Philip Dutton (52), a former British soldier who is reported to have once lived in Jersey and worked in construction, appeared before the Assize Court in Nice yesterday for his alleged role in the suspected conspiracy. He faces life imprisonment if found guilty.
According to Le Dauphiné newspaper, Mr Dutton is accused of conspiring alongside Giuseppe Serena (67) to kidnap 80-year-old Jaqueline Veyrac, the owner of the upmarket Grand Hotel in Cannes in October 2016.
The hotelier was allegedly snatched off the street near her home in Nice by two masked men and bundled into a stolen van. She was reportedly warned that she would die if she made any noise and told authorities that she had been forced to drink a sedative. Ms Veyrac was found bound and gagged in the back of the vehicle two days later and had been forced to sleep on a filthy mattress.
She had also been the victim of an attempted kidnap attempt three years before.
The prosecution say that Mr Dutton, a Liverpudlian who reportedly became homeless while living in Jersey and moved into Sanctuary House in St Aubin, allegedly tried to demand a five-million-euro ransom payment from the millionaire hotelier’s family but had been unable to reach them.
He is accused of working alongside Mr Serena, who had previously worked at the La Reserve restaurant in Nice – also owned by Ms Veyrac.
It is alleged that the Italian held a bitter grudge against Ms Veyrac after she fired him in 2009 and he had hoped to use the ransom payment to set up a new restaurant. The prosecution say that Mr Dutton hoped to receive 10% of the funds as a reward.
Sanctuary Trust were contacted by the JEP yesterday but no one was available to comment. The Jersey branch of the Royal British Legion, which supports former members of the armed forces, say they could not recall ever meeting Mr Dutton.
The trial continues and Ms Veyrac was due to give evidence today.
