GENEVA, Jan 20 (Reuters) – The owner of a Swiss bar where a New Year’s Day fire killed 40 people appeared in court on Tuesday for prosecutors’ second hearing in a criminal investigation, according to a lawyer present.
The French couple, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are suspected of manslaughter and other crimes.
Jacques Moretti, who is currently in police custody, will appear before prosecutors in Sion on Tuesday to review his version of events, Romain Jordan, a lawyer for the victim’s family, told Reuters.
Moretti’s wife remains free and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
They all expressed grief over the fire that killed the teenager and said they would cooperate with the investigation.
During the initial hearing, Jacques Moretti said that a service door behind the bar “Le Constellation” had been locked during the fire, according to excerpts published by Swiss media.
He said he forced the door open from the outside and found several people lying behind it.
Asked about the testimony, his lawyer Nicola Meyer said it was a tragedy but denied it meant the emergency exits were locked.
Local authorities in the ski town of Crans-Montana are also facing scrutiny for not carrying out safety checks. The mayor’s office said it withdrew its request to participate in the case “out of respect for the victims.”
(Reporting by Emma Futch; Editing by Thomas Settar)