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 (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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