In April 2015, Victoria Cilliers was believed to have been dead after a 4,000 foot jump at a skydiving center known as the Army Parachute Association in Wiltshire, England. First responders and a body bag were waiting for her on the ground at Netheravon Airfield after her parachute and reserve failed, The Guardian reported, citing authorities.
An experienced skydiving instructor, Victoria miraculously survived — authorities believe it was due to her small frame — but was left with serious injuries when she landed in the recently-plowed field. The 41-year-old suffered a broken spine, fractured ribs and pelvis, according to the outlet.
Years later, Victoria spoke of her survival in a documentary.
“I think it was a mix of things,” Victoria said, according to an October 2024 story published by The Independent. “It was a combination of luck [and] trying to slow it down as much as I could.”
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But was it all an accident? Following Victoria’s near-fatal fall, the Army Parachute Association quickly suspected there was foul play and contacted police, per reporting by The Independent. An investigation led police to zero in on Victoria’s army sergeant husband, Emile Cilliers.
The two, who both served in the British army, met in 2010 and married the next year before having two children together, the outlet reported. But in the years that followed, Emile’s dark side would be revealed.
Authorities said Emile twice attempted to kill his wife, with the first being a gas leak he orchestrated at the couple’s home less than a week before the near-fatal skydiving incident, according to The Independent.
But why would he try to kill his wife? A Winchester Crown Court judge presiding over Emile’s trial said his motive was the insurance policy he would receive upon his wife’s death, making way for him to pursue a relationship with another woman, BBC News reported. The judge also said Emile believed his wife’s status as a higher-ranking army officer would threaten his own army career, per the outlet.
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According to BBC News, authorities said the life insurance policy totaled about £120,000, or the equivalent of about $155,000.
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Emile was ultimately found guilty of two counts of attempted murder in May 2018 and later sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 18 years to be served, The Guardian reported.
At his sentencing hearing, he was described by the judge as someone who was”of quite exceptional callousness and a person who would stop at nothing to gratify your own desires,” BBC News reported.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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