A new charge in a widening investigation

Jessica Moretti, co-owner of the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, was notified on Friday 5 June of a new charge of forgery (faux dans les titres). The charge relates to an invoice she allegedly submitted for the acoustic foam that lined the bar's ceiling and fuelled the deadly New Year's Eve blaze. The fire, triggered by sparks from fountain candles on champagne bottles, killed 41 people and injured 115 others on 1 January 2026. Fourteen people are under criminal investigation for negligent arson, negligent homicide, and serious negligent bodily injury.

“She has been placed under investigation for a false invoice. Not just any invoice — an invoice linked to the origin of the foam.”

The confrontation hearing in Sion

Jacques and Jessica Moretti arrived at the university building in Sion, Valais, on Friday morning for their first joint confrontation hearing. Jacques wore a black cap and a closed expression; Jessica appeared more relaxed in a khaki jacket. Neither spoke to journalists. The hearing, which began at 8:30 a.m. and lasted until around 7:30 p.m., brought together the couple, prosecutors, and roughly 70 lawyers representing victims' families and survivors. The Morettis were questioned alternately on the same evidence and the same facts.

“I lost my son Arthur in this tragedy. That is why I am dressed in white today and have his photo on my heart, on the left. There are 40 other angels who have gone. There are 115 injured people in hospital or intensive care, severely burned.”

The disputed invoice

Jacques Moretti had long claimed the foam was purchased at a hardware store in Valais. In February, he handed police an invoice from an eastern German supplier, but investigators found it suspicious. According to reports, a simple quote had been altered using editing software to resemble an invoice. On Friday, Jessica Moretti was formally charged with producing the false document. Christophe de Galembert, a lawyer for the civil parties, said the invoice raises unresolved questions about who bought the foam, when, and from which supplier.

“We have no answers and we are getting nowhere. There is an incredible inertia in these hearings.”

The WhatsApp warning

During the hearing, prosecutors confronted Jessica Moretti with a WhatsApp message she sent to staff in mid-December — roughly two weeks before the fire. In the group chat, she explicitly warned about contact between fountain candle flames and the sofas and soundproofing foam on the ceiling. When questioned, she claimed the message was meant ironically and that she was only concerned about protecting the bar's furniture.

“So many lies have been spread about us that we have been destroyed.”

Families demand accountability

Victims' relatives, present in Sion, reacted sharply to the Morettis' opening statements. Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, mother of 16-year-old Arthur who died in the fire, said being destroyed means being unable to hug one's children or having to care for them in hospital. Lawyers for the civil parties pressed for answers on who locked the emergency exit on the night of the fire and why the ceiling was covered with highly flammable acoustic foam. Didier Elsig, another victims' lawyer, said families want the Morettis to stop shifting blame onto others — the mysterious foam seller, the invisible municipal inspector, or their loyal employees — and to acknowledge their mistakes.