Casefile True Crime - Case 272: The Annecy Shootings

Episode Date: February 17, 2024

On September 5 2012, a cyclist driving through the French Alps came upon a shocking scene. Married couple Saad and Iqbal al-Hilli, along with Iqbal’s elderly mother Suhaila al-Allaf, were shot execution-style while sitting in their BMW in a secluded parking spot in the woods surrounding Chevaline. 7-year-old Zainab al-Hilli clung to life on the ground nearby, while 4-year-old Zeena al-Hilli was nowhere to be seen. A local cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, was also fatally shot in the brutal killing spree. An international investigation quickly raised more questions than it did answers. What were the victims doing in this isolated area? Had they been targeted as part of some sinister activity or were they killed at random by a lone psychopath? ---Narration – Anonymous HostResearch & writing – Elsha McGillCreative direction – Milly RasoProduction and music – Mike MigasMusic – Andrew D.B. JoslynSign up for Casefile Premium:Apple PremiumSpotify PremiumPatreonFor all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-272-the-annecy-shootings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. The afternoon of Wednesday, September 5, 2012 was a pleasant one in Chervaline, a small wooded community located in the French Alps region of Oort Savoy. Sharing nearby borders with Switzerland and Italy, the area is known for its mountain landscapes and the medieval towns that dot Lake Anasi,

a sparkling body of water considered to be the cleanest lake in Europe. In the warmer months, visitors from all over flock to the region to bask in the tranquil surroundings, swim in the clear waters, and enjoy everything that Lake Anisee has to offer. British retiree Brett Martin had a holiday house not far from Shervalene. He took advantage of the sunny weather and took off on his mountain bike for a leisurely ride through the village of roughly 207 residents. He passed by the sprinkling of old country homes and pastures

before the only thing on either side of him was woodland. About 10 minutes outside of Shervaline, Brett turned onto Coom Deer, a steep uneven road that wound uphill through dense, uninhabited forest and past rushing streams. Brett had done the trip before. He knew that there were no other turn-offs until the three-kilometer mark when the public road gave way to a clearing called Le Martinet. This served as a small secluded parking area and was typically used as a starting point for visitors to explore the surrounding walking tracks and hiking trails. It also signalled the end of the public road. From Le Martinère,

Kum Deer became a restricted route marked with a no-entry sign. Although hikers commonly used the route, the only vehicles with authorization to access it were forestry workers. Brett powered on until Le Martiné clearing was in sight. By this point, it was roughly 3.55 p.m. He looked ahead and noticed something. something in the middle of the road, a lightweight racing bicycle. Brett wondered why its owner would have left it there, but his thoughts were suddenly

interrupted when a young, dark-haired girl stumbled out onto the road. She was covered in blood, her head and shoulder clearly injured. Brett watched her sway from side to side before she collapsed face-first onto the ground. Brett rushed to the girl's aide. Her eyes were rolling around as though she was about to lose consciousness. Brett was a former Royal Air Force pilot, and he used his first aid knowledge to gently move the girl off the road

and place her in the recovery position. That's when he noticed the Maroon BMW Series 5 station wagon stopped to the left of the parking area, facing the road. The same vehicle had passed Brett just a few minutes earlier. He'd remembered it because it had

British license plates and it was right-hand drive. Now its engine was revving as one of its rear wills spun in a mound of gravel. On the ground in front of the BMW, a middle-aged man was lying in a pool of blood. Brett recognized the man as the owner of the discarded bicycle. The two had passed one another towards the start of Kum Deer. Brett had initially tried to keep up with the other cyclist, but had given up and lingered back at his own pace. Thinking that the cyclist and car must have collided,

Brett's immediate thought was that the revving BMW could alert forward at any moment and cause further injury to the cyclist. He rushed to move the man out of the way, only to realise that he hadn't been hit by the car at all. He'd been shot multiple times in the head. Brett realized that the BMW's windows were riddled with bullet holes. He moved closer, only to see that the interior of the vehicle was covered with blood. Inside, a middle-aged male was slumped over in the driver's seat. In the back seat was a

middle-aged woman with an elderly woman beside her. All three had been shot in the head. Brett smashed the bullet-ridden driver-side window and reached in to turn off the ignition. He took out his mobile phone to call for help, but there was no reception. He faced a dilemma. Did he leave the wounded girl there, or did he attempt to take her with him and risk worsening her injuries? Scared that the shooter was still in the area and could target him next, Brett got back on his bike and rode for help, leaving the injured girl by the side of the road. Within minutes, Brett Martin encountered a car full of French hikers who were able to get a mobile signal and summon emergency services. Paramedics, rescue personnel and teams of police sped to the area.

