The FBI couldn't determine the cause of the girl's death and the mysterious case of Els Van Doren

What this episode is about

The case of Els Van Doren revolves around her tragic death during a skydiving accident, where both her main and backup parachutes failed. Initially classified as an accidental demise, further investigation revealed dark secrets from her life, leading authorities to suspect foul play and ultimately classify it as a murder case known as the "parachute murder."

Key takeaways

• Skydiving: thrilling but deadly; one malfunctioning parachute reveals the fragility of life and trust.
• Marcel's double life spiraled into tragedy; love triangles can be more lethal than free falls.
• El's unexpected jump was a fatal surprise; even champions can fall victim to the chaos of deceit.
• In a world of high stakes, one oversight can lead to disaster—whether in the sky or on the ground.
• Trust in parachute and partner alike; both can fail spectacularly when least expected.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Els Van Doran
• Babs Clerans
• Marcel Summers
• Yan De Wild

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Marcel Summers, El Van Doran, Yanda Wild, Flanders
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Marcel Summers, Oplab Beek, Vincent de Wild
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Els Claud, Marcel Summers, Yanda Wild, Carol de Wild
4. 15:00 – 20:00: El Van Doran, Els Claud, Marcel Summers

Notable quotes from "The FBI couldn't determine the cause of the girl's death and the mysterious case of Els Van Doren"

• And uncovered a shocking Revelation this was not any other skydiving Venture that had gone wrong this was actually a murder case and was dubbed by the media as the parachute…

  about El Van Doran · at 0:39

• Formation jumping and by 2001 became a member of an all female skydiving team who called themselves the Divas the team even competed in the world skydiving championships in…

  about World Skydiving Championships · at 1:39

• Friend bab succumbed to an unthinkable action one that would culminate in a tragic outcome later on November 18th 2006 12 members of the skydiving Club including van Doran Babs…

  about Flanders · at 4:38

• Membership to compound matters van Doran had falsely informed her Club peers that she was separated from her husband her funeral took place a mere day before her daughter…

  about Carol de Wild · at 10:14

• Skydiving gear investigators struggled to find out the origin of this object they requested and urged the residents of op glavac to do thorough checks of their Gardens and…

  about Oplab Beek · at 11:47

• The police directly Babs opted to inform Marcel of her find upon learning of the discovery Marcel made the call to the police who promptly proceeded to the tree site upon their…

  about Marcel Summers · at 12:37

• Conducted searches at Marcel's residence and would later clear him as a suspect Yan van doran's husband was also later cleared as a suspect by the authorities investigative…

  about Yanda Wild · at 13:40

• Shortly thereafter still receiving psychiatric care Els clerans found herself under arrest on January 11th 2007 suspected of the murder of Els voran her appearance in court on…

  about Els Claud · at 15:55

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• El Van Doran — Person · Central victim / subject of the case · 2 mentions · first at 3:56
  Her fatal skydive and the later finding of parachute sabotage form the core narrative of the episode (the 'parachute murder').
• Els Claud — Person · Primary suspect and later convicted murderer (nicknamed 'Babs') · 2 mentions · first at 13:36
  Portrayed as Van Doran's close friend and romantic rival; accused of sabotaging the parachute and ultimately convicted and sentenced.
• Marcel Summers — Person · Key witness/participant; lover of both women; early suspect later cleared · 5 mentions · first at 2:32
  His secret relationships with both Van Doran and Babs establish motive and timeline; he observes the failed deployment and alerts others; later cleared by police per transcript.
• Yanda Wild — Person · Husband of the victim; early suspect later cleared · 2 mentions · first at 1:04
  Presented as Van Doran's spouse and father of their children; learns of the affair after her death; initially suspected but later cleared.
• Carol de Wild — Person · Child of the victim; delivers funeral statement · 2 mentions · first at 1:09
  Her funeral remarks underscore the family’s grief and the long-running conflict over Van Doran’s skydiving.
• Vincent de Wild — Person · Child of the victim (family member referenced) · 2 mentions · first at 1:09
  Mentioned to establish Van Doran's family context and the impact of her death.
  Membership to compound matters van Doran had falsely informed her Club peers that she was separated from her husband her funeral took place a mere day before her daughter…

