Crans-Montana bar owner to be questioned without his wife

Jacques Moretti will face questions alone next Monday as Valais prosecutors pursue their investigation into the deadly fire at Le Constellation in Crans-Montana. The hearing is scheduled to take place in Sion. Prosecutors had initially planned to question Moretti and his wife, Jessica, together, but changed course after her lawyers asked that she not attend. Valais Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud confirmed the decision to Keystone-ATS on Wednesday, following a report by Swiss public broadcaster RTS. Moretti, the bar’s co-owner, is expected to answer questions from prosecutors and lawyers representing the civil parties. The change keeps the next questioning focused on him, while the hearing of both defendants remains scheduled for December 2. The fire left 41 people dead and 115 injured, and the investigation has drawn in municipal officials and employees as well as the bar’s owners.

Jessica Moretti will not be summoned to Monday’s hearing. Her lawyers, Yaël Hayat and Nicola Meier, sent a psychotherapeutic certificate to the Valais Attorney General’s office on Monday. According to RTS, the document was drawn up by a psychologist specialising in psychotherapy and cited a “particularly severe state of psychological vulnerability” as the reason she should not appear. Jessica Moretti had also said she did not wish to attend a hearing in her husband’s presence. Prosecutors granted the request because they considered there was a risk that Monday’s hearing could be adjourned at the start of cross-examination. The decision means Jacques Moretti will be questioned by prosecutors and lawyers for the civil parties without his wife present. The case concerns both the fire and separate allegations: Jacques Moretti is suspected of violence against Jessica Moretti, and she has also been charged with forgery since her last hearing in early June.

Seventeen people are defendants in the case, including Jacques and Jessica Moretti. The group also includes eight current or former elected representatives from Crans-Montana or the former municipality of Chermignon, and seven current or former employees of one of those municipalities. All defendants face charges of manslaughter through negligence, causing bodily harm through negligence and arson through negligence. Jessica Moretti faces an additional charge of forgery. Jacques Moretti, a French national, has been in pre-trial detention since mid-August and is suspected of violence against his wife. These allegations are part of the proceedings and are not findings of guilt. The scale of the defendant list places the bar owners’ case within a wider investigation involving local government figures and staff. The deadly fire at Le Constellation killed 41 people and injured 115, making the proceedings closely watched in the Valais resort and beyond.

The hearing of both Morettis is still scheduled for December 2. Monday’s session will proceed with Jacques Moretti answering questions alone, after prosecutors accepted his wife’s request not to attend. The separate date for the two defendants remains on the calendar, while the investigation continues across all 17 defendants. The proceedings address alleged negligence leading to deaths and injuries, as well as alleged negligent arson. The fire at Le Constellation on New Year’s Eve left 41 people dead and 115 injured. Prosecutors’ decision reflects the immediate procedural concern raised by Jessica Moretti’s lawyers: that her attendance could lead to an adjournment at the start of cross-examination. For now, the next step is the questioning in Sion, followed by the hearing involving both owners in December. The case also reaches into the former municipality of Chermignon and Crans-Montana’s current and former elected representatives and staff.