Emile Cilliers isaccused of attempting to murder wife Victoria, 40, (pictured on their wedding day in South Africa in 2011) a few days earlier when he damaged a gas valve at their home.
Emile Cilliers isaccused of attempting to murder wife Victoria, 40, (pictured on their wedding day in South Africa in 2011) a few days earlier when he damaged a gas valve at their home.
The wife of an Army sergeant accused of sabotaging her parachute to murder her today admitted lying to police because she wanted revenge for his string of affairs.
Victoria Cilliers, 40, told Winchester Crown Court she "despised" her husband Emile, 37, and "was out for blood" because he cheated on her with skydiver Stefanie Goller and his ex-wife Carly.
He is accused of trying to kill her with a gas leak in March 2015, and when that failed allegedly tampering with the skydiving fanatic's parachute in a crash that left her with broken vertebrae, ribs and a shattered pelvis six days later, according to the Daily Mail.
Mrs Cilliers, pictured on another skydive, suffered multiple serious injuries in the fall in 2015. Photo / YouTube
Cilliers told jurors she had exaggerated the amount of time her husband, of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, had spent alone with her skydiving kit in the toilets at Netheravon Airfield, Wiltshire, on Easter Sunday, 2015.
She first told detectives he went missing for "a couple of minutes" but in a second statement said it was "over five minutes" but admitted today: "It was probably somewhere in the middle of that".
She added: "I was very angry. I was out for blood. I made it sound worse than it was because I was humiliated. I wanted him to suffer. I got to the point where the extent of his lies and deceit had been disclosed to me and I wanted to get my own back to a certain extent."
Last week an expert witness demonstrated to the jury that it would take about five minutes to sabotage the parachute.
The prosecution insist Cilliers is guilty of trying to kill his wife to cash in on her £120,000 ($230,000) life insurance and pay off significant debts.
Pictured, an inspection of Victoria Cilliers's parachute following the incident. The white material is the reserve parachute. Photo / Wiltshire Police
A week ago the jury were shown a demonstration of how the parachute could be sabotaged in the tight space of the toilets.
Mark Bayada, the Army Parachute Association (APA) chief instructor at Netheravon, an expert witness for the prosecution, carried out the filmed demonstration using two parachutes, the court heard.
Bayada sabotaged the larger one in five minutes and 15 seconds and the smaller one in five minutes and five seconds.
Today Cilliers gave evidence for the first time at Winchester Crown Court and revealed she decided to leave everything to their children in 2014 because he was unfaithful and "bad with money".
She said: "I'm an intelligent person who knew what was going on. I was starting to feel insecure in the marriage, I knew he was having an affair, I wanted to get it done sooner rather than later."
After he spent New Year's Eve with his lover Stefanie Goller, who he met on Tinder, she began feeling suicidal because it was the "final straw", she said.
Mrs Cilliers revealed she had set a time limit of their wedding anniversary in September 2015 for him to "shape up or ship out" but he tried to kill her in the March and again six days later, it is alleged.
She told the court that 37 year old Cilliers, who is said to have tried to kill her to cash in her £120,000 life insurance, was in financial difficulty with significant debts.
Her husband is accused of trying to murder the 40-year-old by removing vital "slinks" from her parachute before she went on a 4,000ft skydive on April 5, 2015.
On March 30 he had attempted to murder the Army physiotherapist by tampering with a gas pipe to trigger an explosion at their home in Amesbury, Wiltshire, it is claimed.
The prosecution say he had tampered with the gas fitting in a kitchen cupboard at the home he shared with his wife and then went to stay in his barracks.
Today Mrs Cilliers said she lied to police about her husband's actions in the aftermath of the parachute jump fall "to get her own back" after she had learnt of his "lies and deceit".
Emile Cilliers is said to have started an affair with Stefanie Goller (above) after meeting her on Tinder. Photo / Facebook
Victoria Cilliers said that she "despised" her husband, Emile, after becoming suspicious about his extra-marital affair which had pushed her to suicidal thoughts.
Her husband had around £22,000 of debts and had started an affair after meeting a woman, Stefanie Goller, on Tinder, believed he would receive £120,000 life insurance as a result of Mrs Cillier's death.
The trial has heard that the defendant had taken her parachute into the toilets at Netheravon Airfield on Saturday April 4 2015, where he is alleged to have tampered with it prior to it malfunctioning during a jump on the following day.
Mrs Cilliers, who suffered a broken vertebrae, ribs and pelvis in the fall, admitted that she had given differing accounts in her police interview.
She told jurors she had exaggerated the amount of time her husband had spent alone with her parachute in toilets at Netheravon Airfield, Wilts, where she later sustained horrific injuries because "she was out for blood".
When asked if she had always told the truth, she replied: "Not always. The extent of his lies and deceit had been disclosed to me and I just wanted to get my own back to a certain extent."
Mrs Cilliers, who walked into court unaided and chose to stand to give her evidence, said that she had later wanted to amend her statement but had been told by a police liaison officer that she would not be allowed to and that "no-one would believe me".
She continued: "You have to remember I had been dealing with this day-in-day-out for months, it was horrific, I was injured with a baby, I had enough at that point, I wanted everyone out of my life."
The court was told that Mrs Cilliers sent a message to her husband in February 2015, two months prior to the near-fatal fall, that she thought he would "be happier without her".
Emile Cilliers has served with the Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineer regiments. Photo / Facebook
It said: "I entered into this marriage with my eyes open. I've loved u more each year.
"Feels like u are just trying to keep pushing me away until I jump ship. But I can't. I love u too much. It feels just now that u would be happier without me."
Mrs Cilliers told the court: "In a way this was how I was feeling. I was panicking, I was about to have a baby, I didn't want him to leave just then, if that's what it took to keep him around for a little longer then fine.