The wounded girl was airlifted the hospital in a critical condition. As doctors assessed her injuries, they realised that she'd received a gunshot wound to the shoulder before being brutally beaten in the head. Her orbital bone was fractured and her skull was cracked, resulting in a traumatic brain injury. The girl was put into an induced coma while surgeons tried desperately to save her life. But there was nothing to be done for the cyclist or those inside of the, the BAMW. All four were pronounced dead at the scene. A cursory search of the woods surrounding the crime scene was conducted, with the helicopter passing overhead. Nothing was found

to indicate the shooter was still in the area. Police at the scene decided it was best to wait for the specialist forensic team to arrive from Paris before examining the interior of the vehicle. The car windows were so badly cracked by bullet holes that a single movement could cause one to collapse, thus damaging crucial evidence. The deceased cyclist still had his wallet on him, which led to him being identified as 45-year-old Silvan Moliere. The quiet and reserved father of three lived just 20 kilometres east of Cherville in the small town of Ujine. Sylvain's partner, Claire, had recently given birth to a baby boy. A dedicated father, Silvan had taken extended paternity leave from his job as a production worker

to take care of his young son and two teenage children from a previous marriage. Sylvain was a keen cyclist who enjoyed riding the local trails. That afternoon, he'd wanted to try a new route, so he headed up the Coomdeer Road at the recommendation of Claire's father. The British registered BAMW was traced back to Le Solitaire Dulac, a campsite roughly 14 kilometres north of Coomdeer. The occupants of the BAMW were identified as 50-year-old Saad Al-Hilly, an Iraqi-born British citizen who lived in the English village of Claygate. The two women in the back seat were his wife, 47-year-old Iraqi-born Iqbal Al-Hili, and Iqbal's 74-year-old. old mother, Suhela Al-Alaf. The injured girl was the couple's seven-year-old daughter, Zainab.

A caravan registered to Saad Al-Hilly remained exactly where the family had left it, parked alongside their tent. The owner of the campsite told the police that the Al-Hilly family had checked in the previous day of Tuesday, September 4. They'd actually arrived in the area on Saturday, but had stayed at a different campsite for two nights before moving to Les-Sah. Solitaire Dulac. The owner recalled nothing unusual about the family's behavior. Sard had asked about good walking trails in the area, to which the owner had recommended the general area around Chervaline,

but hadn't signalled out a specific location. Other guests told the police that the El Hilly seemed like an ordinary family on vacation. The guests who were camping next to them recalled the two little girls playing happily. When the questioning officers heard this, they froze. Two little girls. There had only been one young girl found at the crime scene, seven-year-old Zainab. There was only one child seed inside the BMW, so investigators hadn't even thought to check the vehicle for a second child. Cursory searches of the area hadn't revealed any sign of another victim.

This left two possibilities. Either the second Al-Hilly daughter had run into the woods to escape the shooter and was still out there somewhere, or she'd been abducted. By this point, it was nearing midnight. Authorities had been gathered at the crime scene for close to eight hours. The specialist forensic team had just arrived from Paris, and one officer finally opened to the back door of the BMW. There, cowering silently underneath Iqbal Al-Hiliell. skirt was her four-year-old daughter, Zena. The young girl was terrified, but unharmed.

For eight hours, she'd been frozen in fear, unable to grasp the carnage that had taken place around her. Smiling with relief at finally being found, Zena looked up and said, Where's mummy? I want my mummy. At no point during the attack had Zena exited the car, so she couldn't tell the investigators much.

