Death of Elisa Pilarski: a petition launched to prevent the euthanasia of her dog Curtis, following the public prosecutor's recommendations.

On Thursday, March 5, the last day of Christophe Ellul's trial for the "involuntary homicide" of his pregnant partner, Elisa Pilarski, in 2019, the Attorney General requested that the dog Curtis, suspected of having fatally injured the victim, be euthanized. Several thousand people have signed a petition asking that he be spared. A highly anticipated verdict is expected on June 11 in Soissons (Aisne), following the trial for the death of Elisa Pilarski, a 29-year-old woman seven months pregnant, in the Retz forest in 2019. Beyond the four-year suspended sentence requested on Thursday, March 5, against Christophe Ellul, who was on trial for "involuntary manslaughter by attack with a dog," the fate of his animal, Curtis, suspected of being responsible for the fatal injuries inflicted on the victim, is also generating considerable concern. Outrage.

A petition launched on Thursday calls for the animal to be spared, contrary to the recommendations of the public prosecutor, who stated on the last day of the trial that she had no other choice but to request its euthanasia.

More than 15,000 signatures

At the time of writing, the petition hosted by change.org has already gathered more than 15,000 signatures. In the comments, while some signatories denounced the "abusive" training the pit bull received from its owner, others indicated that they simply did not believe the dog was guilty. During the trial, however, experts took the stand, notably to explain that the dog's DNA was found on the young woman's scalp, as well as under one of her fingernails. On the second day of his trial, after having defended his dog and pointed the finger at a pack of hounds that was nearby at the time of the events, Christophe Ellul himself stated that the presiding judge had provided him with "proof" of Curtis's guilt. He nevertheless preferred to backtrack the next day, asserting that he had not made any "confession".

To this day, the dog is still alive, held in a kennel, in a 4m² wire-mesh enclosure. It has access to a small sunny yard and a plastic bone.