Nightclub owners could face murder charges
nightclub’s owners may face murder charges
The Swiss ski resort nightclub’s owners may face murder charges following a massive fire that trapped 40 people inside.
The married couple who purchased the venue in 2015 transformed it from a shabby café into a party hotspot for the après-ski crowd in Crans-Montana.
Jacques Moretti, 49, did most of the renovation work on Le Constellation himself.
At Le Constellation, a luxurious bar in the popular ski resort of Valais, more than 200 young people were celebrating the New Year when “Flashover” erupted, resulting in 40 deaths and hundreds of third-degree burns.
The Municipal Attorney General said an investigation has been launched into how the massive fire broke out in the basement of the bar in the early hours of New Year’s Day and spread so rapidly.
Beatrice Pillaud, Valais’s top lawyer, said investigators had begun the serious work of examining the blackened ruins at the site, reviewing videos on social media and interviewing survivors for clues.
bar blaze
The NYE fire video shows revellers partying as flames spread…as officials confirm cause.
fear for teenagers
A British-educated teenager is among those missing after a fire at a Swiss bar killed 40 people.
The investigation will also focus on past renovations and the materials used.
Jacques previously told media outlets that he had spent six months renovating the complex into a dazzling niterie.
Police questioned him and his 40-year-old wife Jessica, both French citizens, who later shared their grief with media outlets.
Although Moretti was not present at the venue that night, reports indicate that Jessica’s arm sustained burns.
Pillaud said further investigation will determine whether there are grounds for criminal liability on any individuals.
“If this is indeed the case and these persons are still alive, an investigation for arson by negligence, murder by negligence and causing bodily harm by negligence will be initiated against them,” he said.
Pillaud stated that police did not question the pair under caution, but they could take action if they posed a flight risk.
We will also check the availability of adequate fire extinguishing systems, escape routes, and patron numbers.
Horrified witnesses believe that a deadly fire broke out when the ceiling of the packed venue caught fire due to champagne sparklers.
In the advertising material released by Le Constellation, bottle service waitresses, wearing quirky neon motorcycle helmets, can be seen carrying glowing candles from glass bottles to revellers’ tables.
Pillaud said everything pointed to sparklers being the cause of the fire.
“From there, a very fast and widespread fire broke out,” he said.
ski resort power couple
According to numerous reports, Jacques and Jessica fell in love with Crans-Montana after their first visit in 2011.
Following the success of Le Constellation, Moretz expanded his business ventures into the glam ski resort town, opening a gourmet burger restaurant called Senso in Crans-Montana in 2020 and opening Le Vieux Chateau, a Corsican-style inn in the nearby village of Lens, in 2023.
The couple, who have one child together, previously told Le Noveliste that he feels at home in the Alps because he grew up in the mountains of Corsica.
He said, “We are first and foremost hill people. We are stubborn, but above all, we are very kind people.
A shocked couple has spoken publicly for the first time since the horrific fire.
Jacques told Swiss outlet 20 Minuten: “We can neither sleep nor eat; we are all very unwell.”
French citizen Jacques also spoke briefly for 24 hours, saying, “Everything was done according to standards.”
He said that since he took charge at the venue, it has been inspected thrice in the 10 years.
Jacques said he and his wife would do “everything possible” to help the investigation.
“We are making every effort to assist the investigation.” Our lawyers are also involved,” he said.
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