Karine Esquivillon’s husband, who confessed to the 50-year-old’s murder after spending more than two months claiming it was a “voluntary” disappearance, was charged with “murder by his spouse” on Friday and jailed. learned from legal sources.
• Also read: Mysterious disappearance of a mother: her husband is questioned by the police
• Also read: Concerned about the mysterious disappearance of a mother
“He decided to explain himself, he gave his version of the explanation that it was an accident,” his lawyer Me Antoine Ory said in a speech to journalists as he left the La Roche-sur courthouse. -Yon.
At the very end of his interrogation on Friday morning, Michel Pialle led investigators to a small patch of woods about fifteen kilometers from his home, in Challans (Vendée), where the body of 54-year-old Ms. Esquivillon was found. Proof of life dates from March 26.
AFP
This mother of five, living in Maché (Vendée), had disappeared without leaving any known traces other than a mobile phone discovered in a ditch in the city two weeks later, on April 9, without a SIM card, but always still charged.
Michel Pialle “is mentally exhausted, it was a very exhausting police detention on a psychological level. He’s also physically exhausted, but he’s relieved that he was able to present his version of the facts and deliver what was on his conscience,” Me Ory also said, without giving details.
Minutes later, his client exited the courthouse in the back seat of a police car, hidden under a sheet or clothing, AFP reported.
AFP
Sports shooter with multiple firearms, Michel Pialle, told the gendarmes that he “killed his wife on March 27, 2023 by a shot from a 22 long rifle with a silencer”, the La Roche-sur prosecutor states in a press release – Yon, Emmanuelle Lepissier.
“He stated that he did not see that the gun he photographed for sale on the Internet was loaded and that the shot was fired accidentally,” continues the prosecutor, adding that according to the husband’s testimony, the victim was “wounded on the left flank and died very quickly” despite his attempts to “revive it”.
Being “terrified,” he “went to dump his wife’s body on private property” before throwing the gun “into Lake Maché, where it has not been found at this stage of the investigation.”
On May 9, the gendarmes launched an appeal for witnesses to try to find the mother, who few people in her town knew.
In Maché, two white roses were laid on the ground in front of the family house where seals can be seen that were searched on Wednesday.
AFP
A neighbor who refuses to reveal her identity told AFP: “It is not the time to speak, there is grief. We must remain between us.”
Another neighbor claims not to know the couple, who nevertheless lived a few tens of meters away. “Her, I only spoke to her once fifteen years ago. Lord, I saw him walking his daughter to the bus in the morning, but that’s all,” she says.
In the past few weeks, 51-year-old Michel Pialle has repeatedly called for testimony about his wife’s disappearance on his Facebook page and has also given various interviews.
In late May, he said he was convinced his wife had left home “voluntarily” and expressed her “concern”.
Mr Pialle, a former architect who has switched to selling artworks online, asserted that his wife took advantage of his absence to leave the house without warning.
On June 4, still on Facebook, he shared photos of children’s drawings and begged his wife to share “news.” “The children wish you a happy Mother’s Day, they love you and miss you very much!” he wrote.
The number of femicides used in France increased by 20% in 2021 compared to the previous year. According to the latest Interior Ministry figures, 122 women have been killed by beatings by their spouse or ex-spouse.