Jury hits out at judge’s warning over bullying
Jurors fail to find verdict after hitting back at judge who warned them against bullying in deliberations
The jury in the case of an Army sergeant accused of trying to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute was discharged yesterday after hitting out at a judge who had warned them against bullying. Mr Justice Sweeney had spoken to the jury after two members were discharged with stress-related illness. But the remaining jury members have now hit back, accusing the judge of attacking their integrity.
THE jury in the case of an Army sergeant accused of trying to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute was discharged yesterday after hitting out at a judge who had warned them against bullying.
Two female jury members were sent home on Wednesday after being diagnosed with stress-related illnesses, prompting Mr Justice Sweeney to speak to the jury about “improper pressure or bullying” during deliberations.
But in an extraordinary exchange, the remaining jury members hit back at the judge, accusing him of attacking their integrity.
After resuming their deliberations, the jury then sent a note to the judge, informing him that they were unlikely to be able to reach a majority verdict, before being formally discharged.
Emile Cilliers, 37, of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, had been on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of attempting to kill Victoria, his wife, by sabotaging her parachute. He was also accused of attempting to blow up their home by tampering with a gas pipe. He had denied all charges.
But after a six-week trial, and almost a week of deliberations, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. The Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would be seeking a retrial.
On Wednesday, Mr Justice Sweeney discharged two female members after being told that they were suffering from “stress-related illnesses”.
He told the jurors in a direction that their deliberations “must remain within the proper bounds of discussion, and not amount to improper pressure or bullying”. In response, the remaining jury members gave the judge a note denying that there had been any “bullying” and defending themselves against his remarks.
The note said: “Following yesterday’s further direction, the jury returned to the deliberation room to read and discuss the direction as discussed.
“The jury unanimously agreed no such bullying had taken place, we then proceeded to further deliberations in the time remaining.
“After our dismissal for the day, a number of jurors were contacted by friends and family who became aware of press reporting implicating bullying.
“Collectively we feel we have had no opportunity to defend ourselves and our integrity which has further implications on us personally and professionally.”
Mr Justice Sweeney responded by saying in a further direction that his comments had not “suggested any bullying had been going on” but had been intended “to flush it out if it had”. He told them: “The direction I gave you yesterday afternoon was against the background that I had discharged two of your original number as they were suffering stress-related illnesses and medical evidence showed they were not fit to continue. Having to discharge jurors while they are deliberating for stress-related illnesses is very rare.”
He added: “The law is clear that in these circumstances I had to make sure that it was not as a result of something having gone wrong, hence my direction to you yesterday afternoon in which you will have noted it was not suggested any bullying had been going on but it was intended to flush it out if it had.”
He added: “All enquiries that I have been able to make this morning indicated that the media, for their part, simply and faithfully reported, either in whole or in part, my direction.”
Mrs Cilliers suffered near-fatal injuries when she took part in a jump at the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon, Wilts, on April 5 2015. It is not clear when any retrial will take place.
‘Collectively we feel we have had no opportunity to defend ourselves and our integrity’