Victoria Cilliers Explained

Victoria Cilliers is a skydiver who is mainly known for having survived a murder attempt on her in 2015 when both her main and reserve parachutes were interfered with.

Early life and marriage

Victoria lives in Wiltshire, England, and is a physiotherapist for the Ministry of Defence.

Victoria's ex-husband Emile Cilliers was born in South Africa in 1980 and moved to the UK in the early 2000s. He has four children from previous relationships. He met Victoria in 2009, and they have two children. Their relationship deteriorated before his 2015 attempt on her life.

She became a successful parachutist and instructor, with 2,654 jumps.

Murder attempt

During a parachute jump on Easter Sunday 2015, both her standard and reserve parachutes failed to open. She fell 4,000ft to the ground. She survived the fall despite life-threatening injuries^[1] because she landed on a soft, newly ploughed field.^[2] It was the second attempt on her life in less than a week

Emile Cilliers was convicted of her attempted murder in May 2018^{[3] [4]} after a previous trial failed to reach a verdict.^[5] He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years. He was also convicted of tampering with a gas valve at their home.

Media

• I Survived is an autobiographical memoir published by Pan Macmillan
• The Parachute Murder Plot is a 2018 documentary film by All3Media about the murder attempt, with Fiona Bruce
• The Fall: Skydive Murder Plot is a 2024 Channel 4 television documentary about the murder attempt (originally commissioned as The Woman Who Fell To Earth^[6])

See also

• Malfunction (parachuting)
• Netheravon Airfield
• Death of Stephen Hilder, in a parachute incident in 2003
• Parachute Murder, a 2010 Belgian love triangle skydiving murder case

Further reading

• Victoria Cilliers in the Independent
• R vs Cilliers Sentencing Remarks

Notes and References

1. Web site: Victoria Cilliers: the true story behind the parachute murder plot . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240427205258/https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/general/victoria-cilliers . 2024-04-27 . 9 June 2024 . PanMacmillan.com . Pan Macmillan.
2. News: Kleeman . Jenny . 14 Jul 2018 . 'He has the traits of a psychopath': the inside story of the parachute murder plot . 9 June 2024 . The Guardian.
3. News: 15 June 2018 . Parachute murder bid: Emile Cilliers jailed for life . 9 June 2024 . BBC News.
4. News: Osborne . Samuel . 24 May 2018 . Army sergeant found guilty of attempting to kill wife by tampering with her parachute . 9 June 2024 . Independent.
5. News: Mitchell . Ben . 23 Nov 2017 . Retrial ordered for soldier accused of attempting to kill wife with sabotaged parachute . 9 June 2024 . The Independent.
6. Web site: Channel 4 commissions the Woman Who Fell to Earth (W/T) from Story Films | Channel 4 .