Lawyers representing victims of the devastating New Year's Eve fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana have formally requested prosecutors to elevate charges against the bar's owners from manslaughter to murder, following the emergence of text messages that discussed the fire risk.
Deadly Blaze at Le Constellation Bar
The fire at Le Constellation bar claimed 41 lives and injured 115 others. Investigators believe the blaze originated 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. Additionally, 12 other suspects, among them current and former local officials, are under criminal investigation.
Request for Charge Upgrade
Lawyers for some of the victims, most of whom were teenagers, told Swiss public broadcaster RTS on Wednesday that they have asked investigators to upgrade the charges against the Morettis from manslaughter by negligence to murder with possible intent.
The public prosecutor for Valais canton confirmed to Agence France-Presse that lawyers Sophie Haenni and Ludovic Tirelli formally submitted the request after the couple's latest cross-examination by investigating magistrates in Sion last Friday.
During that hearing, the lawyers stated that the couple were confronted with messages from a WhatsApp group in which Jessica Moretti warned staff to be careful with sparklers, noting that if the carpet, sofas, or ceiling foam caught fire, the bar would burn.
Haenni told AFP she had provided prosecutors with the messages, dated from 2019, asserting that they demonstrate the Morettis—who have denied all wrongdoing—were "perfectly aware of the highly flammable nature of the acoustic foam."
Haenni, who represents the family of an employee who died in the fire, said: "The Morettis knew the bar could catch fire. They were aware of the risk and they accepted it. The charge should no longer be negligence but murder with possible intent."
Defense Response
The couple's lawyers have dismissed the allegations that they were aware of the danger as "nonsense."
"How can anyone argue that the Morettis foresaw a mortal risk? Worse still, that they would have accepted it?" Yaël Hayat and Nicola Meier told RTS. "Jessica was at the scene the night of the tragedy. Her presence is the best alibi for this absurd accusation."
Under Swiss criminal law, "possible intent" exists when a perpetrator "considers the commission of the offence to be possible but acts anyway, because he accepts this result if it occurs … even if he judges it to be undesirable and does not wish it."
Additional Forgery Charge
The Morettis' lawyers also confirmed that at the 5 June hearing, which was attended by victims' families and their lawyers, Jessica was notified of a new charge of forgery relating to the invoice for the sound-insulating foam panels.
The couple's lawyers said the document, from 2015, had "simply been recorded in the accounts under a different name" and was not relevant to the case.
