Episode 8: Trials and Tribulations

The trio of detectives - Maddy Hennah, Mark Lewis and Paul Franklin - tell ITV News how they launched a final legal assault against attempted murder suspect Emile Cilliers. The lead prosecutor Michael Bowes QC describes how he altered his strategy to try to win justice for Vicky Cilliers, even though she herself was a hostile witness. And in this final episode, the detectives reflect on how this wide-ranging inquiry affected them.Read more about this podcast series and see extra video content at www.itv.com/nostringsattached.

Emile Cilliers is charged with Vicky’s attempted murder - but court proceedings fall into chaos. Police wonder how Vicky will perform in the witness box. Will the miracle fall survivor support the prosecution or her murderous husband? And the man in the dock seems to enjoy the spotlight of attention which being a star defendant offers him.Read more about this podcast series and see extra video content at www.itv.com/nostringsattached.

What is a coercive, controlling relationship? And how do you spot the signs? Emile Cilliers’ teenage sweetheart reveals how the army sergeant began an alarming pattern of behaviour in early life. And we meet the daughter whose first memory has left her scarred. One of the country’s leading clinical psychologists describes how he helped the police frame their questioning and approach to Emile Cilliers. And detectives confront Emile Cilliers in a police interrogation.Read more about this podcast series and see extra video content at www.itv.com/nostringsattached.

The detectives all believe Emile Cilliers tried to murder his wife Vicky, but they still have no direct evidence. Wiltshire Police is buffeted by multiple large-scale, complex, politically-sensitive inquiries, meaning the trio of detectives are left overlooked and overwhelmed - with one realising just how close to home this inquiry is taking her. A revelation in Emile Cilliers' text messages leads police to ask more questions of their prime suspect.Read more about this podcast series and see extra video content at www.itv.com/nostringsattached.

Detectives Paul Frankin and Mark Lewis tell of the trauma of breaking heartfelt, dreadful news to Vicky Cilliers after her husband’s arrest. She is furious police have arrested her husband over her attempted murder. Vicky has her own revelation which stuns the experienced detectives and sets the inquiry in yet another new direction.Read more about this podcast series and see extra video content at www.itv.com/nostringsattached.

The secret life Emile Cilliers has been concealing from his life is exposed. We visit the sex club which banned the army sergeant. Police receive back an analysis of the download from Emile Cilliers' phone, exposing the scale of his infidelity and deceit. They sift through the 32,000 messages between Emile, his conquests and escorts.Read more about this podcast series and see extra video content at www.itv.com/nostringsattached.

Detective Constable Maddy Hennah tells how a phone call from a friend of Vicky Cilliers made her look more closely at the private life of her army sergeant husband. DC Hennah joins with two other experienced detectives to form a trio who make it their professional goal to solve this remarkable case. They start by asking the question of the 4,000-foot fall Vicky survived: Was it an accident, a malfunction or sabotage? As Vicky continues her miraculous recovery, the detectives wonder what kind of home and husband she’s returning to. And Emile Cilliers offers detectives an explosive admission. Read more about this podcast series and see extra video content at www.itv.com/nostringsattached.

It is Easter Sunday, 2015. Strapped to Vicky Cilliers' back is a parachute which had been sabotaged. How does she survive the fall from 4,000 feet? It doesn’t look like a crime, but the skydiving centre call in police to help the inquiry. But when detectives start looking, they uncover a secret world of sex, lies, deceit and payday loans. And the saboteur has been clever. There is no real proof this is anything but an accident. Wiltshire Police detectives start looking into the lives of a ‘picture-perfect’ couple in an inquiry which would impact the investigators in a way they could never foresee. Read more about this podcast series and see extra video content at www.itv.com/nostringsattached.