All she remembered was hearing loud noises before quickly hiding on the floor. Investigators hoped her older sister would be more helpful, but whether Zainab would recover remained to be seen. In the meantime, the priority remained on catching the killer. If the shooting was a random attack conducted by a deranged individual, a quick arrest was needed to stop them from striking again. The deceased inside the BMW were still in possession of their wallets, mobile phones and a digital camera. This ruled out robbery as a motive for the killings.

But, strangely, their passports were nowhere to be found either in their car or at their campsite. A forensic search for fingerprints, DNA or any other clues came up empty. All the police had to go by were the spent bullet casings, 21 of which were found at the scene. Using the ballistics and limited physical evidence, investigators deduced that after arriving at Le Matanet, Sard and seven-year-old Zainab likely got out of the car, perhaps to examine a map of the area that was posted to the side of the parking spot. At the same time, Silvan Molyere cycled up.

Unbeknownst to all of them, the shooter was hiding nearby, likely in a nearby gully or the surrounding trees. Suddenly, the shots began. It was unclear who was shot first, but one bullet struck Sard in the back, while another knocked Silvan to the ground. Sard then ran back to his BAMW, yelling at Little Zainab to do the same. Slamming and locking the door, he reversed in a semicircle direction, trying desperately to escape the onslaught.

In the process, he clipped Sylvan Mollard. Léer. Sard's rear tire got stuck in a mound of dirt, leaving his family stranded. The shooter then approached the vehicle from their hiding place. With careful, callous precision, they shot Sard, Iqbal and Suhalla through the side windows. Both Sard and Iqbal were shot four times, while Suhela sustained three gunshots. All three of them were shot twice directly in the middle of the forehead. The killer then returned their attention to Silvan Malier, pulling the trigger four more times. They stood over his body, shooting him execution style directly between the eyes. Investigators weren't sure at what point seven-year-old Zainab was shot. Judging by the injuries to her

head, the killer had likely either run out of bullets or their gun had jammed before they were able to finish what they started. Instead, they used the barrel of the gun to bash the child over the head. The entire ambush likely lasted less than 60 seconds. Of the 21 shots fired during that time, 17 of them had hit the victims. In the attack on Zainab, a piece of grip from the gun handle had broken off. Coupled with the bullet casings, this allowed investigators to identify the murder weapon as a semi-automatic Luger P-O-6. The Swiss model service pistol had been a standard issue to members of the Swiss Army and police in the 1920s and 30s. It was an odd choice for a shooting spree, the kind of gun more likely to be found in a museum or private collection rather than used to

commit a brutal crime. Despite its age, it was still considered to be an incredibly accurate and reliable weapon, allowing up to 48 shots to be fired in under 30 seconds. Only eight cartridges could be loaded at once. With 21 shots fired, this meant that the Le Martinez shooter had reloaded twice during the attack. Given that they'd managed to do so while hitting all of their targets and without hitting the body of the moving BMW, police were certain of one thing. Whoever was responsible was an experienced and skilled shooter who fully intended to hit each one of their victims. News of the slaying spread throughout the Annasie region where violent crimes were mostly unheard of.

Shervalene and its surroundings were considered incredibly safe, the type of place where residents didn't bother to lock their doors. There were only 70 homes in Shervalin, making it easy for police to question every household. Other than Brad Martin, nobody had witnessed anything that could be of use to the investigation or had suspicions about who the perpetrator might be, except for a trio of forestry workers. As reported exclusively by BBC's Panorama program, one forestry worker was driving down Coom Deer Road shortly before the shootings when they passed Lehmartin Air parking area. To the left of the clearing, they saw a large motorcycle, pulled over on the side of the road.

It was black and white with panniers on the side. The driver was dressed all in black, including a distinct dark helmet with a visor that was pulled down, covering their face completely. As the forestry worker continued down the public portion of the road, they soon passed another vehicle, a metallic grey BMW four-wheel drive. They believed it to be British as it was right-hand drive. The car was in good, clean condition and was being driven by a slightly boarding male with dark skin. The forestry worker was taken aback by how fast the car was driving on the narrow road.

