Belgian woman accused of murdering her rival by sabotaging her parachute

[Cunctator]

Link

A skydiver sabotaged a fellow jumper’s parachute after finding out that the woman was having an affair with her boyfriend, police say.

Els Van Doran, 37, fell 4000 feet to her death during a dive over an airfield in Zwarteberg, Belgium, on November 18 last year.

Van Doran, a married mother, had been taking part in a group jump with friend Els Clootemans, Clootemans’s Dutch boyfriend Marcel and a fourth parachutist.

The four linked hands in a star formation, but neither of Van Doran’s parachutes would open.

Her death plunge was captured on a camera fitted to her helmet. She fell into a garden and died instantly.

{snip}

Clootemans had previously been arrested for trying to run over a boyfriend she suspected of cheating, but was not charged.

The accused sounds like someone you most certainly would not want to mess with. :eek:

[Sublight]

I have to wonder what kind of moron would screw around with the boyfriend of someone with ready access to something of such life-and-death importance to them.

This seems like the ultimate illustration of “don’t shit where you eat.”

[miss_elizabeth]

Oh my, what a horrid story. This woman is a menace, and should be locked up forever. Can you imagine falling to your death like that? Ugh. I wonder what she did to the boyfriend? :eek:

[Stranger_On_A_Train]

Her name didn’t happen to be Robyn Ti…never mind, couldn’t possibly be the same woman. I’m a little curious as to what she is alleged to have done to “tamper” with the chute, though. Anything that wouldn’t show up on a standard pre-jump check should be obvious tampering (i.e. cutting lines).

Stranger

[lavenderviolet]

I have to wonder what kind of moron would screw around with the boyfriend of someone with ready access to something of such life-and-death importance to them.

Yeah, I have to admit that was my initial reaction too. I definitely don’t condone what the murderer did, but it’s not exactly shocking that if you cheat on someone who has access to equipment your life depends on bad things may happen.
It’s certainly sad that this young lady (the murderer is only 22!) resorted to such an extreme reaction. I think sooner or later when it hits her that she killed someone and ruined her own life just because of some stupid guy who couldn’t keep his pants zipped she’ll probably regret what she did.

[Sublight]

@lavenderviolet

It’s certainly sad that this young lady (the murderer is only 22!) resorted to such an extreme reaction. I think sooner or later when it hits her that she killed someone and ruined her own life just because of some stupid guy who couldn’t keep his pants zipped she’ll probably regret what she did.

True. I wonder, since the cheating boyfriend was also diving with them, if she didn’t tamper with the wrong chute by accident?

Still, she was accused of trying to kill a previous boyfriend she suspected of cheating, so she may just be a ultra-possessive whackbat (to use the DSM-IV terminology) who was bound to kill someone sooner or later.