Ten months after a devastating New Year’s Eve fire in Crans-Montana claimed forty-one lives and injured one hundred and fifteen others, an investigative hearing for bar owner Jacques Moretti has sparked fresh outrage among victims and their families. The proceedings, held on the campus of Energypolis University in Sion, brought together grieving relatives and survivors bearing visible physical scars from the tragedy, which heavily impacted adolescents and young adults from across Europe.
Sixth Interrogation Brings Over Six Hundred Questions
Jacques Moretti, owner of the razed establishment, appeared before Valais prosecutors for his sixth formal questioning in the ongoing probe. According to statements provided by his legal counsel, Patrick Michod, Moretti has addressed more than six hundred and fifty questions since the inquiry began, marking what his defense describes as active collaboration.
However, his wife, Jessica Moretti, was conspicuously absent from the courtroom, a decision that intensified tensions inside and outside the venue.
Psychological Fragility and Excluded Testimony
Prosecutors chose not to summon Jessica Moretti following an urgent evaluation by a psychotherapeutic professional who warned of her severe psychological vulnerability and the potential risks of a direct confrontation with her husband. Jacques Moretti has been held in pretrial detention since mid-August amid separate allegations of domestic violence involving his spouse.
While legal representatives for the families acknowledged her distress, they argued that her absence should not compromise accountability or delay the judicial path forward.
Surviving Victims Confront a Stalled Judicial Pace
The exclusion of the co-owner drew sharp rebukes from legal counsel representing civil parties. Didier Elsign characterized the silence and absence as a profound affront to the affected relatives, noting that families interpret the development as dismissive.
Bachar Fleury, an eighteen-year-old survivor who sustained severe burns covering forty percent of his body, expressed deep frustration over the pace of the investigation and the perceived lack of substantive answers from the judiciary.
Seventeen Suspects Scrutinized Over Municipal Oversight
The judicial investigation encompasses a total of seventeen individuals, including the two owners, eight current or former municipal officials—among them Crans-Montana municipal president Nicolas Féraud—and seven municipal employees. All suspects face potential charges of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and negligent arson.
Investigators continue to scrutinize the legal authorizations and building modifications carried out at the venue, particularly alterations made to the basement level in 2015. Families and their legal representatives have repeatedly pointed to institutional oversight failures, highlighting previous admissions by municipal authorities that no formal safety or fire risk inspections had been conducted at the premises since 2019. As the proceedings unfold, survivors and relatives maintain that accountability must extend beyond the venue operators to encompass local regulatory enforcement.
