Police Say Love Triangle Led To Fatal Plunge

It's like something out of a crime novel. A bad crime novel.

A woman in Belgium has been charged with the murder of her friend and fellow skydiver, after she discovered the married woman was having an affair with her boyfriend. Police say Els Clottemans, 22, tampered with the woman's parachute, causing her to plunge to her death before a crowd of onlookers.

The London Times reports 37-year-old Els Van Doren fell 13,000 feet when both her main and reserve parachutes failed to open on a recent jump near the town of Opglabbeek. A videocamera mounted on her helmet filmed the entire ordeal, as Van Doren struggled to open her 'chute.

"I looked up and saw a black spot falling quickly to the ground. It was wriggling about and it was pretty obvious it was a person," said witness Wally Elters to Le Soir. "Above it were three people in parachutes coming down slowly. Then it hit the ground. It was an appalling moment."

Minutes before the incident, Clottemans and Van Doren had joined hands with Clotteman's boyfriend -- "a Dutchman known only as Marcel," according to the Times -- and another skydiver in a star formation. The skydivers split formation as their 'chutes opened at 4,000 feet... except for Van Doren's.

Police say Marcel was having an affair with Van Doren. When that news came to light, investigators focused their attention on Clottemans... and on Ms. Van Doren's parachute rigging.

"A close inspection of the parachutes leads us to believe they had been meddled with," said a police spokesman.

Clottemans was arrested and charged following a two-month investigation. She denies she had anything to do with Van Doren's death; reports state she attempted suicide before being brought in for questioning a second time last month.

Alas, that's not all. Police also say Clottemans has an arrest record... for attempting to run over an American boyfriend. Authorities say he survived that incident, and Clottemans was released without charges filed.

As you may imagine, Belgian media outlets have embraced the story. They report Marcel arranged his liaisons so neither woman found out about the other. Friday nights, he was with Clottemans; Saturday nights were Van Doren's.

Police prosecutors have since clamped down on information leaking to the press on the matter.

"In order not to jeopardize the smooth running of the investigation, no further information will be supplied," said one. "As has already been suggested in the media, the motive for the crime is most probably in the passionate area. The accused denies the charges."

FMI: www.opglabbeek.be/ (in Dutch)