A 42-year-old Ukrainian citizen has been charged and is in pre-trial detention in Monaco in connection with the death of 29-year-old Antoine de Massy, a relative of Prince Albert II. He has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and failure to render aid to a person in danger. The accused denied the facts during police custody and has not yet answered the judge's questions.
De Massy's body was found on Sunday, October 25, in a garden near the coastal district of Larvotto. His relatives filed a report after he failed to show up for a family gathering and were unable to contact him. According to the prosecutor's office, video footage showed that the detainee was in his company shortly before his death.
The version of a fall from 13 meters
According to Monaco's chief prosecutor, Stephane Thibaut, the autopsy indicates a probable cause of death as a fall from a height of about 13 meters. It is assumed that de Massy fell from Boulevard Larvotto onto a plot behind a residential building. The exact mechanism of the fall and the actions of the accused before and after it are yet to be clarified.
“A judicial investigation was opened this morning and has been entrusted to an investigating judge to continue the investigation of the facts, qualified as involuntary manslaughter and failure to render assistance to a person in danger“, Thibaut said, quoted by French media.
The proceedings must establish the sequence of events that led to the fall. Earlier, the prosecutor's office indicated that the investigation was initially opened to clarify the causes of death, and the version of an accident was not excluded.
Relatives of Prince Albert II
Antoine de Massy is the grandson of Princess Antoinette, the older sister of the late Prince Rainier III. Rainier III is the father of the current monarch Albert II. After the announcement of the death, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene expressed their sadness.
The 42-year-old defendant has lived in Monaco for about 30 years. He was detained on Monday after the police expanded the investigation due to video footage showing his contact with de Massy. Additional interrogations, expert reports and actions by the investigating judge are pending. The man is presumed innocent until the end of the proceedings.
Sources: leparisien.fr, tf1info.fr, rivieraradio.mc