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Fans and followers got wind of the killing after hearing about a “frantic” 911 call reporting David to the police. Of course, it came right on the heels of Randy calling him “abusive and misogynistic” on Twitter — though he surely couldn’t have anticipated what happened next.
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Courtesy of Jenelle Evans/Instagram
Jenelle was the first to speak out.
Earlier in the day, she fueled split rumors by listing herself as “separated” on Facebook. She also shared a status update that she was “feeling devastated.” Though fans initially thought it was about her relationship, it soon became clear that it was actually in response to losing her pet.
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Courtesy of Jenelle Evans/Instagram
Not long after, she broke her silence on the subject.
On May 1, she confirmed the loss of her dog, a Frenchie named Nugget. “I’m crying every day. I love you so much and I’m so sorry. I’m speechless,” she told her pup on Instagram.
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Courtesy of Jenelle Evans/Instagram
She said she was “heartbroken” and “distraught.”
“You were my sidekick and knew the moment I felt bad and would cuddle with me,” she continued. “You still had a lot to learn and a lot to grow from your lessons. Every day I wake up, you’re not here; when I come home, you’re not here; when I go to bed … you’re not here. You’re gone forever and there’s no coming back.”
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Courtesy Jenelle Evans/Instagram
David stood by his decision.
Confirming the news in his own way, the dad claimed he was “protecting” his family and that the dog had been a threat to his daughter, Ensley. “I don’t give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face. … Whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog, and I don’t put up with that s–t at all,” he wrote on his Instagram account, which has since been shut down.
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Courtesy of David Eason/Instagram
He even shared a video to defend himself.
In the clip, Ensley was seen trying to snuggle with Nugget on the couch. Nugget tries to pull away and Ensley continues to move closer, and eventually the dog snaps at her. In a photo taken afterward, David showed that Ensley’s cheek was red where she’d been nipped, but the skin was unbroken.
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Courtesy of David Eason/Instagram
He used the video as an excuse.
“You can hate me all you want, but this isn’t the first time the dog bit Ensley aggressively,” he said, though it wasn’t clear if the clip was from the incident that lead to the killing or a previous altercation. “Some people are worth killing or dying for, and my family means that much to me.”
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Courtesy of David Eason/Instagram
Seems like he didn’t consider the dog his “family.”
He continued to insist that it didn’t matter if anyone thought he went too far. “The only person that can judge [whether] or not a animal is a danger to MY CHILD is ME,” he wrote — and turned off comments on the post.
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Courtesy of David Eason/Instagram
But that didn’t stop fans from speaking out.
On his other Instagram accounts — he’d lost access to the previous two, though they hadn’t been shut down completely — the comments came pouring in. People accused David of not teaching his daughter how to behave around dogs, blaming him for Ensley being bitten.
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Courtesy of Jenelle Evans/Instagram
They thought the dog’s body language was clear.
“So I watched the video of the ‘nipping incident’ and you can clearly see this pup was uncomfortable,” wrote one commenter. “A child should be taught boundaries with a dog. Period. He stood there recording instead of teaching her that she shouldn’t get in a dog’s face. Now the poor girl is likely terrified of dogs and the poor dog has lost its life. Disgusting.”
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Courtesy of Jenelle Evans/Instagram
They encouraged Jenelle to leave.
Though the star had already claimed divorce is “in [her] thoughts” and she wasn’t staying at home, fans encouraged her to “take those babies and run. Fast and far.” They argued that if David could kill a dog, he could likely do worse.
But it seemed like the number she had for Jenelle was wrong. “I definitely think that [David is] unstable,” she shared at the time. “I reached out to a producer on the show and asked if we had confirmation if Jenelle was okay, and I never got an answer on that.”
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Courtesy of Kailyn Lowry/Instagram
She worried for the kids, too.
“What concerns me, though, is the kids running around while he’s shooting targets,” she said. “I think that him doing that while the kids are running around outside is probably not the safest thing to do.”
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Courtesy of Kailyn Lowry/Instagram
Now, she’s speaking out again.
“I have refrained from commenting on the disturbing situation involving David Eason and Jenelle Evans while I wrapped my head around the murder of Nugget,” she wrote in a statement shared on May 5. “To say I am disgusted and appalled over David’s actions doesn’t begin to touch on my true feelings.”
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Instagram
She said she’s “sick” about it.
“I want to make it clear that neither myself or my company, Pothead Haircare, condone violence against animals. Being the owner of dogs myself, I am heartbroken and sickened by what happened to Nugget.”
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Courtesy of Kailyn Lowry/Instagram
She wants the family to get “help.”
Though Kail’s concerns have been brushed off by Jenelle in the past, she once again shared that she’s worried. “I hope that Jenelle and her children are safe and take the necessary steps to get the help that is clearly needed,” she wrote.
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Instagram
Hopefully, Jenelle does get help.
Though she’s not likely to ever accept a “peace offering” from Kail again — after all, we know how that went last time — fans are still optimistic that this incident may finally be the straw that breaks the camel’s back on Jenelle and David’s rocky relationship.