Places & events

• Oplab Beek — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at 6:44
  The town where Els van Doran's tragic skydiving accident occurred, near the skydiving club's landing field.
• Flanders — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at 4:52
  The region where the skydiving flight took place, leading to Els van Doran's fatal accident.
• World Skydiving Championships — Event · Referenced event · 1 mention · first at 1:48
  A significant competition in Els van Doran's skydiving career, highlighting her expertise and passion for the sport.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:06 this is a still image from the footage recorded by El's van doran's helmet camera during her skydiving Venture just a moments preceding her tragic demise despite being a highly skilled and experienced skydiver with numerous successful jumps this particular instance led to an unfortunate end that nobody expected with both her Main and backup parachutes malfunctioning initially deemed an accident a lingering suspicion persisted prompting a more thorough investigation that shed light to the dark secrets in Van doran's life and uncovered a shocking Revelation this was not any other skydiving Venture that had gone wrong this was actually a murder case and was dubbed by the media as the parachute murder this is the Twisted case of el vandoran

1:02 Els voran was a 38-year-old Belgian Woman married to an antor Jeweler named Yanda wild and together they had two children Vincent de wild and Carol de wild while she worked in the family's jewelry store van doran's true passion lay in skydiving initially taking up the sport with her husband in 1994 voran surpassed his interest as her enthusiasm grew with 2300 jumps under her belt she was an experienced skydiver every weekend and on bank holidays she devoted her time to skydiving in 1998 she delved into formation jumping and by 2001 became a member of an all female skydiving team who called themselves the Divas the team even competed in the world skydiving championships in 2003 but unfortunately voran had to exit the group in 2004 due to health issues stemming from a hernia after her recovery voran opted to skydive for enjoyment instead of competing she became a member of the sparber parachute club and by

2:08 2006 her tally of successful jumps as mentioned earlier had surpassed 2,300 it was within this club that she formed a close friendship with a fellow skydiver 26-year-old school teacher 's clerans given their shared first name van Doran would later suggest the nickname Babs for her younger friend to minimize any potential confusion within the skydiving Club they both attended a certain gentleman by the name Marcel Summers also belonged to the same club and was acquainted with both women the trio not only developed a strong friendship but also became diving Partners during their skydiving Ventures with time voran found herself developing a stronger bond with Marcel even though she was a married woman their initially platonic relationship gradually evolved into a romantic entanglement her family was used to her spending weekends away at the skydiving club and this unknowingly provided a convenient cover which prevented her

3:06 husband from growing suspicious about her relationship with Marcel they often frequented Marcel's apartment spending their weekends together without any worry little did Van Doran realized that she and Babs were not just sharing a first name but also the same man unbeknownst to both women Marcel had been secretly involved with both of them intimately to manage both Affairs Marcel devised a ual allocating specific days for each woman Fridays were dedicated to spending time with Babs while Saturdays were reserved for Van Doran this Arrangement proved advantageous for Marcel for some period however it would be short-lived when an unexpected twist awaited them one particular weekend on the evening of Friday November 10th 2006 Babs arrived at Marcel's residence as per their regular weekly arrangement unbeknownst to her El van Doran had decided to surprise Marcel by growing up unexpectedly that same night Babs and

4:02 Marcel had been dining together at the time and Upon returning to Marcel's apartment they were met with Von Doran who was waiting outside his door the subsequent conversation that took place was unknown but what was known for sure is that that night it was not Babs who shared Marcel's bed instead she found herself relegated to sleeping in a sleeping bag on the living room floor while Von Doran and Marcel took the next phase to the bedroom there in the living room Babs noticed van doran's parachute and other skydiving gear in close proximity feeling wounded and betrayed after being deceived and replaced by her friend bab succumbed to an unthinkable action one that would culminate in a tragic outcome later on on November 18th 2006 12 members of the skydiving Club including van Doran Babs and Marcel embarked on a flight over Flanders the plan involved van Doran Babs Marcel and another skydiver named Tom executing a

