Police seal off French Alps road where British family was killed in unsolved gun murder
Police seal off French Alps road where British family was killed as investigators examine ‘witness inconsistencies’ in unsolved gun murder
French investigators have cordoned off the site of a brutal murder nine years agoA British-Iraqi family was killed in the September 2012 shooting in Chevaline, an alpine village close to Lake Annecy, along with a French cyclistLocal magistrates obtained an order to shut the road from Wednesday to Friday Magistrates and forensic police officers attended the scene of the crime, which many thought had become a cold caseThe investigation is being carried out under conditions of strict secrecy, with all traffic, including aircraft flying above, banned by court order
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French investigators were back Thursday carrying out enquires on the Alpine road where three members of a British family were murdered in a notorious gun attack nine years ago.
In a dramatic development to what many had considered a cold case, magistrates accompanied by police forensics officers cordoned off the area near Lake Annecy on Thursday for two days.
They were said to be carrying out work including ‘examining inconsistencies in the testaments of witnesses’ linked to the marathon enquiry.
It was on September 5, 2012 that Surrey businessman Saad al-Hilli, 50, his wife Iqbal, 47, and his mother-in-law Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were gunned down as they tried to escape the area in their BMW car.
French cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, also died in the bloodbath, after being shot seven times at point blank range.
Magistrates accompanied by police forensics officers cordoned off the area near Lake Annecy on Thursday for two days
They were said to be carrying out work including ‘examining inconsistencies in the testaments of witnesses’ linked to the marathon enquiry, which appears to have turned up new leads on the unsolved murder nine years ago
Line Bonnet-Mathis, who has just been appointed Annecy Prosecutor, confirmed that the enquiry was still very much active. ‘The Chevaline case is continuing, and still involves an investigating judge and investigators,’ she said:
The scene of murder in the forrest near Chevaline and Lake Annecy in the French Alps, pictured on September 6, 2012 just one day after a British-Iraqi family was gunned down in an as yet unsolved case
Ms Bonnet-Mathis said the ‘preservation of physical evidence’ was a priority and ‘for us, this is not a cold case.’
The Al-Hillis’ daughter, Zeena, four, hid in the footwell of the vehicle and was unscathed, while her sister, Zainab, seven, was shot and beaten but made a good recovery.
Despite an investigation stretching across the world, the individual or gang responsible have never been caught, leading to accusations that the French now view it as unsolvable.
But Line Bonnet-Mathis, who has just been appointed Annecy Prosecutor, confirmed that the enquiry was still very much active.
Referring to the nearest hamlet to the crime scene, she said: ‘The Chevaline case is continuing, and still involves an investigating judge and investigators.’
Zeena and Zainab al-Hilli (pictured aged three with her mother and father) were on holiday near the village of Chevaline in 2012 when their parents Saad and Iqbal, and grandmother Suhaila Al-Allaf were killed. Zainab was shot and pistol whipped, but miraculously survived after spending hours trapped in the car
Saad al-Hilli, 50, his wife Iqbal, 47, and his mother-in-law Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were gunned down as they tried to escape the area in their BMW car (pictured)
Ms Bonnet-Mathis said the ‘preservation of physical evidence’ was a priority and ‘for us, this is not a cold case.’
She confirmed that forensics officers from the research section of the Chambery gendarmerie were back at the scene.
They were accompanied by local magistrates who had obtained an order to shut the road down for two 24-hour periods, from Wednesday to Friday evening.
Their work was being carried out under conditions of strict secrecy, with all traffic, including aircraft flying above, banned by court order.
‘It’s a chance for the new legal team to examine elements of the case, including inconsistencies in the testaments of witnesses,’ said another investigating source.
Asked if a reconstruction was taking place, the source said: ‘Not technically – it’s more a chance for the team to familiarise themselves with the scene.’
The British-Iraqi family were gunned down on an alpine road by the camping site ‘le solitaire du lac’, next to Lake Annecy (pictured)
Earlier this year, detectives said they were investigating a possible link between the murders and a bungling gang of contract killers based in Paris.
Pistol rounds found at the home of one member – a former police intelligence officer – were of the same calibre as those fired by the antique Luger PO6 used to kill the Al-Hillis.
If the gang was involved, it would be more likely that Mr Mollier was the primary target, investigators believe.
He was a welder in a subsidiary of the Areva nuclear power group, but tensions in his personal life are more likely to have provided a motive for him being targeted, they said.
Baffled French investigators have considered numerous other potential reasons for the attacks.
These range from Mr Al-Hilli’s past life in Iraq, including potential financial links to the late dictator Saddam Hussein, to claims that a ‘lone wolf’ psychopath was responsible for a random attack.
But none of the numerous theories surrounding the so-called Alps Murders have stuck, meaning there have been no criminal indictments.
