Did an illegal pit bull dog kill woman in France? Court case opens

A court case is underway in northern France after a woman, Elisa Pilarski, 29, was found dead in a forest, covered in dog bites. She was six months pregnant.

Her partner, Christophe Ellul, is accused of involuntary manslaughter (homicide involontaire), with his dog Curtis said to be ‘obsessed’ with biting. 

Mr Ellul claims Curtis is innocent and that she was killed by hunting dogs attending a hunt in the forest. 

Although considered unlikely Curtis could, in theory, be presented at the hearing as evidence. If so it would not be a first in France. 

Illegal dog not registered

Ms Pilarski was found dead in 2019 in a forest in Aisne, after taking two-year-old Curtis for a walk.

The dog was neither muzzled nor neutered at the time of the incident, and weighed around 20kg.

Mr Ellul, said to have a fascination with pit bull dogs, is said to have claimed Curtis was a Patterdale terrier and whippet mix, however it was later identified as an American Pit Bull Terrier, a breed which requires special authorisation to import or own. 

Mr Ellul did not have this authorisation, and had illegally imported the dog in 2017 from the Netherlands. 

In addition, he had not registered it on France’s obligatory I-CAD pet database. 

‘Time bomb’ dog trained to bite 

Lawyers in the case claim that Curtis had been surrounded by cues to bite and act aggressively since being imported.

Three months before the death of Ms Pilarski, Curtis had won a ‘mordant sportif’ (sport biting) competition in Belgium, a kind of ‘commando’ course for certain breeds.

Curtis was a “a dog that had undergone specific training that contributed to the tragedy; that much is clear,” said lawyer Guillaume Demarcq on a podcast by French media outlet RTL.

“This is a dog that has bitten [people] several times, including its owner... Christophe Ellul had created a kind of time bomb,” he added. Mr Demarcq is representing a local hunting group involved in the trial, who say Mr Ellul’s comments have damaged perceptions of its community.

A veterinary examination two days after the 2019 incident saw the dog described as “gentle” but obsessed with the ‘game’ of hunting and covered in several scars. 

Curtis reportedly ripped a basketball to shreds after it was introduced into the examination room. 

Later examinations saw the dog “fixated on the act of biting,” and able to hold onto a lure fixed to a room’s ceiling for minutes at a time using only the power of its jaws.

Experts concluded Curtis had probably been trained to bite with a ‘fixed lure’, a practice prohibited in France. 

One vet quoted in media outlet Le Dauphiné Libéré said the dog was not inherently vicious but may have been conditioned to see biting as a “recreational activity”, tantamount to animal abuse.

Mr Ellul and his defence lawyers however profess both he and Curtis are innocent, and that Elisa Pilarski was killed by hunting dogs. 

Examinations of Curtis were made during a stressful time for the dog, they say, as he was taken from the incident immediately to a shelter that was new for him, and therefore cannot be used as objective evidence. 

However, a message from Mr Ellul to his partner saying “I'm having him [Curtis] put down,” adds to the complexity of the case. 

What will happen to the dog? 

If found guilty of manslaughter, Mr Ellul faces a prison sentence, but the impact on Curtis is unclear. 

The jury may also vote that the dog is euthanised as a matter of public safety, even if Mr Ellul is acquitted. 

At the same time, the dog may be spared by the court.

Animal rights lawyers ‘representing’ Curtis say he should not be euthanised under any circumstance.

“Curtis does not have the consciousness of a human… This dog must be given a second chance,” said lawyer Sophia Salmeron-Albert to Le Dauphiné Libéré. 

Ms Salmeron-Albert will ask for a six-month deferral for Curtis to attend another specialist behavioural clinic and be reassessed after this if the court requests euthanasia.