It has been almost a decade since Emile Cilliers was jailed for attempting to murder his wife by cutting her parachute, in a disturbing crime that gripped the nation.
Victoria Cilliers, 48, survived a 4,000ft (1,220m) fall at Netheravon airfield, Wiltshire, in April 2015.
Cilliers, 44, was later jailed and sacked from the Royal Army Physical Training Corps after he was found guilty of attempted murder by sabotaging his wife parachute.
The father-of-six, who the prosecution called a 'charmless unfaithful penniless scoundrel', was sentenced to life in prison at Winchester Crown Court and was told he would have to serve a minimum of 18 years.
Now, almost ten years on, the story is at the focus of a new Channel 4 docuseries, The Fall: Skydive Murder Plot, with episode one set to air tonight at 9.00pm.
The three-part series will shed light on Cilliers' web of affairs, debt, sex clubs and murderous intent.
But, who is Emile Cilliers and why did he try to kill his wife? Read on to find out.
It has been almost a decade since Emile Cilliers was jailed for attempting to murder his wife by cutting her parachute, in a disturbing crime that gripped the nation (stock image)
Who is Emile Cilliers?
Emile Cilliers, 44, is a former Army sergeant that served at the Royal Army Physical Training Corps.
He married his now ex-wife Emile Cilliers in 2011 and together they had two children.
According to his eldest daughterCilene, now 24, Cilliers has five children with a number of different women, including two from his marriage to Victoria.
Speaking to The Mirror, Cilene admitted in 2018 that she is 'glad' her estranged father is in prison, and did not know until the trial that she had four half-brothers and sisters who were children of Cilliers by different women.
Emile Cilliers, 44, is a former Army sergeant that served at the Royal Army Physical Training Corps
How did Emile Cilliers try to kill his wife?
Vicky Cilliers was sent plummeting from 4,000 feet after her husband cut her parachute in 2015 - but incredibly survived.
Emile Cilliers first tried to gas his wife with their children in the house but the smell alerted her to the danger and she later jokingly texted him to say: 'Are you trying to kill me?!.'
Three days later he suggested his wife, an experienced parachutist, go skydiving over Easter weekend 2015 and then sabotaged her kit on the eve of her 4,000ft jump at Netheravon Airfield, Wiltshire.
The trial heard that Cilliers, of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps and an experienced parachute packer, tampered with equipment he knew his wife was going to use.
Cilliers tangled her main canopy and removed vital links from her reserve in a toilet cubicle after he told Mrs Cilliers one of their children needed the loo.
Her survival was described as a 'near-miracle' and was put down to the soft soil of the ploughed field where she landed, as well as her light weight.
Mr Justice Sweeney said Mrs Cilliers, although recovered physically, had sustained serious and long-lasting psychological damage.
Vicky Cilliers was sent plummeting from 4,000 feet after her husband cut her parachute in 2015 - but incredibly survived
Why did Emile Cilliers try to kill his wife?
The soldier was described as a 'boobaholic' by his wife - who knew he was part of a sex club.
Cilliers had contacted prostitutes about meeting up on the proviso sex was unprotected and he could film the liaison - but cancelled after they tried to charge £60 instead of £50.
He also signed up to a sex club and swingers' site to find a 'f*** buddy.'
Three years later, in court,Mr Justice Sweeney described the evidence as "overwhelming" and said Cilliers had three motives.
They were the money he thought he would receive in life insurance, the concern that his wife - a senior officer - could ruin his Army career, and because his wife's death would clear the way for a new life with another woman.
He was plagued with debt and needed his wife's life insurance money to start a new life with his lover, the trial was told.
Jurors heard Cilliers believed he would get a £120,000 life insurance payout in the event of his wife's accidental death.
The father-of-six, who the prosecution called a 'charmless unfaithful penniless scoundrel', was also sleeping with his ex-wife Carly, Mrs Cilliers and a Tinder lover named Stefanie Goller.
In May 2018,Cilliers was jailed and sacked from the Royal Army Physical Training Corps after he was found guilty of attempted murder by sabotaging his wife's parachute.
He was jailed for life and was told to serve a minimum of 18 years.
Episode 1 of The Fall: Skydive Murder Plot will air tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm.
The soldier was described as a 'boobaholic' by his wife - who knew he was part of a sex club
