Breakthrough in Alps family murder investigation: rare pistol found in lake
Fourteen years after the mysterious murder of a British family and a local cyclist in the French Alps, investigators may have a lead. British tourists discovered a rare Swiss pistol at the bottom of Lake Annecy, matching the type of weapon used in the 2012 attack.
Fourteen years after three members of a British family and a local cyclist were murdered in the French Alps in a case that captivated Europe, media outlets are reporting a potential development in the investigation. A rare pistol, of the same type used in the killings, has been recovered from the bottom of a nearby lake.
The incident occurred in 2012 on a remote mountain road in the village of Chevaline near Lake Annecy. Inside a BMW, authorities found the bodies of 50-year-old Iraqi-born satellite engineer Saad al-Hilli, his 47-year-old wife Iqbal, and her 74-year-old mother, Suhaila. The fourth victim was local cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45. The assailant fired 21 bullets in under two minutes, 17 of which struck the victims. The al-Hilli couple's two daughters, 7-year-old Zeinab and 4-year-old Zeena, survived the attack.
Forensic experts previously identified fragments of a rare Luger P06/29 (Parabellum 7.65) pistol at the scene. This specific model was manufactured in 1935, with only 940 units produced that year. On August 20, British tourists swimming in Lake Annecy discovered a pistol in the water. Sources within the French prosecution confirmed to the AFP news agency that the weapon bears similarities to the one used in the 2012 attack.
The pistol has been sent for ballistic and forensic analysis. Investigators are hopeful that advanced technology might allow for the extraction of DNA profiles and that the serial number could help trace the weapon's history.
Over the past fifteen years, the case has remained unsolved, giving rise to numerous theories. Investigators previously explored potential links to the regime of Saddam Hussein, family inheritance disputes, and al-Hilli's work in the satellite industry, though no evidence was found to support these claims. Other lines of inquiry focused on a former Swiss soldier and a mysterious "Danish tourist" who was camping near the scene and was also linked to the 2011 murder of another tourist, Xavier Baligant, near Nancy.