Ten minutes later, two other forestry workers were coming down the restricted road above Le Matané when they too crossed paths with the large black and white motorcycle. Given that public vehicles were forbidden from entering this section of the road, they waved to the road. the motorcyclist down. The rider's helmet was distinct in that it had a hinged visor that could be opened sideways to allow the wearer to hold a conversation without having to remove their helmet. The rider pulled the visor across, revealing he was a white male with a goatee and heavy brow. He said nothing as the forestry workers told him to turn around and drive back down. Brett Martin, the cyclist who discovered the bodies, had also seen this motorcycle coming down the Coomdeer Road as he struggled up the hill just before 355pm.

Brett didn't recall seeing the metallic grey BMW, but he did have a vague recollection of a large four-wheel drive passing him at some point along his journey. Based on these timings, it was deduced that Brett had stumbled upon the crime scene, within a mere minute of the shootings. He hadn't heard any of the gunshots because the sound had been masked by the white noise of the rushing river. The only people who had heard the shots

were a local father and son, but they hadn't given it much thought. Hunting season was coming up, so they just assumed hunters were outtesting their rifles. Neither Brat nor the trio of French hikers who arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting recalled seeing anyone passed them down the hands. hill. This presented two possibilities. Either the man on the motorcycle was the killer and he'd

brazenly fled via the public road even after knowing he'd been spotted in the area, or the killer was someone else entirely and they'd fled via the woods, or the restricted route just around the bend from Le Matinee. Although the rough narrow road was clearly marked with a no-entry sign, it was still easily accessible. A person on foot, motorcycle, bike or four-wheel drive could have made their way down the rugged terrain to the other side of the mountain within an hour. Even a regular car could have made the journey if the driver was willing to accept pothold damage to their vehicle. From there, there were plenty of possible escape routes with Italy and Switzerland just a short distance away.

Police considered whether the motorcyclist could have been working in conjunction with the metallic grey four-wheel drive. A suspect sketch was drawn up based on the forestry workers' recollection, but police decided to withhold the image out of fear that it could spook the motorcyclist and sent him on the run. Less than 48 hours after the shooting, the crime scene was teeming with local and international media. This was a major news story and the public were hungry for information. Local police had been sworn to silence and the only individual involved with the French

investigation who was allowed to speak publicly about the case was Anisei prosecutor Eric Mayur. Mayur confirmed to the press that the police were working hard to determine a motive. All they knew for certain was that, quote, It was clearly an act of extreme savagery, and it was obvious that who did this wanted to kill. The French president vowed that everything would be done to find the person responsible. Given that the crime was committed on French soil against British citizens, French authorities joined investigators from the UK to try and answer the prevailing question. Was this a random attack, or did someone want the Al Hilly family dead?

Ad. Case File will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support CaseFile to continue to deliver quality content. For Saad Al-Hilly, one of life's greatest pleasures was spending quality time with his family. He'd met his wife, Iqbal nine years prior in Abu Dhabi, where Iqbal had been living at the time. They married quickly and moved into Sard's childhood home in the British village of Claygate, where they settled down to raise a family.

Iqbal put her career as a dentist on hold to their stay-at-home mum to their two young daughters. The trip to the French Alps had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Sard had business to tend to in the Swiss city of Geneva, which was just across the border from Annasi. Even though Zainab and Zena were due to return to school after summer holidays, Sard recognized it as an opportunity for a short family getaway. He adored France and had stayed in the Alps region a few times before.

It also gave him an opportunity to take his beloved caravan out on the road. Saad worked as a freelance engineer and he had a hobby for tinkering with mechanical parts. He developed a passion for caravaning after he was. restored a damaged caravan to its former glory. He'd since purchased a new one and had jumped at any chance to use it. Sometimes he'd take his family to stay at the local campsite just 10 miles from their home, just to enjoy a change of scenery. The family invited Iqbal's mother, Suhela Al-Ala Al-Af, to join them on their last-minute French getaway. The 74-year-old lived in Sweden, but was staying with her other daughter who lived an hour away from the Elhillies in southern England.

