The son-in-law of a Monaco heiress gunned down in a Mafia-style contract killing has retracted his confession to ordering the shooting, saying he did not fully understand police, reports Channel News Asia.
In an appearance before a bail judge, Wojciech Janowski "retracted his statements made while in custody" and "denies having ordered" the killing in May of 77-year-old Helene Pastor, his lawyer Erick Campana said.
Prosecutors said last week that Janowski, a 64-year-old who had served as Poland's honorary consul in Monaco, confessed to masterminding the killing of his partner Sylvia's billionaire mother.
But Campana said Janowski had "misunderstood the meanings of the terms used by police and was speaking in French while he does not understand all the nuances of our language".
Campana said he would demand an appeal court nullify Janowski's detention -- and statements made while in custody -- because he did not have access to a lawyer or interpreter during his 96 hours in custody.
The judge nonetheless confirmed that Janowski must remain in custody pending trial.
Janowski was arrested early last week by police investigating the shooting of Pastor multiple times with a sawn-off shotgun as she was leaving a hospital in the French Riviera city of Nice
Read more of this AFP report published by Channel News Asia.