Luger Pistol Found in Lake Annecy Linked to 2012 Alpine Murders
Police have discovered a Luger pistol in Lake Annecy, providing new hope in the unsolved murders of British national Saad al-Hilli, his family, and a cyclist in 2012. The firearm was found near the original crime scene, reigniting investigations into the cold case.
Sources
A Luger pistol, discovered by British tourists swimming in Lake Annecy on August 20, is being analyzed for possible links to the unsolved 2012 murders of Saad al-Hilli, his wife Ikbal, her mother Suhaila al-Allaf, and cyclist Sylvain Mollier, who were killed near Annecy. The families' two daughters, then aged four and seven, survived the attack, which has led to various leads over the years, including several arrests and DNA analyses, but no firm conclusions have been drawn. The French prosecutor confirmed the semi-automatic pistol, found about five feet deep in the lake, was turned over to local authorities the following day after the tourists linked it to the vintage weapon initially identified at the crime scene.
Police investigating the murder of British family Saad al-Hilli, his wife, and mother-in-law in France 14 years ago have discovered a Luger pistol in Lake Annecy, close to the crime scene, where the family was found shot through the head on September 5, 2012. The pistol, discovered by British tourists on August 20 at a depth of two meters, is being examined by forensic experts to confirm its model, the Luger P06, of which around 60,000 were manufactured, amidst an estimated three million total Luger pistols made. Despite extensive investigations and various theories about the motive behind the killings—including family disputes and potential links to al-Hilli's wife's first husband's death hours earlier—police have yet to solve the case.