Once word got out that the victims lived in Claygate, the media attention in Britain was immense. Claygate was an affluent family-oriented suburb 14 miles southwest of London. A local family being the targets of an international shooting was sensational news. Both of Sard's parents had passed away in recent years, but, reporters gathered outside the flat of his only sibling, older brother Zahid Ah-Hilly. Zahid couldn't think of anyone who would want to harm Sard or his family. Likewise, other friends of the family confirmed there was nothing untoward in the Al-Hili household. Sard and Iqbal were both kind and gentle, and their children were happy and well-adjusted.

However, there was one family member who raised some red flags. Iqbal's brother, Hader, lived in Sweden with their mother, Suhela, and was schizophrenic. As a result of his mental illness, reports revealed that Hader had a history of threatening and beating Suhela, and that she lived in constant fear of him. Investigators considered whether Hader's mental instability could have led him to orchestrate the shootings. They looked into his whereabouts at the time of the crime, only to learn that he'd been receiving psychiatric treatment in England when the murders occurred, giving him an airtight alibi.

Although Sard had been living in the UK since he was a young boy and was legally considered a British citizen, his ethnic origins were examined in detail. Anisey prosecutor Eric Mayu told reporters the fact that he was born in Iraq, that he had family in Iraq. Of course that's something that is of interest and we are asking ourselves if there is a link, between that and his death. A search of the Alhili's caravan at Les Solitaire du Lac campsite revealed that Sard had been travelling with a laptop and several thumb drives. When investigators checked the contents, they found numerous files filled with technical data

and sensitive information relating to some freelance work Sard had been doing for a British company that sold satellites. The data he'd saved went well beyond what was required for his. his job. His laptop also had tracking software installed on it, which meant anyone with access to it could trace his movements. Given his connections with Iraq, investigators considered whether Saad could have been selling the satellite technology and other industry secrets to countries who wanted to use them against the West. Perhaps he'd traded secrets and been killed to ensure his silence, or he'd refused to hand the information over and had been targeted as a result.

Sard's employers denied that he was involved with any confidential projects. There was nothing in his job that carried any risk, nor did it require him to sign the Official Secrets Act. Those who knew Sard were incredulous at the suggestion that he could be involved with industrial espionage. He was a hard-working devoted father who enjoyed cycling and playing badminton in his spare time and was always willing to help out a friend or neighbour in need. Sard was also outspoken and enjoyed debating his socio-political views, so he would have made a lousy spy. There was no way he was involved in top-secret work.

But for Sard's neighbour, Philip, news of Sard's death immediately brought his him back to 2003. At the time, the US and British Armed Forces had just invaded Iraq. The police had approached Philip and asked if they could use his driveway to keep watch of the Alhili's home. They spent all day parked there, watching the house where Sard and his brother Zahid were living together at the time. Anytime Sard drove away, the undercover police followed him. Philip never knew why they were watching the brothers, nor did he ever warn them that they were being spied on, but it left him curious.

On Saturday, September 8, 2012, three days after the shootings, officers made their way inside the two-story mock tutor home belonging to the Alhili family. They confiscated various items of computer equipment. Sard had converted the garden shed behind the house into a makeshift office, and several potentially hazardous items were found inside that made officers nervous. The bomb squad was called in as a precautionary measure, and the property was

cordoned off while nearby residents were forced to evacuate. It was a false alarm. None of the items turned out to be dangerous. However, there were a couple of other things that raised suspicion. Inside the house, police found a taser. The weapon was illegal, and it seemed strange that a quiet family with no enemies would be armed with such a protective item. Furthermore, the locks on the house had recently been changed and a new security alarm system had been installed. Whatever the reason, it appeared that Sard Al-Hilly was nervous about something. As investigators hustled to piece together a clear picture of Sard and his background, seven-year-old Zainab El-Hilly woke up from her induced coma. The young girl was making a

strong recovery but was still in a very delicate state. Investigators had to tread carefully when questioning her. Zanab recalled that on the day of the murders her father had asked what she'd rather do that day, go shopping in town or go for a walk in the woods. Zanab chose the latter. Beyond arriving at Le Martinet and getting out of the car with her father, Zainab didn't remember anything except seeing, quote, one bad man. Although she couldn't be sure, Zainab also thought she might have seen a silhouette. Zainab was given the green light to return to the UK. Both she and her younger sister Zina were held at a secret location

