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‘He has the traits of a psychopath’: the inside story of the parachute murder plot	‘He has the traits of a psychopath’: the inside story of the parachute murder plot
2018-07-14 07:15:16 UTC	2019-02-19 17:42:16 UTC (7 months later)
Every year, thousands of people cross an item off their bucket list by leaping out of an aeroplane above Netheravon airfield’s broad, flat grass plain. It’s the largest parachute drop zone in the UK, but unremarkable to look at: military land, little more than two blue and white Cessnas waiting to take off, a few billowing orange windsocks and some picnic tables. There’s an enormous khaki hangar with a corrugated iron roof. This is where the kit room is, where the toilets are, and where Emile Cilliers tried to get away with murdering his wife.	Every year, thousands of people cross an item off their bucket list by leaping out of an aeroplane above Netheravon airfield’s broad, flat grass plain. It’s the largest parachute drop zone in the UK, but unremarkable to look at: military land, little more than two blue and white Cessnas waiting to take off, a few billowing orange windsocks and some picnic tables. There’s an enormous khaki hangar with a corrugated iron roof. This is where the kit room is, where the toilets are, and where Emile Cilliers tried to get away with murdering his wife.
On Saturday 4 April 2015, he took Victoria Cilliers’ parachute rig into the toilets and sabotaged it. The next day, Easter Sunday, Vicky leapt from one of the Cessnas and fell like a rag doll underneath her flailing canopy, 4,000ft (1,200m) to the ground at 60mph, to what should have been her death: the first people on the scene were so sure of it that they brought a body bag. But she was found alive, with a broken spine, fractured ribs and a shattered pelvis, surviving only because her small frame had landed in a soft, newly ploughed field.	On Saturday 4 April 2015, he took Victoria Cilliers’ parachute rig into the toilets and sabotaged it. The next day, Easter Sunday, Vicky leapt from one of the Cessnas and fell like a rag doll underneath her flailing canopy, 4,000ft (1,200m) to the ground at 60mph, to what should have been her death: the first people on the scene were so sure of it that they brought a body bag. But she was found alive, with a broken spine, fractured ribs and a shattered pelvis, surviving only because her small frame had landed in a soft, newly ploughed field.
It was Cilliers’ second attempt to kill Vicky in less than a week. But it took two criminal trials to prove it, and even after Cilliers was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder in May, and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years in June, the victim herself says she refuses to believe her husband tried to kill her. When someone survives an attempt on their life, it should be a huge advantage for the police investigation. But Vicky Cilliers’ survival made it difficult to prosecute; Emile Cilliers was convicted in spite of her evidence, rather than because of it.	It was Cilliers’ second attempt to kill Vicky in less than a week. But it took two criminal trials to prove it, and even after Cilliers was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder in May, and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years in June, the victim herself says she refuses to believe her husband tried to kill her. When someone survives an attempt on their life, it should be a huge advantage for the police investigation. But Vicky Cilliers’ survival made it difficult to prosecute; Emile Cilliers was convicted in spite of her evidence, rather than because of it.
Why did a 38-year-old army officer want to kill his wife, the mother of his toddler and newborn baby? Why do it in such a far-fetched, complicated way? And how close did he come to getting away with it?	Why did a 38-year-old army officer want to kill his wife, the mother of his toddler and newborn baby? Why do it in such a far-fetched, complicated way? And how close did he come to getting away with it?
