American male nurse goes on trial for starting fire that killed banker

An American male nurse went on trial for manslaughter in Monaco yesterday accused of starting the fire that killed the billionaire banker Edmond Safra in his home in the principality three years ago.

Lawyers for Ted Maher, 44, said before the case opened at Monaco's criminal tribunal that the nurse had lit the fire, in a dustbin, to draw attention to himself. "He wanted to be Safra's saviour," said his lawyer, Georges Blot.

But the state prosecutor is also considering evidence, including an unidentified man's DNA found under Safra's fingernails, that could suggest a more complicated murder plot.

Jean-Charles Gardetto, the lawyer representing five of Safra's brothers and sisters, said there is still no explanation as to why a crowbar was found on the scene even though Mr Maher had keys. Mr Gardetto claims there is evidence that other people may have been present.

Safra, a Lebanese banker who had 24-hour nursing care because he suffered from Parkinson's disease, died aged 67 after being overcome by fumes from a fire in his luxury flat overlooking the Mediterranean in December 1999.

He was found in a locked bathroom with a female nurse, Vivian Torrente, 52. They had choked to death and firefighters had been unable to reach them behind the reinforced doors and security apparatus, designed to protect Safra, whose fortune from founding banks was estimated at nearly £1.5bn.

Mr Maher, a former United States "green beret" from New York, was arrested in Safra's La Belle Epoque apartment soon after the fire and has been in custody ever since.

Mr Maher was found with stab wounds and initially claimed to have been assaulted by men wearing balaclavas.

He later told police the injuries were self-inflicted and prosecutors said he confessed to having invented the whole scenario. They alleged that Mr Maher stabbed himself and started the fire so that he could save his employer and emerge a hero.

Safra's fortress-like apartment had bulletproof doors and windows. Prosecutors said security at the apartment was considered so tight that a confident Safra had instructed his chief bodyguard to remain at his other residence, a high-walled villa on the Cote d'Azur once used as a summer home by Belgian royalty, instead of staying at the apartment.

The manslaughter trial is expected to run until early next month.