A BELGIAN WOMAN ACCUSED of murdering her love rival by sabotaging her parachute has been found guilty.

Schoolteacher Els Clottemans, 26, was convicted of murdering Els Van Doren, 38, during a 2006 parachute jump they both participated in.

She had denied the charge.

The court was told Clottemans severed important parts of Van Doren’s parachute and back-up safety chute, but no forensic evidence linked her to the crime.

BBC’s correspondent in Brussels said the evidence against her was mostly circumstantial, but that the jury convicted her of the premeditated crime unanimously after a four-week trial.

A video camera on Van Doren’s helmet captured her death plunge and efforts to release her parachute.

Police dismissed suicide from their investigation as Van Doren had clearly tried to save herself. The pilot of the plane which carried the group for their skydive that day said: “Els tried to do everything to try to save herself. She tried to open the reserve parachute but it wouldn’t open. That never happens.”

After officers established the parachute’s cords had been cut, they arrested Clottemans.

Prosecution lawyer Patrick Boyen told the court that Marcel Somers, a fellow experienced skydiver, was seeing both women and had tried to “shake-off” Clottemans.

The three of them were taking part in a skydive when Van Doren’s chutes failed to open, causing her to fall to her death.

Forbes reports that Clottemans will be sentenced tomorrow, and could face life in prison.