Lawyers for victims of the deadly New Year's Eve fire at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana have formally requested that charges against the bar's owners be upgraded from manslaughter to murder, following the emergence of text messages discussing fire risks.
The blaze at Le Constellation bar killed 41 people and injured 115. Investigators believe it started in the basement when sparklers attached to champagne bottles were held too close to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling. The bar's owners, Jessica and Jacques Moretti, currently face charges including manslaughter by negligence and arson by negligence.
Lawyers Sophie Haenni and Ludovic Tirelli submitted the request to the Valais canton public prosecutor after the couple's latest cross-examination. They presented WhatsApp messages from 2019 in which Jessica Moretti warned staff about the flammability of the foam, saying the bar would burn if it caught fire. Haenni argued the messages showed the owners were "perfectly aware of the highly flammable nature of the acoustic foam" and accepted the risk, warranting a charge of murder with possible intent.
The Morettis' lawyers dismissed the allegations as "nonsense", noting that Jessica was present at the scene on the night of the tragedy. Under Swiss law, "possible intent" applies when a perpetrator considers an offence possible but acts anyway, accepting the result even if undesired. The couple also face a new forgery charge related to an invoice for the foam panels, which their lawyers say was simply recorded under a different name.
