On April 4, 2015, thirty-nine-year-old Victoria “Vicky” Cilliers leaped from an airplane flying 4,000 feet above the ground. Vicky was an expert parachutist, so the dive on that Easter Sunday should have been no different—but this one was… For some reason, her chute failed to open, and she plummeted three-quarters of a mile to the ground.... BUT SHE SURVIVED THE FALL! The question remaining? Who had tampered with Vicky's chute?
Support: Check out the National Gender Based Violence Learning community: https://ngbvlc.org
Battered Women's Justice Project. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship and needs resources, please go to bwjp.org
References
Bell, Bethan. 2018. Parachute plot: The ex-girlfriend who walked away. May 25. Accessed January 10, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-44226692.
—. 2018. Sex, lies and payday loans: The parachute murder plot. June 15. Accessed January 10, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-44209421.
Brown, David. 2016. "Soldier Charged Over Wife's Parachute Fall." The Times, September 14.
Bynorth, John. 2017. "Trial Told Army Sergeant Tried to Kill Wife By Removing." The Herald, October 4.
Cilliers, Victoria. 2020. I Survived: I Married a Charming Man, Then He Tried to Kill Me. London, UK: Pan Macmilan.
Farmer, Ben. 2015. "Soldier Held for Attempted Murder after Wife's Parachute Fails." Daily Telegraph, May 11.
Gazette & Herald . 2017. "Wife Who Survived Murder Attempt is Top Parachutist, Court Hears." Gazette & Herald, October 6.
Gazette & Herald. 2017. "Paris Rowing Trip for Army Sergeant Awaiting Attempted Murder Trial." Gazette & Herald, January 12.
Humphries, Will. 2018. "Life in Jail for Sergeant Who Sabotaged Wife's Parachute." The Times, June 16.
—. 2017. "Sergeant's 'Parachute Plot to Kill Wife'." The Times, November 5.
—. 2017. "Wife Was 'Out for Blood' after She Survived Parachute Fall." The Times, October 26.
Kleeman, Jenny. 2018. "He Has Traits of a Psychopath: the Inside Story of the Parachute Murder Plot." The Guardian, July 14.
Morris, Steven. 2018. "'Shocking Betrayal:" The Soldier, the Lover and the Sabotaged Parachute." The Guardin, May 24.
Myers, Russell. 2015. "Wife of man arrested for her attempted murder after her parachute failed to open." Daily Mirror, May 10.
O'Sullivan, Kyle. 2020. Emile Cilliers' final disgusting insult to wife Victoria after trying to murder her twice. August 10. Accessed January 12, 2023. https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/emile-cilliers-final-disgusting-insult-22486913.
Press Association. 2017. Jury in Emile Cilliers case defends itself after judge's bullying direction. November 23. Accessed January 12, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/23/jury-in-emile-cilliers-case-defends-itself-after-judges-bullying-direction.
Sewer, Patrick. 2018. "Wife Who Stood by Husband after He Tried to Kill Her Sees Him Jailed." Daily Telegraph, June 16.
Siddique, Haroon. 2017. Parachute trial jury fail to reach verdict forcing retrial of Emile Cilliers. November 23. Accessed January 12, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/23/jury-dismissed-in-trial-of-man-emile-cilliers-accused-of-tampering-with-wifes-parachute.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois
Research by Dave White, Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElroy
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Popular Podcasts
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.