Mark Bayada is fed up with answering questions. The chief instructor and boss of the Army Parachute Association, which runs Netheravon, Bayada has spent three years being questioned about that Easter weekend, first by the police, then during cross-examination by defence barristers in two successive trials (the first collapsed when two members of the jury had to be dismissed with stress-related illness). I am the first journalist he has agreed to speak to. He cares about getting things right, down to the last detail – that’s what makes him good at his job – but he has been ground down by being interrogated for days on end. Still, if it weren’t for him, the attempted murder of Victoria Cilliers would never have been considered a crime at all: it was his decision to call the police, at a time when everyone else assumed she had been injured in a freak parachuting accident.	Mark Bayada is fed up with answering questions. The chief instructor and boss of the Army Parachute Association, which runs Netheravon, Bayada has spent three years being questioned about that Easter weekend, first by the police, then during cross-examination by defence barristers in two successive trials (the first collapsed when two members of the jury had to be dismissed with stress-related illness). I am the first journalist he has agreed to speak to. He cares about getting things right, down to the last detail – that’s what makes him good at his job – but he has been ground down by being interrogated for days on end. Still, if it weren’t for him, the attempted murder of Victoria Cilliers would never have been considered a crime at all: it was his decision to call the police, at a time when everyone else assumed she had been injured in a freak parachuting accident.
He was clever. He covered the points he knew we’d discover from his phone, and assumed he’d never see the police again	He was clever. He covered the points he knew we’d discover from his phone, and assumed he’d never see the police again
“I’m the fun police,” he says, deadpan, as he leads me inside the hangar. “It’s my job to protect people from themselves.” Parachuting has been Bayada’s life since his first jump in 1992. He is ex-military and looks it, with a greying grade one haircut and beard, and faded tattoos peeking out of the sleeves of his T-shirt; he has the tanned skin of someone who is happiest outside. The hangar is a vast space filled with soldiers learning to land on blue crashmats (on weekends, and certain afternoons, it’s open to the public, and anyone can jump here). He shows me to the kit room, where more than 100 parachute rigs hang on neat metal racks ready to go, organised according to the weight and level of experience of the jumper who might use them. Then he points out “the dreaded toilet” where Cilliers disappeared with Vicky’s rig, and “the dreaded locker” where he stashed it overnight.	“I’m the fun police,” he says, deadpan, as he leads me inside the hangar. “It’s my job to protect people from themselves.” Parachuting has been Bayada’s life since his first jump in 1992. He is ex-military and looks it, with a greying grade one haircut and beard, and faded tattoos peeking out of the sleeves of his T-shirt; he has the tanned skin of someone who is happiest outside. The hangar is a vast space filled with soldiers learning to land on blue crashmats (on weekends, and certain afternoons, it’s open to the public, and anyone can jump here). He shows me to the kit room, where more than 100 parachute rigs hang on neat metal racks ready to go, organised according to the weight and level of experience of the jumper who might use them. Then he points out “the dreaded toilet” where Cilliers disappeared with Vicky’s rig, and “the dreaded locker” where he stashed it overnight.
Vicky was a Netheravon regular, an accelerated freefall (AFF) instructor with 2,654 jumps to her name. She was trained to deal with out of control, inexperienced jumpers, and was able to chase them around the sky during freefall, catch them and get them in the right position mid-air. “A real, hardcore skill,” Bayada says, solemnly.	Vicky was a Netheravon regular, an accelerated freefall (AFF) instructor with 2,654 jumps to her name. She was trained to deal with out of control, inexperienced jumpers, and was able to chase them around the sky during freefall, catch them and get them in the right position mid-air. “A real, hardcore skill,” Bayada says, solemnly.
She worked as a physiotherapist for the Ministry of Defence, and met Cilliers, an instructor in the Royal Army Physical Training Corps originally from South Africa, when she treated him for a skiing injury. By April 2015, they’d been married four years and lived in Amesbury, a 10-minute drive from the airfield, with their three-year-old daughter and five-week-old son. Bayada says he knew them both only in a professional capacity; having sat through both trials he now knows far too much about their personal lives.	She worked as a physiotherapist for the Ministry of Defence, and met Cilliers, an instructor in the Royal Army Physical Training Corps originally from South Africa, when she treated him for a skiing injury. By April 2015, they’d been married four years and lived in Amesbury, a 10-minute drive from the airfield, with their three-year-old daughter and five-week-old son. Bayada says he knew them both only in a professional capacity; having sat through both trials he now knows far too much about their personal lives.
