“Eléonore was a phenomenon. Joyful, party girl and funny. Someone frank, with a sacred character.” On the phone, Charlotte’s voice trembles. She remembers with emotion their meeting, in 2018, “in the smoking area” of a nightclub in Le Mans (Sarthe). Then Eléonore became more than an evening comrade: “We saw each other regularly. We shared tacos, McDonalds, hot chocolates…” She was also a friend she could count on. “She had helped me to move”, says the 24-year-old, who works in ready-to-wear. “A friend called me on the evening of January 1 to tell me that she had been killed. I was in the middle of a family meal, I said to myself: ‘It is not possible.'” The funeral of Eléonore Places will take place on Tuesday 18 January.
The body of the young woman was found at dusk, in a small building in Chacé, near Saumur (Maine-et-Loire). Eléonore Places celebrated New Year’s Eve with her companion and his brother. The night ended in an outburst of violence, according to the elements communicated by the public prosecutor of Saumur. Eléonore’s partner, very alcoholic, first hit his brother in the face. Then he took his companion out of the apartment and stabbed her ten times in the chest, on the landing. Arrested on January 1 at the end of the morning, in a garden, a hundred meters from the scene of the crime, he admitted the facts. He was indicted on January 3 for “aggravated murder by cohabitant and aggravated violence”, then imprisoned.
In a few hours, Eléonore Places has thus become, according to the count of several feminist collectives, the first victim of marital feminicide (by spouse or ex-spouse) in 2022, while two other women were killed that day. Behind this chilling statistic lies the story of a stolen life. Aged 27, Eléonore Places grew up in Saint-Cosme-en-Vairais, a village in Sarthe. She there completed his schooling, in primary school, then in college, reports France Bleu Mayenne. In 2012, she enrolled in a school of aesthetics in Le Mans to prepare a CAP. Kelly meets her at this time. “Until 2019, we were close. Then we lost contact, but we always had a thought for our birthdays”, she recalls.
“I keep the image of a little piece of teaser woman.”
Kelly, Eléonore’s friendat franceinfo
“We shared a passion for fashion, but Eléonore wanted to focus on the security environment, adds this 26-year-old cashier. She had a strong temper, despite her sweetness.” Eléonore Places then worked in a “ambient bar”, at Le Mans for a while. Then, convinced by several military friends, she joined the army.
At the end of her training, in 2019, she was assigned to the 2nd Dragoon Regiment, based in Fontevraud (Maine-et-Loire). D‘According to Vincent, a former colleague, Eléonore was not happy there. “She had trouble integrating into the group, she was not too much in the bath. She had the wrong idea of the army”, he believes with franceinfo. According to him, the impulsiveness and clumsiness of the young woman are poorly perceived. “Me, it made me laugh. I liked him. We discussed during guards, he was a real chatterbox.” Vincent sees her for the last time in September 2021, before he leaves the regiment. “She told me about her boyfriend, but I didn’t know who it was.”
The man who shares the life of Eléonore Places is also a soldier. Vaiava Chryssler Hiro, a 22-year-old Tahitian, is engaged in the 2nd marine infantry regiment, based in Le Mans. “He came back very marked, very changed, from a mission in Mali”, assures France Bleu Mayenne his lawyer. Olivier Rolland told franceinfo that he returned at the start of 2021. The couple formed shortly after. Eléonore presents it on June 6 to her friend Charlotte.
Four months later, Eléonore sends her a photo of her swollen face, with several stitches on her nose. She claims that her companion struck the blows. The soldier files a complaint and the man is brought before the Le Mans prosecution in October 2021. He is placed under judicial supervision with a ban on entering into contact with her. “He hit her on the side of a ring road, in front of witnesses. Strangers, broken down, called the police. We are in the ++ degree of domestic violence”, underlines to franceinfo the lawyer Isabelle Steyer, who had access to the minutes. She represents the parents of Eléonore Places, who have joined as civil parties and do not wish to testify. For these facts, Vaiava Chryssler Hiro will be tried before the Le Mans criminal court in October, a year later.
