filed against him; one stems from the April 5 Easter incident; another stems from between March 28-31, 2015, an incident in which he is also accused of recklessly endangering the lives of their two children when he damaged a domestic gas fitting belonging to his wife.

Victoria Cilliers jumped from a Cessna Caravan light aircraft at 4,000 feet but her main canopy failed to unfold at 3,000 feet at Netheravon Airfield, Wilts. Detective Inspector Paul Franklin, of Wiltshire Police, said she “would have been dead if her chute hadn’t partially opened.” Eyewitnesses said she was “going down the plughole,” meaning a violent spin.

After three weeks in a hospital, Chilliers was able to return home. Cilliers is on bail and due to in court on October 14.