The court of Sion imposes on Jessica Moretti the withdrawal of documents, the obligation to sign and a ban on leaving Switzerland. The investigations into the Constellation fire reveal negligence, blocked exits, flares everywhere and disastrous management behind the Crans-Montana massacre
The Sion Compulsory Measures Court ruled that Jessica Morettiowner of the Constellation in Crans-Montana together with her husband Jacques, will not go under house arrest. The prosecutor’s office had expressed a favorable opinion on less afflictive measures and the judges chose the same line, imposing a severe package of restrictions on the woman: withdrawal of her passport and all identity documents, ban on leaving Swiss territory, obligation to hand over papers to the prosecutor’s office, daily signature to the police and deposit of a deposit deemed adequate to avoid the risk of flight.
The decision
The decision comes as the climate around the investigation continues to grow more tense. In recent days, the Valais judiciary has rejected criticism of the failure to promptly arrest the Moretti couple, but the pressure is growing. Lawyer Miriam Mazou, lawyer for one of the victims’ families, asked that the investigations be taken away from local judges and entrusted to an extraordinary prosecutor, underlining how the enormity of the drama, its scope and the possible implications of the authorities justify the intervention of an independent body.
The investigation
In the meantime, the first results of the investigations are progressing. The autopsy on Riccardo Minghettithe sixteen-year-old among the Italian victims of the fire, established that the death occurred due to asphyxiation. The exam, carried out at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on the orders of the Capitoline prosecutor’s office, will have to be confirmed by more in-depth toxicological analyses.
What makes the investigative picture even darker are the reconstructions of the night of December 31st. According to the testimony of Cyane Paninethe twenty-four-year-old waitress who died in the fire and was considered “a little sister” by Moretti, the owner’s only concern shortly before the tragedy was that there were “too few people” in the room and that it was necessary to let more people in to “create the right atmosphere”. Cyane died in the flames, lying on the ground among the bodies, when Jacques Moretti forced one of the side doors in an attempt to help those trapped present.
The words of the couple, collected in the hours immediately following the massacre, try to minimize responsibility, but increasingly critical elements emerge. Immediately after the fire, the Morettis were quick to block the social profiles of the premises and delete the promotional videos, those in which pyrotechnic fountains and light sets abounded. Investigators have already identified pyrotechnic displays as the probable origin of the fire. Jacques admitted the use of flares “for birthdays or special occasions”, denying significant risks, but the removed social images show customers handling bottles and light fountains without any protection.
A picture that gets worse
The inspection by the Zurich forensic institute further aggravated the situation: inside the premises they were found 25 flares already used and, in a small warehouse, 100 flares still packagedas well as a duffle bag with 14 firecrackersincluding powerful “Thunder King”. A quantity incompatible with any security criteria.
The irregularities do not end there. Witnesses, including former employees, denied Jacques Moretti regarding the presence of a well-signposted emergency exit: the main one was difficult to locate and a second exit at the back had been locked from the inside, as admitted by Moretti himself. The panels installed in the room, defined by the owner as “impossible to set on fire”, are actually highly flammable. He had assembled them himself, trusting in a “do-it-yourself” job which today appears to be an irresponsible choice.
The portrait that emerges is that of a place that is a symbol of Alpine nightlife entrusted to improvised and superficial management, also marked by shadows over the owners’ past. Jacques Moretti has delicate investigations behind him, including a conviction in France for exploitation of prostitution. The couple led an over-the-top life, between luxury cars and high-class acquaintances, while administrators and local authorities seem to have turned a blind eye to controls, checks and responsibilities that could perhaps have avoided a tragedy with forty victims.
