Mom at parachute accused’s side
THE mother of attempted-murder suspect Emile Cilliers, a sergeant in the British army, has taken leave from the school at which she teaches in Betty’s Bay in the Western Cape to be with her son and two grandchildren.
Zaan Cilliers, who according to friends also has a daughter who lives overseas, flew on Monday to the UK where her son has been accused of trying to kill his wife, Victoria Cilliers, after her parachute failed to deploy during a skydive on Easter Sunday.
After her main parachute did not open, Victoria’s reserve chute opened just enough to slow down her descent on the 1 200m jump.
The 39-year-old parachute instructor survived but suffered multiple broken bones and facial fractures as a result of the 160km/h fall.
Zaan’s close friend Gloria Langer said that the school teacher did not believe her son was capable of murder.
“She believes it was an accident,” said Langer. “She loves her kids and does not believe her son would do such a thing.”
Zaan, who teaches underprivileged children in Betty’s Bay, is well known and loved by the local community, with some describing her as “good Samaritan”.
A former colleague of Zaan’s at the preschool where she teaches, Jeaneeta Klein, said that she had met Emile, 35, once when he visited the school a couple of years ago. She said he was very likeable.
Klein said Zaan had told them that her son and his wife had been in a car accident years before his visit, and that his wife was severely injured in the accident.
UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported that Victoria had given birth to the couple’s son Ethan just five weeks before the jump.
It also reported that Emile had recently moved out of the family home with Ethan and their other child.
His marriage to Victoria in 2011 was Emile’s second after he split from his first wife, Carly, the newspaper said.
An instructor with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, Emile is originally from Ermelo in Mpumalanga and is said to be a cricket fan and avid skier.
He was released on bail last week after being questioned by police.
Emile’s parents live in Betty’s Bay with his elderly grandmother. This week the Sunday Times found the family home empty, and up for sale.
The Daily Mail reportes that after three weeks in hospital, Victoria had been seen back at home wearing a body brace and using crutches to move around.