It was Cilliers who had arranged Vicky’s jump that weekend, her first for nearly a year, telling her it was a treat after having their baby. He brought both their newborn and their three year old along to watch their mother jump. He offered to collect a parachute from the kit store, and then disappeared into the toilet with it, claiming later that he only did so because his daughter needed the loo and he didn’t want to leave Vicky’s rig unattended. As Bayada points out, everyone leaves their kit out in the hangar; it would be absurd to take a three year old into the tiny toilet cubicle with a cumbersome parachute on your back. Once it was decided that the weather was too bad for anyone to jump on the Saturday, Cilliers did not return the rig to the kit store like everyone else; he stashed it in Vicky’s locker.	It was Cilliers who had arranged Vicky’s jump that weekend, her first for nearly a year, telling her it was a treat after having their baby. He brought both their newborn and their three year old along to watch their mother jump. He offered to collect a parachute from the kit store, and then disappeared into the toilet with it, claiming later that he only did so because his daughter needed the loo and he didn’t want to leave Vicky’s rig unattended. As Bayada points out, everyone leaves their kit out in the hangar; it would be absurd to take a three year old into the tiny toilet cubicle with a cumbersome parachute on your back. Once it was decided that the weather was too bad for anyone to jump on the Saturday, Cilliers did not return the rig to the kit store like everyone else; he stashed it in Vicky’s locker.
The weather was still poor on Easter Sunday, and by the afternoon Vicky and the 11 others due to jump with her were getting restless. At 4pm they decided to do a “hop and pop” – a low-altitude jump where they would open their parachutes within seconds of getting out of the plane – at 4,000ft, as the cloud cover was too low to go any higher. Vicky was excited to be back in the sky, fist-bumping the others inside the plane. She was the last of the 12 to make the jump.	The weather was still poor on Easter Sunday, and by the afternoon Vicky and the 11 others due to jump with her were getting restless. At 4pm they decided to do a “hop and pop” – a low-altitude jump where they would open their parachutes within seconds of getting out of the plane – at 4,000ft, as the cloud cover was too low to go any higher. Vicky was excited to be back in the sky, fist-bumping the others inside the plane. She was the last of the 12 to make the jump.
Almost as soon as Bayada reached her on the ground, he noticed strange things about her kit. “All the lines on one side of the parachute were knotted up,” he says. “When we lifted her on to the stretcher to put her into the helicopter, one of the paramedics asked if someone could look underneath to make sure no lines were still attached. That’s the first time I looked at the equipment properly, and I could see the two ends of the risers on the reserve parachute were unattached.” Bayada didn’t know it then, but Cilliers had knotted Vicky’s main canopy and removed vital parts of the reserve: the soft links, or slinks, that connect the harness to the parachute, were absent.	Almost as soon as Bayada reached her on the ground, he noticed strange things about her kit. “All the lines on one side of the parachute were knotted up,” he says. “When we lifted her on to the stretcher to put her into the helicopter, one of the paramedics asked if someone could look underneath to make sure no lines were still attached. That’s the first time I looked at the equipment properly, and I could see the two ends of the risers on the reserve parachute were unattached.” Bayada didn’t know it then, but Cilliers had knotted Vicky’s main canopy and removed vital parts of the reserve: the soft links, or slinks, that connect the harness to the parachute, were absent.
Bayada takes me through everything he looked for in the kit Vicky left behind: he had tried to find loose stitching in the harness or canopy; bunching on the straps to show they had been under any pressure; residues, burn marks, anything to suggest the slinks had been there and somehow come away. But he could find nothing to show a mechanical fault, and although Vicky’s reserve parachute had never before been deployed, it had been inspected 16 times by 10 different advanced packers over its lifetime, most recently two months before Easter Sunday, and each time, the slinks were there. “None of it added up,” he says.	Bayada takes me through everything he looked for in the kit Vicky left behind: he had tried to find loose stitching in the harness or canopy; bunching on the straps to show they had been under any pressure; residues, burn marks, anything to suggest the slinks had been there and somehow come away. But he could find nothing to show a mechanical fault, and although Vicky’s reserve parachute had never before been deployed, it had been inspected 16 times by 10 different advanced packers over its lifetime, most recently two months before Easter Sunday, and each time, the slinks were there. “None of it added up,” he says.
