British ex-soldier on trial on France for kidnapping of elderly heiress
05 January, 2021
Jacqueline Veyrac, the 80-year-aged owner of the five-star Grand Hotel found in Cannes and the ritzy seafront La Reserve restaurant found in nearby Nice, was first snatched on the street on October 24 2016, and bundled into the back of a good van.
She was held bound and gagged for just two days in the automobile, that was parked on a quiet street, before being spotted by a passer-by and released.
The main suspect in the trial, held in the southern city of Nice, is Giuseppe Serena, former supervisor of La Reserve who allegedly bore a fierce grudge against Veyrac after she terminated his contract in '09 2009.
Serena is accused of ordering her abduction with a good view to obtaining a ransom with which he hoped to open up a new restaurant.
His suspected accomplices have designated the bankrupt Italian, who's also accused of a youthful kidnap attempt on Veyrac in 2013, as the mastermind of the procedure.
Serena, who all has been in pre-trial custody for more than four years, denies the expenses.
All 13 accused were within the courtroom at the trial's opening. Veyrac was likely to attend on Thursday when she is due to testify.
Back 2016, two masked guys pounced on Veyrac just as she was about to get into her SUV and shoved her into a stolen van driven by an accomplice.
One of the kidnappers threatened to kill her if she made any noise.
She was also forced to drink up a sedative.
Veyrac tried to call for help and bang on the doorways of the van but only flourish in wriggling no cost and making contact with a good passerby on her behalf second night found in captivity.
Former British soldier Philip Dutton, 52, has admitted involvement in the kidnapping.
Dutton, who's also accused above the 2013 kidnap plot, demanded a £4.5 million (€5-million) ransom for Veyrac which he intended keeping 10 per cent, with 50 % meant for Serena and the rest for other accomplices, investigators said.
Among the other defendants are former paparazzi-turned-private-detective Luc Goursolas, who is accused of fitting a tracking device to Veyrac's car, and three suspected gang members from a poor Good neighbourhood, accused of carrying out the kidnapping.
Veyrac's late partner developed the Grand Resort in Cannes, one of the palatial seafront establishments favoured by the international jet set during the gross annual Cannes film festival.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com