The shooting of a British family and a cyclist in the French Alps ten years ago stumped both local and international police forces
Murder in the Alps airs on Channel Four in three parts at 9pm on Sunday 26 June, Monday 27 June and Tuesday 28 JuneIn September 2012, a British-Iraqi family from Surrey were on what would turn out to be their final family holiday together, one that would end in the brutal murder of three of them. Saad al-Hilli, 50, and his wife Iqbal, 47, their daughters Zainab and Zeena, and Saad’s mother-in-law Suhalia, 74, were in the lakeside town of Annecy, near the Swiss border.
Saad had parked his car, the engine still running, when someone approached them. He, his wife and mother-in-law were then shot dead at close range. Zainab, seven years old at the time, who was outside the vehicle, was also shot, pistol-whipped and left for dead. Zeena, just four, was hiding under her mother’s skirt in the back seat, unseen by the assassin. She would remain hidden there for the next eight hours.
At some point, a French cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, 45, happened upon the horrific scene. He was shot dead, too. The assassin fled. Moments later, another cyclist, former RAF pilot Brett Martin, arrived. Martin, a Brit, had a holiday home nearby. He took in the scene, which at first he thought must be an accident, before he saw the bodies, and the bullet holes.
It was only as the true horror of the scene unfolded that its mystery deepened. Who were the al-Hillis, and why were they murdered in a manner that suggested a professional hit, an execution? And who possibly could have ordered their killing? This became a true crime mystery that would go on to transfix the world and would continue to stump both local and international police forces. But now, as the 10anniversary encroaches, authorities are hopeful for a breakthrough. As a three-part documentary about the terrible event,about to begin on Channel 4 this Sunday, Annecy’s public prosecutor told reporters recently: “I think we’re nearly there.
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