Parachute trial falls apart after jurors are signed off with stress
THE trial of an Army sergeant accused of trying to kill his wife by tampering with her parachute dramatically collapsed yesterday.
Jurors said they were unable to reach a verdict in the case of Emile Cilliers, 37, after 30 hours of deliberations over eight days.
Two members of the jury – one of them the forewoman – had already been discharged after complaining of ‘stress-related illnesses’.
Judge Mr Justice Sweeney later warned remaining jurors against ‘improper pressure or bullying’ and insisted their deliberations ‘must remain within the proper bounds of discussion’.
The seven-week trial at Winchester Crown Court is estimated to have cost taxpayers around £500,000, The Crown Prosecution Service announced that it will seek a retrial on all charges to take place next year.
Father-of-six Cilliers is accused of wanting to claim 42-year-old wife Victoria’s £120,000 life insurance and start a new life with his girlfriend Stefanie Goller, 36. The trial was told the serving soldier with the Royal Army Physical Train- ing Corps had debts of £22,500 and was also sleeping with his ex-wife Carly, 38.
Jurors began their deliberations on November 14, but on Wednesday morning the judge discharged the forewoman and another female juror with stress-related illnesses. One was admitted to hospital and the other suffered problems with her asthma.
The ten remaining jurors produced a note yesterday morning stating ‘no such bullying had taken place’. The note added: ‘Collectively we feel we have had no opportunity to defend ourselves and our integrity which has further implications on us personally and professionally.’ They assured the judge that they had not discussed the case with anybody.
Mr Justice Sweeney responded by stating 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: ‘You must now put this episode completely behind you and when continuing your deliberations you must do so by way of a careful, dispassionate consideration of the evidence.’ But two hours later, the jury of seven women and three men told the judge they had been unable to reach verdicts on the charges.
During the trial, South Africa-born Cilliers denied sabotaging his wife’s parachute before a skydive in Wiltshire in April 2015.
The court heard how Mrs Cilliers, originally from Haddington, East Lothian, hurtled to the ground at 100mph after her main parachute malfunctioned and reserve failed. Her survival was attributed to her petite frame and the fact that she landed on a freshly ploughed field.
Cilliers is also accused of attempting to create a gas explosion at their family home in Amesbury, Wiltshire, days earlier. He was released on conditional bail until the retrial next year.