The cruel wife invited her husband to go skydiving but secretly poked holes in his parachute so he would fall to his death and she could claim a huge insurance payout — but the ending shocked everyone…
From the outside, Lisa and Mark Peterson looked like the perfect couple. They had been married for eight years, lived in a cozy suburban home in Colorado Springs, and shared countless photos online of weekend hikes, wine nights, and anniversary dinners. But behind those smiles was a woman quietly drowning in debt and desperation.
Mark, a former Marine turned construction supervisor, had recently taken out a $1.2 million life insurance policy—“just to be safe,” he’d told her. What he didn’t know was that safety was the last thing on Lisa’s mind.
One crisp Saturday morning, Lisa surprised Mark with an idea. “You’ve always wanted to try skydiving, right?” she said with a bright smile. Mark hesitated—he wasn’t exactly an adrenaline junkie—but her enthusiasm was contagious. A week later, they booked a tandem jump at a local airfield.
That night, while Mark was asleep, Lisa crept into the garage where his gear was packed. She carefully removed his parachute, took a sewing pin, and punctured tiny holes through several folds of the canopy—just enough to weaken it, but not enough for anyone to notice. Her heart raced as she zipped the bag shut.
She imagined the next day’s news headline: Tragic Skydiving Accident Claims Local Man. And then, the sweet relief of a $1.2 million check.
On the morning of the jump, Mark kissed her forehead before climbing into the plane. Lisa smiled and waved as the aircraft lifted off.
She thought she had planned the perfect murder.
But what happened next would shock her—and the entire town.
At 13,000 feet, the world below looked peaceful—patches of forest, winding roads, the glint of rooftops. Mark’s instructor gave him a thumbs-up. He smiled nervously, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
When the signal came, Mark leapt from the plane. The air roared in his ears, the ground spinning below. He waited, then pulled the cord.
Nothing.
His stomach dropped as he yanked again. Still nothing. The main chute failed to open properly. A panic unlike anything he’d ever felt gripped him. His mind flashed to Lisa’s face, her smile that morning, her arms around him.
Below, Lisa stood with the other spectators, hands clasped, watching tiny specks falling from the sky. Her heart pounded—not from fear, but from a dark thrill.
Then—suddenly—one of the instructors shouted, “Reserve chute deployed!”
Mark’s backup parachute burst open, slowing his fall dramatically. He hit the ground hard but alive, dazed and trembling.
Lisa ran toward him, screaming, “Oh my God, are you okay?”
But Mark wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at his instructor, who was already inspecting the malfunctioning gear.
“Something’s off,” the man muttered, pointing at the canopy. “These aren’t tears from a fall—these are punctures.”
Mark’s blood ran cold. Punctures? Tiny, deliberate holes?
He turned slowly toward Lisa, who stood pale, trembling, but not from shock—more like fear of being caught.
The police were called immediately. Within hours, detectives examined the equipment, finding traces of sewing thread fibers and fingerprints inside the bag.
Lisa was arrested at home later that evening. The evidence was undeniable.
But when the investigators checked the insurance paperwork, they found something even more shocking—something that changed the entire story.
Turns out, Lisa hadn’t read the fine print on Mark’s new life insurance policy. Just two weeks earlier, Mark had quietly changed the beneficiary—from his wife to his sister, after a conversation about Lisa’s mounting gambling debts.
So even if he had died, she wouldn’t have received a single cent.
During interrogation, Lisa broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. “It was supposed to be easy,” she kept repeating. “It was supposed to fix everything.”
The story made national headlines. The “Skydiving Widow,” as the press called her, became a chilling example of greed and desperation gone wrong.
Mark, though traumatized, recovered and later spoke publicly about the experience. “I trusted her with my life,” he said on a morning news show, “and she tried to take it. But the truth always finds a way out.”
Lisa was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. In a haunting moment during her sentencing, Mark stood and said quietly, “I hope you find peace someday, Lisa. Because I already have.”
Years later, people in Colorado still talk about that day—the jump that almost became a murder. The instructor who spotted the punctures was hailed as a hero, and Mark now runs motivational talks for veterans and survivors of domestic violence.
When asked if he still goes skydiving, Mark laughed softly. “Once was enough.”
Greed can make even love a weapon—and the smallest lie can send everything crashing down.
Would you have trusted your partner to pack your parachute? 💔
Share your thoughts below—what would you have done if you were Mark?