and placed under strict police protection. Psychologists believed that Zainab likely remembered more about the attack but had been so traumatised that her brain couldn't yet process the information. Investigators had to accept that their star witness didn't hold the key to solving the crime. Instead, they sourced archive images of the Chervillene region from every satellite company in Europe and studied the stills from the day of the shootings. They obtained CCTV footage from the route the El Hilly family would have taken from Claygate to their campsite in France, combing through footage captured from gas stations, toll roads and ferry terminals for a glimpse of the family's maroon BMW.

They compared still images to see if the BMW was being tailed, but at no point did the same vehicle appear behind the family twice. That didn't rule out the possibility that someone had tracked them. movements and followed them from their campsite up the Coom Deer Road. But had they done so, they would have had to have sound local knowledge of the area to be able to facilitate a quick getaway without being seen. Either the killer was a local, which also explained their use of a local firearm, or they'd done extensive research of the area beforehand. Eight days into the investigation, French prosecutor Eric Mayu told reporters that all of the Although the motive and perpetrator's identity remained unclear, there was no doubt that the reasons

for the crime originated in England. The theory that Sard was involved with industrial espionage gained traction and became a gold mine for the British tabloids. While the authorities continued to follow this as a genuine possibility, another more plausible lead emerged. The previous September, Sard had written a letter to a childhood friend following the death of his father. In it, he talked about his relationship with his older brother, Zayed. Sard wrote,

Zaid and I do not communicate anymore, as he is another control freak and tried a lot of underhanded things even when my father was alive. He tried to take control of father's assets and demanded control. It's a long story, and I have just had to wipe him out of my life. Sad, but I need to concentrate now on my wife and two lovely girls. In contrast, Zahid Al-Hilly told the British investigators that he and his brother had a good relationship. After Zahid's wife passed away from ovarian cancer in 2007, Sard invited Zahid to temporarily move in with his wife and daughters in Claygate. Zahid's adult son had left home and Sard thought it would do his brother good to be surrounded by loved ones during his time of grief.

Zaid ended up staying for over a year, during which he cherished getting to bond with Zainab and Zena. The brothers falling out was confirmed by other friends of Sarts. It all started when their father, Cardim Alhili, passed away in August 2011. At the time of his death, Cardim lived in Spain. He left his estate to his two sons who would receive, a 50-50 split of the Claygate home as well as Cardim's Spanish flat. Given that Saad and his family were already living in the Claygate property,

which was valued at around 800,000 pounds, Zahid wanted Saad to buy him out. Zahid also wanted to increase his share of the Spanish flat to 75%. Saad felt this was totally unfair and refused to accept Zahid's demands. Tensions asked him. escalated, and things came to a head in October of 2011. Zahid was still living in the Claygate home at the time, but was looking for his own place to move into. A physical altercation broke out between the two brothers that resulted in Sard calling the police.

Shortly after, Sard changed the locks. The brothers both obtained lawyers to represent their interests in their father's estate, and all future contact was handled by mediators. Sard ordered a freeze on his father's will, ensuring that Zahid couldn't claim any of the money until the dispute was resolved. In an online chat with his friend James, Sard called Zahid an asshole who was motivated by greed. He said he had reason to believe Zahid was involved in tax evasion and fraud and was prepared to use the information against Zaid if need be. Sard also told James that some valuable items went missing from his. home while Zahid was living there, which is why he changed the locks.

