Jury Discharged In Army Sergeant Parachute Trial

An Army sergeant is to face a retrial on charges of attempting to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute after the first jury failed to reach verdicts.

Emile Cilliers was accused of attempting to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute and sabotaging a gas valve at their home.

It comes after the judge discharged two members of the jury for ill-health on Wednesday.

The jury had been deliberating for about 23-and-a-half hours since last Tuesday.

The trial of Emile Cilliers at Winchester Crown Court started more than seven weeks ago.

But on Tuesday, about 90 minutes after the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, gave a direction to the jury saying that he would accept majority verdicts, one of the jurors became ill.

On Wednesday morning, the forewoman of the jury also became ill.

Cilliers, of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, was accused of two counts of attempting to murder Victoria Cilliers.

Mrs Cilliers, a highly-experienced parachuting instructor, suffered near-fatal injuries when she took part in a jump at the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon, Wiltshire, on Easter Sunday, April 5th, 2015.

Cilliers, 37, was accused of sabotaging her main and reserve parachute and a few days earlier tampering with a gas valve at the family home in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

The defendant denied two counts of attempted murder and one of criminal damage to the gas valve recklessly endangering life.

Cilliers had suggested in court that a "stranger" may have tampered with his wife's parachute and denied tampering with the gas fitting.

More to follow.