Finding out what had gone wrong became a moral issue for Bayada. He points to a rack in his office. “That set of kit – the grey one’s mine, the one next to it’s my son’s. My whole life is this. If something has gone drastically wrong and the kit’s to blame, then it affects all my friends, not just me professionally.” He pauses. “Phoning the police wasn’t something I took lightly. But I absolutely wanted to know.”	Finding out what had gone wrong became a moral issue for Bayada. He points to a rack in his office. “That set of kit – the grey one’s mine, the one next to it’s my son’s. My whole life is this. If something has gone drastically wrong and the kit’s to blame, then it affects all my friends, not just me professionally.” He pauses. “Phoning the police wasn’t something I took lightly. But I absolutely wanted to know.”
***	***
Parachuting accidents happen, but they are surprisingly rare. The British Parachute Association (BPA), the sport’s national governing body, estimates there were 2.3m sport jumps in the 10 years before Easter 2015. Of those, there were 2,900 cases where the reserve parachute had to be deployed, and not a single incident where there was also a problem with the reserve. According to the BPA, the only known instance of both a main and reserve failing to operate was in the case of Stephen Hilder.	Parachuting accidents happen, but they are surprisingly rare. The British Parachute Association (BPA), the sport’s national governing body, estimates there were 2.3m sport jumps in the 10 years before Easter 2015. Of those, there were 2,900 cases where the reserve parachute had to be deployed, and not a single incident where there was also a problem with the reserve. According to the BPA, the only known instance of both a main and reserve failing to operate was in the case of Stephen Hilder.
Vicky's friend said something wasn’t right, that the relationship between Victoria and Emile was quite toxic	Vicky's friend said something wasn’t right, that the relationship between Victoria and Emile was quite toxic
Hilder, a 20-year-old officer cadet, fell 13,000ft to his death on 4 July 2003 in Hibaldstow in Lincolnshire. Someone had cut the risers on his reserve, and the police initially launched a murder inquiry, before concluding 10 months later that his death was probably a suicide: no DNA other than his own was found on his kit, and the scissors used to cut the risers were found in the boot of his car. It’s a story that every serious skydiver knows, and one Cilliers alluded to during his trial: he suggested his wife might have tried to kill herself.	Hilder, a 20-year-old officer cadet, fell 13,000ft to his death on 4 July 2003 in Hibaldstow in Lincolnshire. Someone had cut the risers on his reserve, and the police initially launched a murder inquiry, before concluding 10 months later that his death was probably a suicide: no DNA other than his own was found on his kit, and the scissors used to cut the risers were found in the boot of his car. It’s a story that every serious skydiver knows, and one Cilliers alluded to during his trial: he suggested his wife might have tried to kill herself.
The coroner in Hilder’s case returned an open verdict, and many in the skydiving community have long rejected the idea that Hilder intended to kill himself; it is widely believed that he was murdered. “There have been a number of suicides over the years parachuting,” says Jeff Montgomery, the BPA’s safety and technical officer. But “Stephen Hilder did everything to try and save his life: he went to operate the main but nothing happened, and then he operated his reserve. If you want to kill yourself, you don’t try to save your life.”	The coroner in Hilder’s case returned an open verdict, and many in the skydiving community have long rejected the idea that Hilder intended to kill himself; it is widely believed that he was murdered. “There have been a number of suicides over the years parachuting,” says Jeff Montgomery, the BPA’s safety and technical officer. But “Stephen Hilder did everything to try and save his life: he went to operate the main but nothing happened, and then he operated his reserve. If you want to kill yourself, you don’t try to save your life.”
