Authorities are currently investigating a firearm discovered by tourists to ascertain its potential link to the unsolved murder of a British family in the French Alps, a case that dates back 14 years.
In September 2012, Saad al-Hilli, aged 50, his wife Ikbal, 47, and her mother Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were fatally shot on a remote road near Annecy, a picturesque village in eastern France. The couple’s two young daughters, who were four and seven at the time, survived the tragic incident, which also claimed the life of a passing cyclist, 45-year-old Sylvain Mollier.
French prosecutor Marie-Céline Lawrysz confirmed that a pistol, believed to be a Luger, was discovered on August 20 by two British tourists swimming in Lake Annecy. The firearm is currently undergoing analysis by ballistics experts in relation to the al-Hilli murder case.
During the initial investigation, fragments from the butt of the weapon used in the murders, identified as a vintage Luger P06-29 pistol, were found near the British-registered BMW estate car that the family was using at the time of the attack. This particular model was known to have been utilized by the Swiss military in the 1930s, yet its owner has never been identified.
Lawrysz reported that the semi-automatic pistol was located approximately five feet underwater, a short distance from the shoreline of Lake Annecy. The tourists reportedly kept the firearm for a day and conducted online research to determine its type before linking it to the weapon believed to have been used in the Chevaline killings on September 5, 2012. They subsequently surrendered the gun to the local gendarmes on August 21, 2026.
Investigators have so far excluded the theory of a professional hit, asserting that a contract killer would likely not have chosen such an antiquated weapon as the Luger for the crime. The recent discovery of the firearm adds to a lengthy list of leads that detectives have pursued in an attempt to solve the mystery surrounding the four fatalities.
Previous suspects in the case included an Iraqi individual known as Mr. S, who allegedly claimed he was offered a substantial sum to assassinate Iraqis residing in the UK. Additionally, Zaid, the brother of Mr. al-Hilli, was arrested on suspicion of murder in 2013 but was later released without charges due to insufficient evidence. In 2022, another individual was interrogated but subsequently released without any charges being filed. Two years ago, detectives from France’s cold case unit requested DNA analysis on clothing belonging to the victims, as well as on fragments of the gun and cigarette butts found at the scene, but these tests did not result in any arrests.
