Saad al-Hilli, his wife Ikbal and her mother Suhaila al-Allaf, were killed alongside cyclist Sylvain Mollier near Chevaline in September 2012
Credit: Richard Bord/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Two tourists discovered the pistol about five feet underwater in Lake Annecy on Aug. 20
- Investigators are now testing the gun for a possible connection to four unsolved killings near Chevaline in 2012
- Two children, then aged 4 and 7, survived the attack
A gun found submerged in a French lake is being examined for a possible connection to the unsolved 2012 killings of a British family and a cyclist in the French Alps.
Two tourists discovered the semi-automatic pistol in Lake Annecy on Aug. 20, French prosecutor Marie-Céline Lawrysz said in a statement, according to The Guardian. Ballistics experts are now analyzing the weapon in connection with the killings near the remote Alpine village of Chevaline.
Saad al-Hilli, 50; his wife, Ikbal, 47; and her mother, Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were found shot to death inside the family’s British-registered BMW on Sept. 5, 2012, the outlet reported.
A passing cyclist, 45-year-old Sylvain Mollier, was also killed. The al-Hilli’s two daughters, then aged 4 and 7, survived the attack.
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The tourists found the pistol about five feet underwater and a few dozen meters from the shore last month, Lawrysz said, per The Guardian.
“They kept the weapon for 24 hours and conducted online research to identify its type,” the prosecutor said, adding that they “subsequently drew a link between the discovered weapon and the one believed to have been used in the Chevaline killing on September 5, 2012.”
Credit: Chris Ison/PA Images via Getty
The tourists turned the gun over to gendarmes from the Saint-Jorioz brigade on Aug. 21, according to Lawrysz.
Investigators believe a vintage Luger P06-29 pistol was used in the killings. Pieces from the butt of the weapon were found near the al-Hilli family’s car during the initial investigation, The Guardian reported.
The pistol was a model used by the Swiss army during the 1930s, but investigators have never identified its owner. Detectives previously ruled out the possibility of a contract killing, reasoning that a professional killer would not have used such an old weapon, according to the outlet.
The newly discovered gun is the latest of numerous leads investigated over the past 14 years.
An Iraqi prisoner identified as “Mr. S” was previously arrested after allegedly claiming that he had been offered “a large sum of money” to kill Iraqis living in the United Kingdom, The Guardian reported.
Saad’s brother, Zaid al-Hilli, was arrested on suspicion of murder in 2013 but was later told he would face no further action because investigators lacked sufficient evidence to charge him.
Another suspect was questioned and released without being charged in 2022.
In 2024, detectives with France’s cold-case unit ordered DNA testing on the victims’ clothing, pieces of the gun and cigarette butts found at the scene, according to the outlet; the testing did not lead to any arrests.
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