British tourists find gun in Lake Annecy that may be linked to Chevaline murders
Killing of four people including a British-Iraqi family remains unsolved after 14 years
A Luger pistol found by a group of British tourists in Lake Annecy last month may have been used in the 2012 Chevaline murders, with authorities now investigating the weapon.
The tourists found the gun while swimming in the lake on August 20, and it was quickly noted for its similarities to the gun believed to have been used in the notorious 2012 killings.
The Nanterre prosecutor's office confirmed this week to AFP that it was now investigating the weapon for its link to the case.
The public prosecutor in the western Paris suburbs is the location of the parquet du pôle des crimes sériels ou non élucidés, a unit tasked with unsolved crimes.
Ballistics experts previously working on the case believe that a specific 1935 model of a Swiss Luger pistol was used, of which only 940 were produced.
Fragments from the handgrip of that specific model (Luger P06-29, calibre 7.65 parabellum) were found at the scene of the incident in 2012.
The gun found in the lake will have a production number, which can help authorities track its owner history.
Violent killings remain unsolved
The Chevaline murders, often called the Alps murders in the British press, remain one of France's most violent unsolved crimes.
The incident on September 5, 2012 saw Saad al-Hilli, a 50-year-old British man of Iraqi origin shot dead alongside his wife Iqbal (47) and mother-in-law Suhaila al-Allaf (74).
The attack took place on the Combe d'Ire road near Chevaline (Haute-Savoie), itself a short drive from Lake Annecy.
One of his children aged seven was injured by gunshots to the head and shoulder but survived, and his four-year-old daughter was found physically unharmed after hiding under the legs of her dead mother.
Both children have since been given new identities to protect them, and have been interviewed again in the intervening years by police.
A 45-year-old local man named Sylvain Mollier was out cycling in the area at the time and was also shot dead. Investigators are uncertain whether he was attacked first during the incident, either by accident or on purpose to avoid any witnesses, or if he was involved more deeply in the case.
French investigators have posited several theories over the incident, ranging from Mr al-Hilli’s work as a satellite engineer in both the UK and in Iraq to a family feud, but so far the case remains unsolved.
The killer is believed to have been an expert with firearms, firing off 21 bullets in under two minutes – 17 of which hit a victim.
In addition, all of the victims were found with multiple gunshots to the head, denoting someone able to use weapons with accuracy.
A reconstruction of the incident in 2024 failed to yield additional information.
