Parachute wife 'was in good spirits' before near-fatal fall

Victoria Cilliers almost died in the 2015 parachute jump

The wife of an Army sergeant accused of trying to kill her by tampering with her parachute "was in good spirits" moments before jumping, a court heard.

Victoria Cilliers, 41, survived a 4,000ft (1,220m) fall after both her main and reserve parachute failed during a jump in Wiltshire in 2015.

Winchester Crown Court heard she "fist-bumped" a fellow skydiver just before her jump at Netheravon airfield.

Emile Cilliers, 38, denies two charges of attempted murder.

Mrs Cilliers, an experienced skydiver, previously told the jury she was in tears and felt "hideous" moments before the jump.

She said she was "tired" and "had lots of things" on her mind.

But Robert Camps, assistant secretary of the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon, who has known Mrs Cilliers "since the early nineties", said "if anything, she seemed excited before the jump".

'Falling jumper'

A fellow skydiver, Michael Lyons, told the court he was the last person to jump before Mrs Cilliers.

"It's something skydivers do before jumping," he said, and demonstrated the gesture to the court.

He said that Mrs Cilliers was "quiet" but "seemed fine" and did not seem reluctant to "fist bump".

Anne Bayada, a receptionist at Netheravon, told the court she spoke with Mrs Cilliers on the morning of the jump and they chatted about the recent birth of Mrs Cilliers's baby.

"She was in good spirits", Mrs Bayada said.

Rebecca Dickens, another skydiver, said Mrs Cilliers "seemed extremely happy" on the day of the jump, and "was looking forward to jumping".

Ms Dickens also described how she saw "a falling jumper", who she later discovered was Mrs Cilliers.

"There was clearly a malfunction and they were at a height they should have been under a canopy. But I could see they had no chance of getting a canopy out," she said.

She said she then alerted staff at the airfield.

The jury has been shown how a parachute is packed

The prosecution alleges Mr Cilliers, who was in debt and planning a new life with another woman, believed he would receive a £120,000 life insurance payout in the case of his wife's accidental death.

Mr Cilliers, who serves in the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, is also charged with causing a gas leak at the family home in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

Mr Camps described going to Mrs Cilliers as she lay on the ground following the fall.

"To be honest, I was expecting a fatality," he said.

"I got to her and she's on her back and her face is really grey, ashen. I tapped her on the shoulder and said: 'Vicky, it's me, Rob. Are you alright?'

"It looked like she was not breathing, I held my cheek to her mouth to see if I could feel her breath. I grabbed her finger to see if I could get any kind of pain response.

"I thought we'd have to do CPR when all of a sudden she fluttered her eyelids and asked what had happened. I just tried to reassure her, she was dropping in and out of consciousness.

"I was saying 'stay with me Vicky, stay with me'".

'I told him not to panic'

Mr Camps later telephoned Mr Cilliers to tell him of his wife's fall.

He said: "I told him not to panic and that I didn't think she had life-threatening injuries. But I said he needed to get to hospital."

Michael Bowes QC, for the prosecution, asked about Mr Cilliers's reaction when the news was broken to him.

Mr Camps said: "He didn't really say anything. And then I quite forcefully said: 'Emile, you need to get to the hospital. Is there anyone who can look after the kids?'

"And he said: 'No, not really'."