The collective suicide of a French family in Montreux in Switzerland, whose five members had thrown themselves one by one from the balcony of the 7th floor of their building, was prepared and even repeated, revealed this Tuesday the public prosecutor, who should classify the case.
On March 24, 2022, the act of this family who lived in autarky in an opulent building in Montreux, a stone's throw from the casino of this chic city on the shores of Lake Geneva, had caused consternation.
The 40-year-old father, his wife, the latter's twin sister and the couple's 8-year-old daughter had died, only the teenage son had survived the fall but was seriously injured and in a coma.
Leaving for “a better world”
If the investigation had very quickly concluded to a suicide, the conclusions of the public prosecutor of the canton of Vaud, reveal "
that the mother and her sister presented dominant and possessive personalities, contrasting with an erased father
", they had "
a strong influence on children and kept them in the belief of a world that was hostile to them
".
As the first elements of the police investigation already suggested, the family lived in survivalist mode, the children had almost no outside contact, were homeschooled and only the twin sister went to work regularly.
According to the investigation, the family had "
prepared, rehearsed and organized their departure to ''a better world''
" without however having fixed a precise date and they were waiting for a triggering event.
Neither the mother nor the baby girl were registered with the authorities, but the big brother was supposed to be homeschooled and it was a verification procedure by two police officers on March 24, 2022 in the early morning, which seems to have pushed the family to take action.
As for the surviving son, “
he was heard, but he is unable to tell the story of the course of events.
He is physically restored and taken care of by the Curatorship and Professional Guardianship Service
, ”indicates the Vaudois ministry, calling for the greatest restraint with regard to the minor boy.
The ministry, which put an end to the investigation should close the case within a few days.