Parachute fall accused ‘was in touch with prostitutes’
AN ARMY sergeant accused of trying to kill his wife by sabotaging her parachute was in contact with prostitutes and arranged unprotected sex with one weeks before the attempted murder, a court heard.
Emile Cilliers, 38, offered to pay the escort £100 for filmed sex around the time he was allegedly plotting to murder his Scots wife Victoria to claim her £120,000 life insurance.
At the time, Cilliers, of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, was also having affairs with Stefanie Goller, whom he met via the Tinder dating app, as well as ex-wife Carly Cilliers.
Just before texting the prostitute in March 2015, Cilliers sent a message to Carly offering to ‘christen’ his wife’s new car by having sex with her in it, the court heard.
Three weeks later, he allegedly loosened a gas valve at the home he shared with Victoria in Amesbury, Wiltshire, in a bid to trigger an explosion and kill her.
When that failed, it is claimed he removed vital links from his wife’s main and reserve parachutes before she went on a 4,000ft skydive over Salisbury Plain on April 5, 2015.
Victoria, 42, who grew up in Haddington, East Lothian, is an experienced skydive instructor and Army physiotherapist.
She spun helplessly to the ground when both chutes failed but survived, spending three weeks in hospital with a broken leg, as well as injuries to her ribs, pelvis and spine.
Prosecuting, Michael Bowes, QC, said: ‘Those at the scene realised something was seriously wrong with her reserve parachute. Two vital pieces of equipment were missing.’
Cilliers stood trial last year but the jury could not reach verdicts on two counts of attempted murder and one of damaging property being reckless as to the endangerment of life. A retrial opened yesterday at Winchester Crown Court with a new jury, who were told about the collapse of the first trial.
Mr Bowes revealed details of text messages on the soldier’s phone in the days before the alleged murder attempts.
He said: ‘On March 13, 2015, the defendant is in touch with Carly Cilliers arranging to have sex. In a message to Carly, the defendant says, “You can see the new car, we can take it for a spin. Maybe christen it.” He is then in touch with a prostitute. He says to the escort, “bareback for £100. Can I film it?” She replies “yes”. Bareback is a term for no form of protection.
‘Now, there is nothing wrong with going to prostitutes, but it is indicative of a man who does what he wants, when he wants. We say here’s a man who cared not for Victoria.’
The first alleged murder attempt took place in March 2015, when Cilliers is said to have loosened a gas valve in the kitchen of the home he shared with his wife. Victoria smelt gas and texted Cilliers asking if he had altered the gas lever.
Mr Bowes said Cilliers, who was said to be £22,000 in debt at the time, had an insurance policy that would pay him £120,000 in the event of Victoria’s death.
Cilliers, of Aldershot, Hampshire, denies the charges. The trial continues.