The skydiving community is small. Both Montgomery and Bayada knew the Cilliers for years, but none of the experienced skydivers I speak to seems to have known them very well. Montgomery is a regular jumper at Netheravon and has been on exercises abroad with Vicky. “She was dating Emile and when they married I’d had some sort of dealings with him, ‘Hi, how are you doing,’ all that sort of stuff. He kept himself to himself. I don’t remember thinking there was anything unusual about him.”	The skydiving community is small. Both Montgomery and Bayada knew the Cilliers for years, but none of the experienced skydivers I speak to seems to have known them very well. Montgomery is a regular jumper at Netheravon and has been on exercises abroad with Vicky. “She was dating Emile and when they married I’d had some sort of dealings with him, ‘Hi, how are you doing,’ all that sort of stuff. He kept himself to himself. I don’t remember thinking there was anything unusual about him.”
“Things like this just don’t happen here,” says DI Paul Franklin of Wiltshire police, who led the investigation. “These are regular people with regular jobs who live in a nice house in a nice part of the country.”	“Things like this just don’t happen here,” says DI Paul Franklin of Wiltshire police, who led the investigation. “These are regular people with regular jobs who live in a nice house in a nice part of the country.”
“Two-point-four children, nuclear family,” DC Maddie Hennah adds. “They looked totally normal. From the outside, anyway.”	“Two-point-four children, nuclear family,” DC Maddie Hennah adds. “They looked totally normal. From the outside, anyway.”
I meet Franklin, Hennah and their colleague DS Mark Lewis at Melksham Police Divisional HQ, on an industrial estate surrounded by fields. They are smiling and relaxed. It’s a week after Cilliers has been found guilty, and they are visibly relieved to have cracked a once-in-a-career case.	I meet Franklin, Hennah and their colleague DS Mark Lewis at Melksham Police Divisional HQ, on an industrial estate surrounded by fields. They are smiling and relaxed. It’s a week after Cilliers has been found guilty, and they are visibly relieved to have cracked a once-in-a-career case.
But it didn’t feel like a criminal case at first. After Bayada’s call, Franklin sent an officer to the hospital to ask Vicky questions while the BPA took a second look at her parachute, but they didn’t expect much. “We thought they’d come back with some mechanical reason – very sad, very sorry, but nothing wrong here. It bumbled along for a couple of days.”	But it didn’t feel like a criminal case at first. After Bayada’s call, Franklin sent an officer to the hospital to ask Vicky questions while the BPA took a second look at her parachute, but they didn’t expect much. “We thought they’d come back with some mechanical reason – very sad, very sorry, but nothing wrong here. It bumbled along for a couple of days.”
Then they got a phone call from one of Vicky’s friends. “They said something wasn’t right, that the relationship between Victoria and Emile was quite toxic,” Hennah tells me. “It was a couple of weeks before I was actually able to get a statement, but once we got it, things took a very different turn.”	Then they got a phone call from one of Vicky’s friends. “They said something wasn’t right, that the relationship between Victoria and Emile was quite toxic,” Hennah tells me. “It was a couple of weeks before I was actually able to get a statement, but once we got it, things took a very different turn.”
The friend said Vicky was locked in a coercive relationship with Cilliers. “There were domestic abuse issues within the relationship that weren’t obvious from the outside,” Franklin says. “We’re not taking about black eyes and bruises, we’re talking about unseen stuff.” The abuse followed a typical pattern, Hennah explains. “You treat somebody like a princess, and then you do something really unacceptable and underhand, but when you get found out you treat them like a princess again. The woman keeps thinking, he’s treated me really well, I’ll let him off with that one. And then it happens again. It becomes that she is so squashed by it that she just accepts that that’s what life is.”	The friend said Vicky was locked in a coercive relationship with Cilliers. “There were domestic abuse issues within the relationship that weren’t obvious from the outside,” Franklin says. “We’re not taking about black eyes and bruises, we’re talking about unseen stuff.” The abuse followed a typical pattern, Hennah explains. “You treat somebody like a princess, and then you do something really unacceptable and underhand, but when you get found out you treat them like a princess again. The woman keeps thinking, he’s treated me really well, I’ll let him off with that one. And then it happens again. It becomes that she is so squashed by it that she just accepts that that’s what life is.”