5:00 four-person formation jump at 13,000 ft in this formation they would interlock hands before releasing and deploying their parachutes as they Reed for the jump El's Marcel and Tom leaped from the plane as intended however it seemed that Babs perhaps due to a delay or intentionally jumped slightly later than the others during the freef fall Babs was not able to catch up with the group and therefore at 9,000 ft Marcel van Doran and Tom broke the formation preparing to safely open their parachutes at this juncture it became evident that a serious issue had Arisen as voran attempted to engage her Parachute by pulling the cords it refused to open striving to remain composed she recollected the emergency procedures during her training and having encountered a failed parachute once before she had successfully deployed the reserve parachute on that occasion however in this instance hurtling through freef fall at

5:59 approximately 200 kmph she had a mere 20 seconds or less to execute a life-saving maneuver for a successful Landing despite her efforts pulling the reserve cord proved feudal and the parachute remained unresponsive with her desperation escalating she persisted in tugging at both the main parachute and Reserve cords yet no response ensued Marcel who was 800 m above observed van Doran who was a mere 500 M from the ground and sensed that something was wrong as her parachute had still not been deployed but he could do nothing but just witness the unfolding Horror in a final desperate attempt voran tried to untangle the cords of her parachute hoping to activate it but her fate had already been sealed meanwhile on the ground in the town of oplab Beek as these events occurred a woman was outside hanging laundry in her garden a resounding thud made her grew alarmed at what had happened glancing upward she

7:00 witnessed an individual descending from the sky with a parachute towards her garden this spectacle wasn't unfamiliar given that her residence was merely a few kilometers from the skydiving club and its Landing field while turning to resume her laundry task the woman spotted a white fabric entangled on top of her shrubs drawing closer she saw a person lying amidst the bushes swiftly she called her husband who was also in the garden attending to maintenance duties and they promptly contacted Emergency Services that person was ell van Doran who they assumed was one of the skydivers but unfortunately did not display any signs of life on the other hand Marcel secured a safe landing spot and sprinted through the streets frantically calling out for Van Doran and trying to pinpoint her location spotting an ambulance Marcel gave Chase following it to the nearby site where Van Doran had descended as he

7:54 rushed towards her he had to be restrained allowing the emergency crew to approach upon the arrival of Emergency Services resuscitation efforts were initiated but proved feudal El's voran had succumbed Marcel vehemently insisted on preserving van doran's parachute untouched asserting the abnormality of both the main and Reserve parachutes failing to open he then contacted her husband Yan and delivered the devastating news Yan hurried to his wife side while Tom and Babs returned to the parachute Club to relay the tragic news of Van doran's de eyes to the other members as the gravity of the news sank in for the club's members Babs overwhelmed sank to her knees releasing a mournful whale El's husband Yan arrived at the club to gather her belongings encountering Babs who volunteered to retrieve the items he observed her seemingly motionless and noted A peculiar grin on her face at that moment Babs proceeded towards the

8:54 changing rooms with Yan trailing closely however upon arrival Babs abrupt L shut the door locking Yan out he recounted that bavs took a considerable amount of time before eventually emerging with Van doran's belongings meanwhile at the accident site the police had gathered van doran's parachute and helmet the ladder equipped with a video camera capturing her ill-fated jump an autopsy conducted to ascertain her State revealed no traces of alcohol or drugs that might have impaired her functionality her demise was classified as either a homicide or a suicide side attributed to numerous fractures and internal bleeding resulting from the impact of the Fall suspicions arose within V doran's family pointing toward the possibility of her being murdered by someone within her skydiving Club an individual well-versed on how the parachute Works consequently the club members were discouraged from attending

9:50 her funeral a plea that some members including El clauter disregarded the family's anguish intensified when the police disclosed that Doran had been engaged in a prolonged extramarital affair with Marcel Summers spanning over 5 years Yan in particular felt deeply wounded discovering that fellow club members were aware of the affair some of whom he considered friends from his own club membership to compound matters van Doran had falsely informed her Club peers that she was separated from her husband her funeral took place a mere day before her daughter Carol's 15th birthday during this solemn occasion Carol addressed her mother through a heartfelt statement recounting the family's repeated please for her to cease skydiving she conveyed the family's longing for her presence she however concluded her remarks by acknowledging her mother's individuality and emphasizing that she would have been

