Man Accused of Trying to Murder His Wife With a Defective Parachute
Police say a British army sergeant intentionally sabotaged his wife’s parachute and back-up parachute before a skydiving excursion last month—but not very well: she miraculously survived the fall with only a few dozen broken bones.
Victoria Cilliers, 39, was an experienced skydiver who had recently separated from her husband, Emile Cilliers, the Telegraph reports.
Police reportedly believe Cilliers, an instructor with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, planned the whole thing out in advance—according to the Daily Mail, two sources claim Cilliers checked out an army parachute on Victoria’s behalf the day before the accident.
Vital parts of the parachute known as slinks were found to be missing after the incident at Netheravon airfield on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. The slinks, or soft links, connect the canopy to the parachute harness, but were found to be missing from the parachutes. Without them a parachute cannot function properly.
Police have said it was a miracle Mrs Cilliers survived. The experienced skydiver jumped from a Cessna Caravan light aircraft at 4,000ft and deployed her first parachute at 3,000ft. Sections did not unfold and she was sent into a spin, known as “going down the plughole”.
She pulled her reserve chute, but that also malfunctioned. She was able to slow her descent and avoid a road, but still hit a field at an estimated 30mph.
He’s been charged with attempted murder.
