The investigating chamber of the Amiens Court of Appeal rejected Friday, July 23 the request for annulment of the indictment of Christophe Ellul for manslaughter after the death of canine bites of his companion Elisa Pilarski at the end of 2019 , AFP learned from a judicial source.
To read also: Pilarski case: Christophe Ellul requests the nullity of the expertises carried out on his dog Curtis
The lawyer of Christophe Ellul, Me Alexandre Novion, had formulated on May 14 during a hearing behind closed doors the request for nullity of the indictment of his client and "
this one was rejected
", affirmed to the 'AFP a judicial source.
Me Alexandre Novion told AFP "
that an appeal in cassation will be formed on Monday
".
The lawyer had also requested additional and second opinions concerning the Curtis dog.
The investigating chamber upheld that relating to "
the measurement of the spacing of Curtis
'
fangs
", lawyer for the family of Elisa Pilarski, Me Xavier Terquem-Adoue, told AFP.
Indicted on March 4
"
The substance of the case being overwhelming
", the defense "
had wanted to focus on the regularity of the procedure
", but "
the investigating chamber considered that it was at the end of a completely regular procedure that it been indicted
”, responded to AFP Me Guillaume Demarcq, lawyer for Sébastien Van Den Berghe, master of the hunting crew for the Rallye La Passion, placed under the status of assisted witness.
The companion of Elisa Pilarski, who died of canine bites in a forest in the Aisne at the end of 2019 where she was walking Curtis, the latter's dog, was indicted on March 4 "
for having through clumsiness, recklessness, inattention, negligence or breach of an obligation of prudence or safety (...) involuntarily caused the death
"of his companion,"
resulting from the aggression committed by several dogs of which he was the owner or guardian
".
He was left free under judicial supervision with the ban on contacting members of the family of Elisa Pilarski, a civil party.
To read also: Death of Elisa Pilarski: her companion indicted for manslaughter
Elisa Pilarski, 29 years old and pregnant, was found dead in a forest in the Aisne, in Saint-Pierre d'Aigle on November 16, 2019, where she was walking Curtis, near a hunt, after "
bleeding following several bites
”, according to the autopsy. Christophe Ellul has always claimed the innocence of his dog, designated by the prosecution as an "
American Pitbull Terrier, from a breeding in the Netherlands and illegally introduced into France by its purchaser
".