10:44 unhappy if she had to abandon what she loved to do in response to the escalating concerns surrounding the failure of Van doran's Reserve parachute the police initiated an investigation shortly after the funeral a parachuting specialist well versed in Parachute mechanics was enlisted to scrutinize V doran's parachute seeking to identify any irregularities swiftly the expert discerned a critical absence a vital component of her parachute the pilot Shute this small auxiliary parachute usually plays a pivotal role in deploying either the main or Reserve parachute its intentional removal was evident signaling deliberate interference additionally clear indications of tampering surfaced notably the severed drawring to the pilot shoot responsible for activating the main parachute and one of the hanging straps connected to the emergency parachute upon reviewing the last body cam footage from Van doran's

11:39 ill- fated jump an unidentified red fabric appeared suspended in front of her face not recognized as part of voran skydiving gear investigators struggled to find out the origin of this object they requested and urged the residents of op glavac to do thorough checks of their Gardens and nearby surroundings in a bid to to uncover the red item and if found it was emphasized that the discovery be handled cautiously as potential evidence as it possibly contained DNA from the individual who had sabotaged van doran's parachute but unfortunately no one succeeded in locating this crucial piece on the Monday following 's van doran's tragic demise a miraculous Discovery came to light as the pilot shoot was mysteriously found by Babs she claimed that on returning from Marcel's apartment she spotted the Chute hanging from a tree during her journey between oplab and gank rather than contacting the police directly Babs opted to inform

12:40 Marcel of her find upon learning of the discovery Marcel made the call to the police who promptly proceeded to the tree site upon their arrival the police encountered a nervous troubled and visibly emotional Babs however their suspicions were aroused regarding claud's miraculous discovery of the pilot shoot she asserted that it was purely coincidental attributing it to her decision to take a different route home that day compared to her usual Journey according to her account being stuck behind a slow moving tractor led her to glance upward where she spotted the Chute dangling around 20 m above interpreting it as a Heavenly sign from Van Doran police however remained skeptical as the fact that the pilot shoot was missing was known only to the investigators at that point at this point the primary suspects implicated in the presumed murder of Van Doran included her husband Yan her lover Marcel and her friend Els claud's police

13:40 conducted searches at Marcel's residence and would later clear him as a suspect Yan van doran's husband was also later cleared as a suspect by the authorities investigative efforts extended to 's claud's home were items such as her phone laptop and a diary documenting her emotions as per her Psych rist's recommendation were confiscated by the police Babs was subsequently summoned for questioning at the police station aiming to obtain further information about her relationships with Marcel van Doran and the events surrounding van doran's demise throughout the interrogation claud's vehemently denied any involvement in sabotaging van doran's parachute instead she attempted to shift blame onto either Marcel suggesting he kept van doran's gear during her weekend stays or her husband Yan with whom she purportedly stored her gear during the week following the initial questioning clauder was released and allowed to

14:38 return home however a second interview scheduled for December 20th 2006 saw her absence subsequent investigations revealed that she had attempted taking her own life earlier that morning having taken an overdose combination of sleeping pills and anti-depressants discovered unresponsive by her mother Babs was swiftly taken to hospital for Urgent Treatment in letters addressed to her loved ones before the ACT she conveyed the difficulty of coping with the loss of her close friend and expressed the overwhelming stress of being implicated as a murder suspect in the case after recuperating Babs was admitted to a psychiatric facility where she was carefully monitored for a duration of 15 days having been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and Depression years earlier this marked not her first attempt at self har Marcel had chose to sever ties with her contending that he perceived her actions