Psychopath, sociopath, narcissist, extreme selfishness. He only cares about himself	Psychopath, sociopath, narcissist, extreme selfishness. He only cares about himself
Then the BPA confirmed Bayada’s findings, that there was no mechanical reason for the failure of Victoria’s parachute. At the same time, there were no fingerprints or DNA on the parachute linking it to Cilliers, and allegations of a toxic relationship are not enough to convict a man of attempted murder. The investigation hinged on what Franklin calls “old-fashioned detective work” to establish that Cilliers, who appeared every inch the responsible army man, had the motivation and disposition to do something this preposterous.	Then the BPA confirmed Bayada’s findings, that there was no mechanical reason for the failure of Victoria’s parachute. At the same time, there were no fingerprints or DNA on the parachute linking it to Cilliers, and allegations of a toxic relationship are not enough to convict a man of attempted murder. The investigation hinged on what Franklin calls “old-fashioned detective work” to establish that Cilliers, who appeared every inch the responsible army man, had the motivation and disposition to do something this preposterous.
On 28 April 2015, Hennah went to arrest Cilliers in his barracks in Aldershot. He had a glass-sided office that looked out over the gym where he worked as a physical training instructor, and Hennah was with military special branch when she searched it and took him into custody. When she told him she was arresting him on suspicion of attempted murder, he made no objection. He did not react at all. He didn’t want a solicitor.	On 28 April 2015, Hennah went to arrest Cilliers in his barracks in Aldershot. He had a glass-sided office that looked out over the gym where he worked as a physical training instructor, and Hennah was with military special branch when she searched it and took him into custody. When she told him she was arresting him on suspicion of attempted murder, he made no objection. He did not react at all. He didn’t want a solicitor.
Hennah interrogated him for six hours that evening. “He was very, very self-assured,” she says. He revealed that he was having an affair with Stefanie Goller, an Austrian skydiving instructor he’d met on Tinder while abroad on an army skiing trip. He admitted he was in debt to payday loan companies. He also volunteered the fact that he had disappeared to the toilets for a while on the Saturday afternoon. He offered up both a motive and a means of murder, as if he were untouchable. “He was very clever: he covered all the points he knew we were going to discover from looking at his phone. He assumed we were going to accept what he was saying, and that he’d never see us again.”	Hennah interrogated him for six hours that evening. “He was very, very self-assured,” she says. He revealed that he was having an affair with Stefanie Goller, an Austrian skydiving instructor he’d met on Tinder while abroad on an army skiing trip. He admitted he was in debt to payday loan companies. He also volunteered the fact that he had disappeared to the toilets for a while on the Saturday afternoon. He offered up both a motive and a means of murder, as if he were untouchable. “He was very clever: he covered all the points he knew we were going to discover from looking at his phone. He assumed we were going to accept what he was saying, and that he’d never see us again.”
It had been a gruelling day, particularly for someone who should be worrying about his seriously injured wife. At the end of the interview, Hennah asked him if he had anything to say. “He said, ‘The worst part about today was that you arrested me in front of my subordinates.’” Hennah’s eyes are wide behind her glasses. “At that point I can remember thinking, this man’s odd.”	It had been a gruelling day, particularly for someone who should be worrying about his seriously injured wife. At the end of the interview, Hennah asked him if he had anything to say. “He said, ‘The worst part about today was that you arrested me in front of my subordinates.’” Hennah’s eyes are wide behind her glasses. “At that point I can remember thinking, this man’s odd.”
