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Emile Cilliers trial: Wife 'blacked out' as parachute failed Emile Cilliers trial: Wife 'blacked out' as parachute failed
(about 1 hour later)
The wife of an Army sergeant accused of trying to kill her told a court "everything went black" as she struggled with her failing parachute.The wife of an Army sergeant accused of trying to kill her told a court "everything went black" as she struggled with her failing parachute.
Victoria Cilliers, 40, suffered multiple injuries in a 4,000ft near-fatal fall at Netheravon Airfield, Wiltshire, in April 2015.Victoria Cilliers, 40, suffered multiple injuries in a 4,000ft near-fatal fall at Netheravon Airfield, Wiltshire, in April 2015.
Emile Cilliers, 37, denies two counts of attempted murder.Emile Cilliers, 37, denies two counts of attempted murder.
His former army officer wife told Winchester Crown Court she was forced to cut away the main parachute.His former army officer wife told Winchester Crown Court she was forced to cut away the main parachute.
"Straight away I knew something was not quite right, it had a lot of twists and the canopy wasn't floating," she said."Straight away I knew something was not quite right, it had a lot of twists and the canopy wasn't floating," she said.
"I can't remember if I pulled the reserve or it deployed automatically.... it was very twisted.""I can't remember if I pulled the reserve or it deployed automatically.... it was very twisted."
Prosecutors allege Mr Cilliers, based with the Aldershot-based Royal Army Physical Training Corps, twisted the lines of his wife's main parachute and sabotaged a reserve chute the day before her jump.Prosecutors allege Mr Cilliers, based with the Aldershot-based Royal Army Physical Training Corps, twisted the lines of his wife's main parachute and sabotaged a reserve chute the day before her jump.
In her second day of giving evidence, Mrs Cilliers told the jury how she tried to untangle the reserve parachute.In her second day of giving evidence, Mrs Cilliers told the jury how she tried to untangle the reserve parachute.
"I'm trying to fly something that is spinning quite fast, it's like a centrifuge, you end up facing the ground spinning quite rapidly."I'm trying to fly something that is spinning quite fast, it's like a centrifuge, you end up facing the ground spinning quite rapidly.
"I had to use quite a lot of force using the whole body to untangle the twists which I managed."I had to use quite a lot of force using the whole body to untangle the twists which I managed.
"Then I couldn't work out why I couldn't get control, it was getting worse.""Then I couldn't work out why I couldn't get control, it was getting worse."
'One in a million''One in a million'
Physiotherapist Mrs Cilliers said the chances of a main parachute failing was one in 750 jumps but for the reserve to fail as well was "one-in-a-million".Physiotherapist Mrs Cilliers said the chances of a main parachute failing was one in 750 jumps but for the reserve to fail as well was "one-in-a-million".
She suffered broken vertebrae, ribs and pelvis in the fall.She suffered broken vertebrae, ribs and pelvis in the fall.
"The last thing I remember is trying to get some kind of control over it, trying to open as many cells as I could then everything went black," she said."The last thing I remember is trying to get some kind of control over it, trying to open as many cells as I could then everything went black," she said.
"I do not know if it was the G force or the impact but everything cut out.""I do not know if it was the G force or the impact but everything cut out."
Mr Cilliers denies two counts of attempted murder and one of criminal damage recklessly endangering life.Mr Cilliers denies two counts of attempted murder and one of criminal damage recklessly endangering life.
The case continues.The case continues.
In court: Rhiannon Fitzgerald, BBC Wiltshire reporter
Watching a police video played in court, you would not have known that the woman sitting upright on the blue sofa giving a statement had recently fallen 4,000 feet in a near-fatal parachute jump.
While one of her crutches was just about visible on screen, and a police officer mentioned a brace Mrs Cilliers was wearing, the injuries to her pelvis, spine, ribs and some internal organs were not obvious.
Speaking calmly throughout, Mrs Cilliers answered questions for approximately 90 minutes. It wasn't until the end of the interview that emotions started to show.
She said "at no point" did she "ever suspect" her husband.