"In regards to me not being around, yes I was starting to feel like that at that point.
"I was trying to threaten him in a way, 'if you do not get a grip and start acting like my husband' I was threatening suicide. I am not sure if I meant it."
Cilliers travelled away during the New Year period and told his wife it was for work when he was in fact meeting Miss Goller.
Mrs Cilliers said: "He told me it was a work course which I knew wasn't true. I know how the army works and that was ridiculous.
Emile Cilliers has pleaded not guilty to three charges.
"I had suspicions he was away with another woman. That was the final straw in my mind.
"It was an accumulation. I am an intelligent person, I knew exactly what was going on.
"I regretted walking out of my first marriage so quickly and didn't want to do anything rash and I wanted his help when the baby was born. In effect I was probably using him as well.
"In my mind, on our wedding anniversary in September, if he had not shaped up I would ask him to get out."
In February 2015 she even threatened suicide in a text message to her husband.
Describing her marriage at that point, when Cilliers would stay in barracks to avoid a long commute, she said: "The way things were going, it was easier to have a bit of space.
"I despised him at that point. It was easier sometimes, even though it was hard, not to have him around."
Mrs Cilliers said their marriage began to fail in November 2014 when she realised her husband was having an affair.
She said: "Cracks were starting to show, I was aware around that time, I had suspicions before that he was having an affair."
Emile Cilliers allegedly collected a parachute for his wife and took it into the men's toilets at the base, which is when the prosecution claim he tampered with it. Photo / Facebook
Mrs Cilliers said that at that time, he was in financial difficulties.
She said: They weren't good, I was aware that he had financial issues. He was bad with money. I wasn't party to what debts, I knew he did have "
Mrs Cilliers, who was pregnant at the time, said that she re-did her will taking her husband out of it and leaving the house to the children.
She said: "I needed to redo my will primarily because I had children, I owned the house and Emile was bad with money and I needed to be sure that if anything happened to me, the children would be well looked after".
She said that her husband would still be the recipient of her life insurance policy and the contents of the house.
In a letter to the defendant to accompany her new will, which he was not shown, she wrote: 'I do hope Emile you understand my reasons.
"I love you and you are an amazing father to the children, I just want to ensure that they have the access to education I had."
Jurors were shown thousands of texts between Cilliers and his lover Stefanie Goller, whom he met on dating app Tinder, in the months before the skydiving incident in April 2015 and in the days after.
The jury heard blood matching Mr Cilliers' DNA was found on the gas tap, which had damage marks made by a pair of pliers found in the house. Photo / Wiltshire Police
On the day of the fall he wrote: "Sorry can't talk right now. Vicky has had an accident." Later in the same conversation, as his wife was having surgery, he said: "What we have is far more special ... One day we might have a family of our own."
Miss Goller later said she was working as a cleaner, to which he said: "Will you be my cleaner? I only like nude cleaners." Miss Goller said, "I like naked cooking', and he replied: 'You'll end up being distracted by me and burn the cooking."
The night before the gas leak, Cilliers had sent Miss Goller texts fantasising about "the soft touch of your skin" and "kissing your neck, stroking your body".
Half an hour earlier, he texted his ex-wife Carly, 38, with whom he was also having an affair, saying: "So tonight we f*** twice."
Jurors were also shown exchanges between Cilliers and his wife. A few weeks after the accident, he wrote: "I will need money soon or I can't do shopping. I have no money left."
Texts also revealed their marriage problems in the months before.
After he returned from a trip to Austria in January, she wrote: "It was a massive blow to realise you came back a different person. You seemed so detached." Meanwhile Cilliers was texting Miss Goller about how he wanted to spend his life with her, the court heard.
In February, after Cilliers returned from a holiday with Miss Goller, his wife texted him: "Feels like you keep trying to push me away until I jump ship. But I can't. I love you too much. It feels just now that you would be happier without me."
The trial at Winchester Crown Court has heard that Mrs Cilliers, 40, from Haddington, East Lothian, reported smelling gas at the property.
Her husband had spent the previous night at his barracks because he said he wanted to avoid the Monday morning traffic.
An engineer called to the property found a loose nut on a gas isolation valve in a cupboard next to the oven.
Police evidence showed the kitchen cupboard where the gas leak occurred. Photo / Wiltshire Police
The court has heard that dried blood found on the pipe was a match for Cilliers.
Forensic scientist Mark Kearsley told the court that he had carried out a microscopic examination of the nut and a set of mole-grip adjustable locking pliers owned by the sergeant.
Cilliers has said he used the pliers to try to tighten the nut when he had returned home before the gas engineer arrived, but could not do so because it was too tight.
Mr Kearsley said impressions left on the nut were a "conclusive" match for the markings of the pliers but they had been used in a "loosening and not tightening motion". He added that a "significant" degree of force was used.
Gas engineer Michael Osborne said he was called to the Cilliers' home on March 30 to make the gas leak safe.
He pinpointed the "small leak" to a nut on a gas fitting in a cupboard next to the oven in the kitchen and he was able to fix it by tightening the nut by a "quarter-turn maximum".
He said it was not unusual to find such a leak and explained that as well as a tool, the nut could have become loosened or 'relaxed' by repeated changes in temperature or by being knocked by food tins being placed in the cupboard.
Gas safety consultant Howard Reed said he inspected the property and found the valve was not faulty.
Mrs Cilliers survived her fall thanks to a single thread on her parachute but spent three weeks in hospital with a broken pelvis, ribs and vertebrae. Her husband denies two counts of attempted murder and one of reckless criminal damage.
Cilliers denies two counts of attempted murder and one of reckless criminal damage.
The trial continues.
WHERE TO GET HELP:
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