Antoine de Massy's Death in Monaco: Father Says It Was Not an Accident, Prosecutor Has Not Ruled Out Accident
Antoine de Massy, a 29-year-old relative of Monaco's royal family, was found dead in a park in the principality on 25 October. His father, Baron Christian de Massy, has now spoken publicly for the first time about the death. He says it "absolutely wasn't an accident, nor was it suicide." Prosecutors have not reached a conclusion.
Antoine was a first cousin once removed of Prince Albert II of Monaco, the ruler of the principality. The phrase means he sat one generation further from the prince than the prince's own first cousins, such as Christian de Massy. Hello reports that Antoine fell about 13 metres into a garden on the Larvotto promenade, a seafront walk in Monaco, after leaving a nightclub over the weekend. Prince Albert said he was "saddened" when he learned of the death, according to an earlier Hello report from 26 October.
Earlier reporting said a 42-year-old man had been charged with involuntary manslaughter, which is a charge for causing a death without intending it. On 3 November, the prosecutor Stephane Thibault told the local paper Monaco-Matin that the Ukrainian man being held is, for now, only a suspect or a witness. His legal status is still to be decided. Thibault also said he does not rule out that the death was an accident.
Christian de Massy gave his first comments to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera. He described his son as a "boy with a big heart" and said he was "my life." He would not go further on the cause of death, saying only that the investigation is ongoing.
Antoine moved to Miami with his father at the age of eight to pursue a career in tennis. He later fractured his wrist.
A vigil will be held on Tuesday night, 3 November, in the chapel of the Palace in Monaco. The funeral will take place on Wednesday 4 November at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate in Monaco.
The investigation is still open, and the legal position of the man held in custody has not been settled. Christian de Massy's view that his son's death was neither an accident nor a suicide stands as his own statement, and the prosecutor has said only that an accident has not been ruled out.
