The Fall: Skydive Murder Plot

[Randy Winkman]

Usual question - anyone else see this 3 parter? If you're just about to, I think it was great but perhaps don't read what follows unless you already know all about the story.

I vaguely remembered it from the time but none of the details. Since it was in the news and the programme has been reviewed in the media I hope I'm not giving too many things away. Summary is that a guy tried to kill his wife by sabotaging her parachute but she survived with no working chute from 4,000 feet. In the first trial the jury failed to reach a verdict and this was arguably down to his wife altering her evidence to make conviction less likely. So the story was about coercion and controlling relationships. I did wonder if the second trial, where he was found guilty, would make more of the effect trauma might have had on her behaviour in the previous trial; perhaps that was in there somewhere though? Him being found guilty was more about the way things were presented second time, with regards the myriad other pieces of evidence; she could never actually face the fact that he had done it until some time later. The programme was done in a rather odd and complicated way with the investigating police present during the filming of some of the scenes. But I think that did a good job of convincing me that it was as accurate as it could be.

I was very surprised by what happened right at the end of the programme though. It actually moved me a bit.

She did another jump.

[Gladers01]

Well worth a viewing, not sure if it would have been better as a full on drama rather than a docudrama although it was good to see the people involved and their factual version of events, like you say a surprising ending and the second trial could have gone either way. At least eventually he was handed a hefty 36 year sentence and won't be eligible for parole for 18 years if at all, his master plan backfired spectacularly once the truth became apparent - what a nasty piece of work

[Deckert]

It was okay, quite liked the way it was made, think it was padded out a lot and perhaps a 2 parter would have been better.

[nuyorican]

I remember reading about this at the time. Crazy story. That woman is an inspiration considering.

Yeah, thought it was a bit padded out too, and a bit confusing. Don't agree it would've been better as a drama. Well, I wouldn't have watched it. UK television drama producers: why does everything you make have to be so dark, as in, have you not got any set-lighting? And the mumbling. Is there some kind of rule about everything being filmed in gloom and barely decipherable mumbling? I know the subject is hardly cheery but still...

Edited by nuyorican on Friday 14th June 16:31

[Randy Winkman]

I wouldn't have watched a drama either, especially a 3x1 hour one. I agree about the dark thing - at the start of some scenes it took a while to work out who was who and where the heck the were.

[Mercdriver]

I struggled to accept she still had doubts about him, love is blind indeed. Really felt sorry for her that she had been manipulated by him and treated very badly, all the women he came into contact with were treated badly, man was an ar$$, I hope he never gets out and dies in prison, what he deserves

[Doofus]

I kind of feel the OP has fked up the spoiler tags, but regardless; I was irritated by the way they kept breaking the fourth wall and showing us the reconstructions weren't real.

It's not the first time I've seen this technique, but I have no idea what it's supposed to achieve.

[nuyorican]

Doofus said:

I kind of feel the OP has fked up the spoiler tags, but regardless; I was irritated by the way they kept breaking the fourth wall and showing us the reconstructions weren't real.

It's not the first time I've seen this technique, but I have no idea what it's supposed to achieve.

No, me neither. It's confusing. Is a drama actually in the process of being made?

[Randy Winkman]

Doofus said:

I kind of feel the OP has fked up the spoiler tags, but regardless; I was irritated by the way they kept breaking the fourth wall and showing us the reconstructions weren't real.

It's not the first time I've seen this technique, but I have no idea what it's supposed to achieve.

I dont think I have but admit my first post is confusing and perhaps inconsistent in that respect. I assume that what I see is what others see though.

Only the final bit is supposed to be hidden because that would be a genuine surprise to pretty much anyone. I just decided to add the warning higher up to allow anyone just about to watch the series to make a decision whether to read my bit that described the basic story. Though my personal view is that once something has been shown on live TV there should be no need for any spoiler alerts.

Like you I was not convinced it needed to be that complicated in the way it was presented. I think it was to bring greater involvement from the police to show its accuracy.

[Boleros]

It's quite odd watching this on TV as I was part of that community all those years ago. APA Netheravon was quite a toxic environment in many ways with power struggles, endless competition between various factions and seniors who thought they were dog's danglies. It really wasn't a nice place to be unless your face fitted.

I knew Vicky reasonably well and took her as instructor to the States once and she was nothing but polite, quiet, determined and actually quite hard to read. Fundamentally she was a likeable character albeit quite distant. I wasn't at the DZ the day it happened but the shock and reverberations around the community were, as you can imagine, profound.

I left the sport not long after that, not because of Vicky's experience but for other reasons and I have to say I don't miss it one little bit.

Edited by Boleros on Friday 14th June 21:25

[Nethybridge]

Is there an occasion where, out of the blue secretly insuring your spouse for a megawad of cash
can be seen as anything other than eyebrow raising ?

Along with internet searches on the home computer [ I mean WTF are you thinking ? ] life insurance
is big fat motive and manna from heaven to a prosecution that would otherwise be struggling.

[jules_s]

She was properly controlled

Was it three? days solid of reading his texts to prostitutes and she still wanted to forgive him?

[Doofus]

Randy Winkman said:

I dont think I have but admit my first post is confusing and perhaps inconsistent in that respect. I assume that what I see is what others see though.

All I meant was that you posted an entire paragraph about the case, and then something almost completely irrelevant behind the spoiler tags.

[cslwannabe]

I’d assumed a standard life cover policy would come with some exclusions such as skydiving. I live near a local airfield / parachute club and the fatality in April this year is only a few years since the last one there. They closed for a week ‘out of respect’ but I was expecting them to be temporarily shutdown until there had been a full enquiry. However I know nothing about the sport/activity.

It was interesting tv but pretty astonishing at times.

[Randy Winkman]

Doofus said:

Randy Winkman said:

I dont think I have but admit my first post is confusing and perhaps inconsistent in that respect. I assume that what I see is what others see though.

All I meant was that you posted an entire paragraph about the case, and then something almost completely irrelevant behind the spoiler tags.

Ah! For me, that was the bit that people almost certainly wouldn't know about until watching the show and might surprise them. It did me anyway and in my opinion was very relevant. Not from a legal point of view, just because she chose to do it.

Edited by Randy Winkman on Friday 14th June 22:34

[Megaflow]

Interesting program, if presented in an odd way.

I did find her a bit odd as well, seemed almost as emotionless as him.

[Lotusgone]

Didn't Fiona Bruce cover this, in an hour, a few years ago?

By the sound of it, an hour with Fiona Bruce sounds the better option. And then watch her programme.

[GT03ROB]

Lotusgone said:

Didn't Fiona Bruce cover this, in an hour, a few years ago?

By the sound of it, an hour with Fiona Bruce sounds the better option. And then watch her programme.

Yip, think the hour covered all that was needed.

[Legacywr]

Lotusgone said:

Didn't Fiona Bruce cover this, in an hour, a few years ago?

By the sound of it, an hour with Fiona Bruce sounds the better option. And then watch her programme.

I saw this story on TV quite recently, I think it must have been on one of the crime channels?

He’d gotten inside her head, it would have been very difficult to get him out again.

[Gladers01]

Lotusgone said:

Didn't Fiona Bruce cover this, in an hour, a few years ago?

By the sound of it, an hour with Fiona Bruce sounds the better option. And then watch her programme.

Now there's a thought. I'd doubt Fiona Bruce could spare an hour given her hectic schedule, she seems to have her fingers in every pie going at the moment, wouldn't surprise me to see her presenting the weather forecast later on