Lawyers for victims of the deadly New Year's Eve fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana have formally asked prosecutors to upgrade the charges against the bar's owners from manslaughter to murder after text messages emerged discussing the fire risk.
Forty-one people were killed and 115 injured in the blaze at Le Constellation bar, which investigators believe started 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, face charges including manslaughter by negligence and arson by negligence over the blaze. Another 12 suspects, including several current and former local officials, are under criminal investigation.
Lawyers Sophie Haenni and Ludovic Tirelli submitted the request to Valais canton prosecutors after the couple's cross-examination in Sion last Friday. At the hearing, the couple were confronted with WhatsApp messages from 2019 in which Jessica Moretti warned staff to be careful with sparklers because if the carpet, sofas or ceiling foam caught fire the bar would burn. Haenni said the messages demonstrated that the Morettis were “perfectly aware of the highly flammable nature of the acoustic foam”.
Haenni, representing the family of an employee who died, stated: “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.” The couple's lawyers dismissed the allegations as “nonsense”, arguing that Jessica's presence at the scene of the tragedy is “the best alibi for this absurd accusation”.
Under Swiss criminal law, “possible intent” exists when a perpetrator considers the commission of the offence possible but acts anyway, accepting the result even if they do not wish it. The Morettis' lawyers also confirmed that Jessica faces a new charge of forgery relating to the invoice for the foam panels, which they said had “simply been recorded in the accounts under a different name” and was not relevant to the case.