When Sard was killed, he hadn't spoken to his brother in almost a year. The fact that Zahid had initially told police that the two had a good relationship raised major red flags for investigators. When confronted with the evidence that indicated otherwise, Zahid conceded that there were financial disputes, but maintained that the two were otherwise close. He denied being involved in a feud with his brother, saying that their disagreement regarding money wasn't personal. Zahid had a verified alibi for the day of the murders. He had been at the seaside with a friend eating ice cream and browsing the local shops. While this proved Zahid wasn't

the one who pulled the trigger, it led police to question whether he could have organized someone else to carry out the attack on his behalf. The slayings had all the hallmarks of a professional hit, a precise experienced gunman firing rounds into the foreheads of each of his victims. But if Zayed and Sard weren't talking, how would a hired killer know to find the Al-Hili's in that secluded part of the French Alps? The Luger pistol was the only tangible clue, but there were roughly 30,000 of these weapons in Switzerland alone. Given that the murder scene was 30 miles from the Swiss border and the gun used was Swiss, authorities in Geneva were also brought in to assist.

They discovered that the business Sard Al-Hili intended to take care of in Switzerland related to a private bank account held in his father's name. Sard had called the bank on Monday, two days before his death, and spoke of his intentions to visit. This was noteworthy, given there had been questioned. activity on the account in the past. Sard's father, Cardim Alhili, had set up the account in 1988, making a sizable deposit that was now worth close to 1 million euros. The account had barely been touched since, which is why

one bank employee flagged it as strange when someone in England applied for a credit card linked to the account just one year before Cardin passed away. The employee examined the application form and noticed that the applicant's signature differed from the one they had on file. The bank contacted Khadim, who denied ever making the request. A Swiss prosecutor publicly stated that the person who fraudulently tried to acquire the credit card was none other than Zayid al-Hili. He claimed that Zahid had forged his father's signature in an attempt to gain access to the money in the Geneva account.

Speaking to journalist Tom Parry for his book The Perfect Crime, Zahid strongly denied this allegation, maintaining that his father had been the one who applied for the credit card. Regardless, the revelation that the Aarhili's had a so-called secret bank account in Switzerland immediately added to the speculation surrounding the case. If the family had nothing to hide, some wondered why they were squirreling money away in an offshore account. Six and a half weeks after the shootings, Sard, Iqbal and Suhela were laid to rest in a private ceremony held in the Shia Muslim section of Brookwood Cemetery, 20 miles north of Claygate, with armed guards keeping watch.

Days later, readers of French newspaper Le Monde opened their papers to find the sensational headline, the potential links between the Alhili's and Saddam Hussein. According to the article, the Swiss bank account had led the German Secret Service to uncover a link between Cardim Al-Hilly and the former Iraqi dictator. Shortly before Saddam Hussein's execution in 2006, he reportedly withdrew over £600 million pounds from the Iraqi Central Bank and deposited in secret bank accounts around the world, including Switzerland. The money smuggling was thought to be assisted by a money-smuggling. Iraqi nationals who lived abroad. Le Monde theorized that Khadim could have worked as one of Saddam Hussein's

conduits and Assad had gotten himself killed by trying to access the money. Those close to the El-Hili family scoffed at what they saw to be malicious rumors. It was because of Saddam Hussein's regime that the Al-Hilis had been forced to flee Iraq in the first place. Cardim had been a successful lawyer turned businessman, he'd amassed a healthy profit selling tissue paper and poultry. Any money he'd hidden away was well and truly earned. To suggest he'd helped launder money for the dictator was hurtful to the surviving relatives. This wild theory quickly disappeared from the headlines, but it contributed to the growing narrative that Sard was involved in some kind of nefarious activity that had contributed to the murders. It was also revealed that

that he'd held some radical political beliefs which he'd shared online in various Arabic chat forums. This led to public speculation that Sard could have been the victim of a state-sponsored assassination, a theory fuelled by the fact that both Sard and Iqbal's passports were still nowhere to be found. Police had searched their home, car and caravan, as well as police stations lost and found officers and hotels along the route the Alhili family had taken on their. holiday, but the passports had mysteriously disappeared. Some speculated that the killer could have taken them as some kind of trophy or proof of their hit. Similar assassinations had been carried out in the past, but those involved had been associated

with weaponry development or the military and were deemed to be a threat to national security. There was nothing in Sard's background to indicate he fit this bill. Furthermore, if a hitman really did want Sard dead, it didn't make sense that they would also attack his wife, mother-in-law and children. While some investigators were convinced that the crime had the hallmarks of a contract killing, others thought otherwise. If the killer was a professional, skeptics to the hitman theory wondered why the shooter had used such an antiquated weapon. The fact that they'd managed not to hit the moving BAMW proved their proficiency as a shooter, but their first shots had missed Sard when he was standing outside of the vehicle. If Sard really was the intended target, the shooter had botched the hit from the very beginning.

