French investigators are analysing a pistol found by British tourists two metres deep in a lake in the French Alps, in the hope it provides a clue in one of France's best-known cold cases – the killing of a British-Iraqi family in 2012.
The weapon used to kill the Al Hilli family is believed to be the last hope for the case to be solved. A Luger P06 was found on August 20 in Lake Annecy near the Solitaire du Lac campsite, where the family had been staying before their deaths. They are known to have been shot by a Luger P06.
“This is a piece of information likely to be of interest to the investigative unit and the judges in charge of the case,” the cold-case investigative unit based in the city of Nanterre, West of Paris, told French magazine Marianne.
Investigative judge Sabine Kheris, who took over the case four years ago, has asked to be systematically informed of all cases that could have involved a Luger P06, a weapon manufactured in Germany and widely used by the Swiss army at the beginning 20th century.
Analysing the pistol found in the lake last month is likely be a difficult process after such a lengthy amount of time spent underwater.
'Don't get carried away'
William Bourdon, the French lawyer Al Hilli family members, told radio station France Info they were “obviously very eager.” He said: “We have to hold them back and tell them: 'Don't get carried away by a kind of premature enthusiasm.' So, what they see is that the French justice system is rising to the challenge.”
Dozens of Luger PO6 pistols have been analysed in the past 14 years and returned to their owners, according to Marianne, which quoted the example of a famous orchestra conductor who had his pistol temporarily confiscated.
At least 21 rounds were fired at the Al Hillis over a period of a few minutes on the afternoon of September 5, 2012, after they had left the campsite for a drive.
The family car's engine was still running when a British cyclist discovered the bodies of Saad Al Hilli, 50, his wife, Iqbal, 47, and his mother-in-law Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, near the village of Chevaline, overlooking Lake Annecy. They had each been shot twice in the head. Also killed that day was a cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, 45.
The two Al Hilli daughters survived. Zainab, seven, was hit on the head by the weapon, probably after it jammed, while Zeena, four, had remained hidden under her mother's legs in the back of the car.
The Al Hillis came from a wealthy Baghdadi family who in the 1970s had fled the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to the UK. Saad Al Hilli worked in satellite technology. Iqbal was also of Iraqi origin and held Swedish nationality.
The motive for the killings has never been established. Investigators have explored several options, including an act of revenge involving a family dispute between Saad Al Hilli and his brother Zaid. They have also explored a potential role of the cyclist, Mr Mollier, who had no apparent links with the Al Hilli family but worked at a classified nuclear site – also to no avail.