The better they got to know Cilliers, the more that kind of response made sense. “He displays all the traits of a psychopath,” Franklin says. “Psychopath, sociopath, narcissist, extreme selfishness. He only cares about himself.”	The better they got to know Cilliers, the more that kind of response made sense. “He displays all the traits of a psychopath,” Franklin says. “Psychopath, sociopath, narcissist, extreme selfishness. He only cares about himself.”
About 1% of the population is thought to have psychopathic traits, characterised by egotism, a lack of remorse and absence of empathy. While psychopathy is considered a personality disorder, and can go some way towards explaining why Cilliers attempted to murder his wife in such an elaborate way, it is not a mitigating factor and can’t be used as a defence; as Franklin says, “He’s not mentally ill, that’s just his character.”	About 1% of the population is thought to have psychopathic traits, characterised by egotism, a lack of remorse and absence of empathy. While psychopathy is considered a personality disorder, and can go some way towards explaining why Cilliers attempted to murder his wife in such an elaborate way, it is not a mitigating factor and can’t be used as a defence; as Franklin says, “He’s not mentally ill, that’s just his character.”
He was charismatic and charming. He doesn’t like to be told no. He’s used to having his own way	He was charismatic and charming. He doesn’t like to be told no. He’s used to having his own way
Once they had established it, the police used it to their advantage: they took advice from the National Crime Agency on the best tactics to stop him derailing future interviews. “He’s like a politician: you’d ask a question and he wouldn’t give you a direct answer,” Hennah tells me. “He’d lead off somewhere else that you’d think sounded really interesting.” They made a concerted effort not to fall for his distractions.	Once they had established it, the police used it to their advantage: they took advice from the National Crime Agency on the best tactics to stop him derailing future interviews. “He’s like a politician: you’d ask a question and he wouldn’t give you a direct answer,” Hennah tells me. “He’d lead off somewhere else that you’d think sounded really interesting.” They made a concerted effort not to fall for his distractions.
While Hennah was arresting Cilliers, DS Lewis was informing Vicky that her husband was their main suspect. She was alone with her toddler and baby, and stuck in a body brace. The news devastated her. She didn’t understand why the bail conditions prevented him from returning to the family home, Lewis tells me. She just wanted him back.	While Hennah was arresting Cilliers, DS Lewis was informing Vicky that her husband was their main suspect. She was alone with her toddler and baby, and stuck in a body brace. The news devastated her. She didn’t understand why the bail conditions prevented him from returning to the family home, Lewis tells me. She just wanted him back.
Cilliers’ phone turned out to be a treasure trove for the investigation. It had been less than six months since he’d met Goller, but the two had managed to exchange 32,000 messages during that time. He’d told her he had a heavily pregnant wife but insisted it was another man’s baby; after the birth he falsely claimed to have had a DNA test proving he wasn’t the father of his newborn son. “To be with you I would do anything,” he told Goller. “I will sacrifice and give up so much for you… From April onwards I can do random and spontaneous.”	Cilliers’ phone turned out to be a treasure trove for the investigation. It had been less than six months since he’d met Goller, but the two had managed to exchange 32,000 messages during that time. He’d told her he had a heavily pregnant wife but insisted it was another man’s baby; after the birth he falsely claimed to have had a DNA test proving he wasn’t the father of his newborn son. “To be with you I would do anything,” he told Goller. “I will sacrifice and give up so much for you… From April onwards I can do random and spontaneous.”
But Goller wasn’t the only person Cilliers was messaging. He was sleeping with his ex-wife, Carly Cilliers, mother to two of his older children. Carly lived less than a mile away from him and Vicky in Amesbury; the two families shared childcare. He was also a member of a website called Fabswingers, where he hooked up with partners for casual sex, as well as regularly searching for sex workers on Adultwork.	But Goller wasn’t the only person Cilliers was messaging. He was sleeping with his ex-wife, Carly Cilliers, mother to two of his older children. Carly lived less than a mile away from him and Vicky in Amesbury; the two families shared childcare. He was also a member of a website called Fabswingers, where he hooked up with partners for casual sex, as well as regularly searching for sex workers on Adultwork.