Sergeant tampered with East Lothian wife's parachute in attempted murder bid

Army Sergeant Emile Cilliers has been found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of attempting to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute and sabotaging a gas valve at their home.

Victoria Cilliers, a highly-experienced parachuting instructor from Haddington in East Lothian, suffered near-fatal injuries when both her main and reserve parachutes failed when she took part in a jump at the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon, Wiltshire.

At the time Wiltshire Police said her reserve also failed and deployed only partially. She sustained multiple serious injuries and was taken to Southampton Hospital and later discharged.

She suffered severe injuries but survived after landing in a ploughed field following her jump on Sunday April 5, 2015.