Behind the Crimes
Behind the Crimes with Robert Murphy
The Fall: The Skydive Murder Plot. Interview with Det Sgt Maddy Hennah
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The Fall: The Skydive Murder Plot. Interview with Det Sgt Maddy Hennah

Army sergeant Emile Cilliers tried to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute - after a previous attempt to blow her up failed. A new docudrama explores the case.
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Emile Cilliers made global headlines in 2018 when he was convicted of the attempted murder of his wife Victoria.

He was an upstanding army sergeant, a family man, who led a debaucherous double life of sex clubs, girlfriends and payday loans.

He tried to murder Victoria by tampering with the gas meter in their home. When this failed, he sabotaged her parachute - both her main and reserve canopies.

Somehow, Victoria survived the 4,000-foot drop.

There was little direct evidence: no DNA, no CCTV. No clue that Emile was responsible.

But after taking a spine-tingling call and arresting Cilliers, detective Maddy Hennah became convinced he was the perpetrator.

What followed was a long, arduous inquiry leading to a sensational pair of trials.

It has been the subject of my own eight-part podcast series:

And it is now the subject of a brilliant three-part docudrama, made by Story Films for Channel4 in the UK:

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-fall-skydive-murder-plot/on-demand/75275-002

Victoria has written her own account too.

If you are impacted by issues raised in this interview, please read more here: https://refuge.org.uk/i-need-help-now/coercive-control/

https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/coercive-control/

https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/i-need-help/

Discussion about this podcast

Behind the Crimes
Behind the Crimes with Robert Murphy
### WINNER 'Outstanding Indie Podcast at the True Crime Awards 2024. ###
What makes a criminal? What makes a truly great detective?
Award-winning TV crime correspondent Robert Murphy speaks with people involved with some of the most fascinating true crime cases of recent years: detectives, victims, experts and sometimes even the criminals themselves.
What drives a person to ignore the morals, laws and conventions of normal society and pushes them to perform the darkest acts?
Sex? Money? Revenge? Love? Humiliation?
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How can detectives catch people who are intent on causing truly dreadful harm to others? What happens when that criminal has done a brilliant job covering their tracks?
This podcast and newsletter explores some of our biggest crime stories - and some of the lesser-known, compelling cases which deserve a better understanding.
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