15:33 as an attention-seeking Ploy asserting that she had no genuine intent to end her life Marcel speculated that she strategically took the pills shortly before anticipating her mother's return suggesting her primary motive was to divert attention from her alleged involvement in Van doran's death he presumed that the police were closing in on her and snaring her in her own lies shortly thereafter still receiving psychiatric care Els clerans found herself under arrest on January 11th 2007 suspected of the murder of Els voran her appearance in court on January 19th 2007 resulted in the decision to keep her in custody while the ongoing investigation unfolded despite being asked to undergo a polygraph test claud's declined and this measure was never carried out a more detailed investigation of Els Von Doran skydiving equipment revealed that the parachute cords had been deliberately cut using a pair of scissors and the

16:31 individual responsible for this act was likely a right-handed person as of March 2007 Babs had spent 3 months in prison enduring extensive interrogation without admitting guilt during the questioning she did concede to being the sender of an anonymous letter addressed to Van Doran asserting that her actions towards her family were wrong Yan had discovered this letter but interpreted it as a critique of van doran's frequent absence from her family due to skydiving he discarded the letter without attaching much significance to it however it became evident that Babs intended this as a warning for voran to bring an end to her involvement with Marcel additionally she admitted to making anonymous calls to Marcel intentionally timed when she knew he was with voran and tried to intimidate them upon scrutinizing babs's automatic activation device or an aad investigators noted that she jumped later than the rest of

17:30 the team and activated her parachute earlier speculating that it gave her a vantage position to witness the unfolding events from Above This strategic move also allowed her to monitor the location where Van doran's black pilot shoot had landed potentially for retrieval afterwards in September 2008 claud's lawyer successfully secured her release on bail and despite the ongoing investigation she resumed to work in a school the murder trial commenced on September 24th 2010 with the prosecution expressing confidence in the adequacy of the evidence to secure a murder charge against clerans the motive presented was rooted in jealousy upon discovering that her lover was engaged in a relationship with her close friend in a previous statement to investigators clauder had admitted to being aware that she held a subordinate position to Van Doran in the eyes of Marcel Summers acknowledging that she was the second

18:23 best since Summers clearly preferred voran over her consequently driven by a desperate desire to eliminate her romantic rival and remove van Doran from the equation the prosecution asserted a compelling motive for the alleged murder claud's defense attorney contended that the prosecution relied solely on circumstantial evidence and alleged accusations to support their case during her testimony clauder asserted that she did not Envision a future with Marcel and engaged intimately with him solely due to her low self-esteem at one point she even attempted to shift blame towards Carol vanand doran's daughter suggesting that she might have sought to retaliate against her mother for being away most of the weekends however despite her Earnest efforts to manipulate the jury and divert blame their judgment prevailed on October 20th 2010 El clerans was found guilty of murdering her friend El van Doran and received a

19:21 30-year prison sentence during the trial Babs steadfast in her assertion of innocence was placed under close observation to prevent her from self Haring again later on she lodged an appeal contending that police had questioned her in the absence of her attorney in May 2011 her appeal was rejected however in June 2022 following a third appeal and after serving only 12 and A2 years El clerans was granted conditional release from prison and is now a free woman it is unfortunate what happened to Els vandoran and also sad what her family had to go through after everything came to light our deepest sympathies go out to the life that was lost and The Grieving loved ones she left behind if you found this video compelling leave a like and your thoughts in the comments be sure to subscribe and check out our other videos thank you for watching

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "The FBI couldn't determine the cause of the girl's death and the mysterious case of Els Van Doren"?

Els Van Doran, Babs Clerans, Marcel Summers, Yan De Wild.

What is "The FBI couldn't determine the cause of the girl's death and the mysterious case of Els Van Doren" about?

The case of Els Van Doren revolves around her tragic death during a skydiving accident, where both her main and backup parachutes failed. Initially classified as an accidental demise, further investigation revealed dark secrets from her life, leading authorities to suspect foul play and ultimately classify it as a murder case known as the "parachute murder."

What is mentioned in this Casefile True Crime episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including El Van Doran, Els Claud, Marcel Summers, Yanda Wild, Oplab Beek, Flanders. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The FBI couldn't determine the cause of the girl's death and the mysterious case of Els Van Doren"?

The episode runs 20 min; the transcript is about 3,121 words in 21 timestamped sections.

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