Life for SA-born soldier who tried to kill wife
A SOUTH African-born soldier who cheated on his wife and tried to kill her by sabotaging her parachute was jailed for life in the UK yesterday.
Emile Cilliers – whose parents Stoltz and Zaan live in Betty’s Bay‚ in the Western Cape – will serve a minimum of 18 years for trying to gas his wife Victoria then tampering with her parachute in 2015. He aimed to collect a life insurance payout of about R2.1-million‚ but was convicted of two counts of attempted murder.
Four years earlier‚ the couple married at the Twelve Apostles Hotel‚ in Cape Town. After Cilliers’ conviction in May at Winchester Crown Court‚ Victoria said he is a “kind and loving” man. She said she refused to accept he tried to killer her and had no plans to divorce him.
But the prosecution described the 38-year-old British army sergeant as a “charmless‚ unfaithful‚ penniless scoundrel”‚ and in his sentencing remarks yesterday Mr Justice Sweeney told him: “This was wicked offending of extreme gravity.
“Your two attempts to murder your wife… were planned and carried out in coldblood for your own selfish purposes‚ which include financial gain.”
Victoria broke her back‚ pelvis and ribs when she plunged to the ground from 1 200m after her main and reserve parachutes failed‚ and the judge said it was a miracle she survived.
“She appears to have recovered from the physical harm but not‚ having seen her in the witness box at length‚ from the psychological harm‚” he said.
The jury heard that Cilliers‚ a father of six‚ was involved in at least two extra-marital affairs‚ and was desperate to start a new life with his secret lover‚ Stefanie Goller. He was also sleeping with his ex-wife‚ Carly Cilliers.
Victoria described him as a “boobaholic” and said she knew he was part of a sex club. The court heard that he also solicited prostitutes on the proviso sex was unprotected and he could film the liaison‚ and that he joined a sex club and registered with a swingers’ website.
His first trial collapsed last year when the jury failed to reach a verdict after Victoria admitted she had lied to police about her husband to “get her own back”.