The owner of a Swiss bar destroyed in a deadly New Year’s fire has been placed in pre-trial detention after allegedly assaulting his wife, who is also a co-owner of the establishment, according to EuroNews.
French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti have remained under close scrutiny since a fire engulfed their Le Constellation bar at the Crans-Montana ski resort in the early hours of 1 January.
The blaze claimed 41 lives, with most of the victims reportedly teenagers, while another 115 people sustained injuries.
The Morettis are among 16 individuals currently under criminal investigation over the incident. They are facing allegations including manslaughter by negligence and arson by negligence in connection with the fire.
Jacques Moretti was arrested and subsequently detained after an alleged incident involving violence against his wife earlier this month, Geneva-based broadcaster Léman Bleu reported on Sunday.
The reported assault took place on the night of 11 August at the couple’s residence in Switzerland’s southwestern canton of Valais. The incident was reportedly severe enough to require Jessica Moretti to receive hospital treatment.
The public prosecutor’s office and lawyers representing the couple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a statement issued on Sunday evening, however, the Morettis’ lawyers addressed the report and emphasised that the alleged domestic incident was being examined as a separate matter relating “exclusively to their private life.”
“They should not be confused with the Constellation tragedy,” the lawyers said in the statement.
The lawyers nevertheless said the reported incident “nevertheless fall within a context that cannot be ignored: that of a particularly intense ordeal that the Morettis have been trying to face together since 1 January.”
