Prosecutors drop Jessica Moretti questioning in Crans-Montana case

Prosecutors have cancelled the planned questioning of Jessica Moretti alongside her husband in the criminal investigation into the Crans-Montana fire, SRF reported. At a hearing scheduled for November 2 in Sion, only Jacques Moretti will be questioned.

In a letter dated October 27, the prosecutors said they would not question Jessica Moretti at the hearing. Her lawyers had argued that facing her husband would be psychologically intolerable.

The decision follows Jacques Moretti’s arrest last summer. He is suspected of using violence against his wife and is currently in pre-trial detention.

Jessica Moretti’s lawyers, Yaël Hayat and Nicola Meier, sent prosecutors a certificate from a psychotherapist on October 26. The certificate, issued by a psychologist on October 2, described Jessica Moretti as being in a particularly fragile psychological state. It said she had acute post-traumatic stress linked to the January 1 fire, compounded by the strain of the ongoing court proceedings and a recent physical assault by her husband.

The psychologist said that facing her husband in a joint questioning would be particularly destabilising and could carry a real risk of acute psychological deterioration. She recommended postponing the hearing for clinical reasons. The lawyers said Jessica Moretti wanted the investigation to continue and was willing to answer questions, while asking prosecutors to allow breaks during her questioning. Prosecutors said they were cancelling her appearance in light of the psychologist’s assessment.