Victoria Cilliers is a skydiver who survived a murder attempt on her in 2015 when both her main and reserve parachutes were interfered with.
Early life and marriage
editVictoria lives in Wiltshire, England, and is a physiotherapist for the Ministry of Defence.[1]
Victoria's ex-husband Emile Cilliers was born in South Africa in 1980 and moved to the UK in the early 2000s. He has two children from a previous marriage. He met Victoria in 2009, and they have two children. Their relationship deteriorated before his 2015 attempt on her life.[1]
She became a successful parachutist and instructor, with 2,654 jumps.[2]
Murder attempt
editDuring a parachute jump on Easter Sunday 2015, both her standard and reserve parachutes failed to open. She fell 4,000 ft to the ground. She survived the fall despite life-threatening injuries[1] because she landed on a soft, newly ploughed field.[2] It was the second attempt on her life in less than a week[2]
Emile Cilliers was convicted of her attempted murder in May 2018[3][4] after a previous trial failed to reach a verdict.[5] He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years.[1] He was also convicted of tampering with a gas valve at their home.[4]
Media
edit- I Survived is an autobiographical memoir published by Pan Macmillan[1]
- The Parachute Murder Plot is a 2018 documentary film by All3Media about the murder attempt, with Fiona Bruce
- The Fall: Skydive Murder Plot is a 2024 Channel 4 television documentary about the murder attempt (originally commissioned as The Woman Who Fell To Earth[6])
See also
edit- Malfunction (parachuting)
- Netheravon Airfield
- Death of Stephen Hilder, in a parachute incident in 2003
- Parachute Murder, a 2010 Belgian love triangle skydiving murder case
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Victoria Cilliers: the true story behind the parachute murder plot". PanMacmillan.com. Pan Macmillan. Archived from the original on 2024-04-27. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Kleeman, Jenny (14 Jul 2018). "'He has the traits of a psychopath': the inside story of the parachute murder plot". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ "Parachute murder bid: Emile Cilliers jailed for life". BBC News. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ a b Osborne, Samuel (24 May 2018). "Army sergeant found guilty of attempting to kill wife by tampering with her parachute". Independent. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ Mitchell, Ben (23 Nov 2017). "Retrial ordered for soldier accused of attempting to kill wife with sabotaged parachute". The Independent. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ https://www.channel4.com/press/news/channel-4-commissions-woman-who-fell-earth-wt-story-films
Further reading
edit- Victoria Cilliers in the Independent
- R vs Cilliers Sentencing Remarks