Contract Hit Suspected in Alps Killings

FOUR people gunned down in the French Alps had each been shot twice in the head, fuelling suspicions it was a contract killing.

Saad al-Hilli, 50, was killed in his car alongside his dentist wife, Iqbal, on Wednesday. An older Swedish woman travelling in the car also died in the shooting, along with Sylvain Mollier, 45, a French cyclist who apparently stumbled across the attack in Chevaline.

The couple’s four-year-old daughter Zeena lay undiscovered under her mother’s corpse for eight hours after the murders, while her seven-year-old sister Zainab remains in a medically-induced coma after being shot and beaten.

Post-mortem examinations revealed each of the victims killed in the attack had been shot a number of times, including two hits to the head, public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said yesterday.

Police were searching the al-Hillis’ family home yesterday in Claygate, Surrey, after a team of four French officers arrived in the UK.

The caravan in which the family had been staying in at the Le Solitaire du Lac campsite in Saint-Jorioz was also removed by police.

French authorities have now asked their Italian and Swiss counterparts to help them in their hunt for those responsible.

Surrey police erected a tent at the front of the al-Hillis’ home yesterday as they prepared to conduct a search of the property with the French police team.

Families visited the home throughout the day to leave floral tributes outside the front of the house. Along with bouquets of flowers, teddy bears had been left and a Mr Men ‘Little Miss Trouble’ book.

Two relatives of the al-Hilli family have travelled to France alongside a British social worker and will visit the girls, who are under police supervision.

Police plan to look at aspects of Mr al-Hilli’s life to try to find a motive for the murders and also speak with his brother, Zaid Hilli.

Investigators have disclosed that Mr al-Hilli’s brother approached UK police to deny any feud with his sibling over money.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Mauillard said the brother would be interviewed along with the rest of the al-Hilli family as part of the investigation.

The al-Hillis’ four-year-old daughter has spoken to police and confirmed that two of the victims were her parents, but said she did not know the Swedish woman very well.

Mr Maillaud said they were working with Swedish authorities as they try to confirm the woman’s relationship to the family.

Witnesses have said they saw a green four-wheel-drive vehicle in the area at the time of the killings, and possibly a motorbike.

The victims were shot at least three times and investigators have found 25 spent bullet cartridges at the scene in a forest near Lake Annecy.

Mr Maillaud said the family had visited France a number of times before and it was not the first time they had been to Le Solitaire du Lac campsite.

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Category: International