Lawyers call to toughen charges against Crans-Montana bar owners
Two lawyers are calling to increase the charges against the owners of the Crans-Montana bar where a deadly fire occurred on January 1. They would like to prosecute the two defendants for murder with eventual intent rather than for negligent manslaughter.
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Lawyers call to toughen charges against Crans-Montana bar owners
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According to information from Swiss public radio RTS confirmed by the Valais cantonal Public Prosecutor’s Office to Keystone-ATS news agency on Wednesday, Sophie Haenni, the lawyer for the waitress who set fire to the Constellation bar, and Ludovic Tirelli, who represents the families of the victims, have both written to the Public Prosector in recent days.
Their action is linked to the statements made last Friday by the bar owner Jessica Moretti during her hearing before the pool of prosecutors in charge of the case, in connection with WhatsApp exchanges in 2019 with former employees.
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Crans-Montana fire: bar owners face forgery charges
The two lawyers believe that the Public Prosecutor is in possession of damning messages against the bar owners – Jacques and Jessica Moretti. They argue the messages show the bar owners knew the risk of injury and flashover arising from the use of sparkler candles and from staff climbing on the shoulders of other employees when serving certain drinks.
The Morettis, like the twelve other defendants in the case, are currently charged with negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson. Jessica Moretti is also charged with forgery of documents.
Translated from French by AI/jdp
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