This is not the first episode of violence in the couple, who had no common home. “There is a precedent in Sarthe, in July, in front of Eléonore’s mother”, specifies to franceinfo Eric Bouillard, public prosecutor of Angers. The seae of the young woman then contacts the police, but her daughter “does not want to give items”. A few days later, new aggression in Morbihan. This time, Eléonore Places files a complaint.
“Her injuries required five days of temporary interruption of work. She had bruises all over her body.”
Isabelle Steyer, lawyerat franceinfo
“There was an exchange of blows, then he hit her hard and held her by the neck”, adds Eric Bouillard. At the time, the young man was placed in police custody, then summoned Thursday, January 27 before the Lorient court. In Ouest-France (subscribers article), the prosecutor also mentions an attempted kidnapping and sequestration in a hotel in Saumur, on August 4, 2021, without the facts being clearly established.
When Charlotte learns that Eléonore has been hit, in October 2021, she recommends “to leave, to protect oneself”. “We were there for her, we wanted to help her forget her. She hated him, called him all the bird names in the world. At the same time, she was a great sentimentalist, a lover of love. For the first time in her life, she projected herself. Her greatest happiness would have been to find the man of her life, to build a house, to live with her dog.”, says his friend.
Despite the beatings, Eléonore reunites with her companion a few weeks later. He goes to a party in Saumur, even if he has theprohibited from contacting her. “They are resuming their relationship”, explains the prosecutor of Angers. At the end of December, Vaiava Chryssler Hiro, in a drunken state, has an accident with Eléonore’s car. The latter is therefore questioned by the police. “a few hours before New Year’s Eve. She confirms the choice of a common life with the brother of her companion, whose violation of judicial control is noted on this occasion”, specifies Eric Bouillard. The ban on contact “Makes the attackers laugh. It doesn’t make sense, especially if you have friends or relatives in common”, regrets the lawyer for the parents of Eléonore Places.
In addition to this measure, a “serious danger telephone”, allowing the victim to reach a remote assistance service, using a dedicated key, had been offered to Eléonore Places in October, recalls thee prosecutor of Angers. “While saying that she feared these scenes of violence, she did not want the device, which can only be attributed with the agreement of the victim”, adds Eric Bouillard. “Victims navigate between questioning and denial, between ‘it’s not possible, he can’t do that’, and ‘I’m afraid he’ll kill me'”, expose Isabella Steyer.
Senior magistrate behind the anti-reconciliation bracelet, another device intended to protect victims of domestic violence, Gwenola Joly-Coz recognizes the difficulty of convincing a woman “who does not understand that she is in danger”. “Nevertheless, we should not be surprised: it is a cycle of influence, a known and listed mechanism, she underlines with franceinfo. It is necessary for coherent action, because the problem is systemic.”
“We still have to work on monitoring the victims, constantly reminding people of the risk of getting closer to their attacker.”
Gwenola Joly-Coz, senior magistrateat franceinfo
“The method is to multiply the steps to convince the victims. There, there was action in the meantime”, adds the Angers prosecutor, who believes that “Justice cannot stop crimes from happening.”
“Eléonore filed a complaint, it was courageous of her. It is absurd that the State does not cut the circuit”, judge for her part Isabelle Steyer. “It’s not up to the victim to self-assess, it’s up to the professional to do it. Like when you go to the doctor, you don’t know the disease,” insists the lawyer. LThose close to Eléonore, like Charlotte, are still wondering about the fatal outcome of the New Year. “When I read that she said, ‘I feel like I can defend myself,’ I think it’s true. It’s her character, her way of speaking,” she acknowledges. “But that didn’t mean she was going to do it! How could they let it go? She was no match for this man.”
Women victims of violence can contact 3919, a free and anonymous telephone number. This listening, information and orientation platform is accessible from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.