A South African man whose wife narrowly escaped death after spiralling to the ground during a skydive is facing trial for allegedly sabotaging her parachute.
The Winchester Crown Court in the UK heard this week that Victoria Cilliers miraculously survived a 370m parachute jump after her main and reserve chutes failed to open properly.
The court is alleging that in April 2015, her husband Emile Cilliers removed two pieces of equipment from the parachute - slinks - that connect a parachute to the jumper’s harness.
This was days after he allegedly first attempted to murder her by turning on a gas valve and trying to cause an explosion at their home.
Victoria was considered one of Britain’s top skydivers when she jumped from a plane at Netheravon on Salisbury plain in south-west England.
The veteran free-fall instructor who had completed about 2 600 jumps was meant to have completed what is known as a “hop and pop” jump - a low-level skydive, where the parachute opens immediately upon the jumper leaving the plane.
Shortly after leaving the plane, Cilliers realised she was in trouble when her first parachute didn’t open properly. After jettisoning the main chute, she activated her reserve, but it too malfunctioned and she began spinning towards the ground.
Experts said she survived the failure by slowing her descent to 45km/* and guiding her parachute, which had a single line attached, towards a ploughed field.
Those who rushed to where she lay had expected to find her dead, but she was alive, having suffered a broken pelvis, ribs and vertebrae.
Members of the jury heard Emile had collected a parachute for his wife and had taken it to the men’s toilet at Netheravon. There, the prosecution claims he tampered with the chute, taking less than three minutes to complete the task.
When the jump was cancelled due to bad weather, Emile, the prosecution said, stowed the chute in his wife’s locker. During this time he allegedly showed an unusual interest in the weather.
His wife jumped the next day. The chance of the slinks breaking off, according to experts, was unheard of.
After the incident, police searched the Cilliers’ home and discovered that a gas
valve, next to a cooker, had allegedly been tampered with. The court heard that when Victoria had discovered the leak, she sent her husband a WhatsApp message asked him jokingly if he was “trying to kill” her.
The prosecution is arguing Emile’s motive was to pocket a £120000 (R2.1million) life insurance policy that would pay off his debts.
The prosecutor also told the jury the man was involved in at least two extramarital affairs, and was desperate to start a new life with a secret lover.
He is also accused of sleeping with his ex-wife.
The court also heard how the man had sent his alleged lover messages saying he was going to leave his wife. In one, he allegedly wrote: “I will sacrifice and give up so much for you.”
Mark Bayada, a chief instructor of the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon did, however, tell jurors that an innocent explanation for the missing slinks might be that they were cut away when paramedics treated her at the accident site.
In 2011, the couple got married at the plush Twelve Apostles Hotel in Cape Town. Facebook reveals Emile as a fitness fanatic. The trial continues.