Also, Sard, Iqbal and Suhela had all been stuck in the car, making them easy targets for the gunmen standing directly outside. Anyone with decent firearm proficiency was capable of shooting them at such close range. Investigators considered whether Sard could have been lured to Lourg-Martiné by someone under false pretences. His phone and emails records were checked, but nothing was found to indicate a pre-planned meeting. A guest who was staying at the same campsite as the Alhilies recalled seeing Sard having a heated exchange with a man of Balkan appearance. Although this interaction couldn't be verified, it fuelled speculation that a contract killer could have travelled from the former Yugoslavia. It was rumoured that Eastern European hitmen could

reportedly be hired on the dark web for as little as a few hundred pounds. These men had been hardened during armed conflicts and some were willing to use their lethal expertise for financial gain. It was possible that a master contract killer could have travelled to France via road, executed the hit, and then disappeared back into their home country as quickly as they came without drawing any attention to themselves. For investigators, the financial dispute between the Alhili brothers gave Zahid a compelling motive to want Sard and his family out of the picture. But if Zahid had hired someone to perform the hit,

why hadn't the gunman completed the job by killing Zainab and Zina? The surviving daughters would inherit Sard's estate, meaning Zaid had very little to gain. While all of these theories were compelling, none of them quite added up. This left investigators with no choice but to consider another possibility entirely. What if Sard wasn't the intended target after all? Case File will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads.

By supporting our sponsors, you support CaseFile to continue to deliver quality content. Iqbal Al-Hilly had become a secondary player in this giant media story that centered mostly around her husband. At first glance, she was a quiet, reserved stay-at-home mother who put great importance on her Muslim faith. But as police looked into Iqbal's background, they discovered she harboured a secret. On Sard and Iqbal's marriage certificate, Iqbal listed herself as previously unmarried. But this wasn't true. Not only had Iqbal been married before, she was still legally married at the time that she and Sard tied the night in 2003. In 1999, Iqbal had moved to the United States to the United States to pursue a dentistry job.

Before long, a friend introduced her to a man named to Jimmy Thompson, an oil worker and Harley Davidson enthusiast 20 years her senior. The two hit it off and married quickly. Iqbal moved into Jimmy's house in Louisiana, where she embraced a Western lifestyle. She went by the name Kelly and spent her spare time running and barbecuing with Jimmy's family by the pool. Iqbal and Jimmy were happily married for 18 months, after which Iqbal suddenly left the US and returned to Abu Dhabi.

Some believe she was simply homesick, while others think she was under pressure from her family to marry a Muslim man and take on a more traditional role. It has also been speculated that her marriage to Jimmy was purely one of convenience, so that Iqbal could obtain a US green card. Whatever the reason, it wasn't long before Iqbal and Sard were reportedly introduced by family members as part of a mutually agreed-upon arranged marriage. As far as any of the Al-Hili's friends in England were aware, Saad had no idea that he was Iqbal's second husband. They were shocked to learn that Iqbal had lived a westernized, somewhat outgoing life in the United States, as this was completely out of character for the conservative woman they knew.

In England, she mostly kept to herself and was incredibly shy. She didn't even drive or go out to do the shopping. Investigators were curious to learn why Iqbal had suddenly departed from the United States. They attempted to make contact with the Jimmy Thompson in Louisiana, only to make another shocking discovery. Jimmy had passed away on the very very very. very same day that Iqbal had been killed. Medical records stated that the overweight Jimmy had died of a heart attack while driving, but when his family learned that Iqbal had been murdered just

hours beforehand, they began to ask questions. An official autopsy had never been conducted on Jimmy, so what if he hadn't died of natural causes after all? As reported in the book The Perfect Crime, Jimmy's sister Judy was aware that Iqbal and Jimmy's had kept in touch via email. This contradicted reports from the Alhili's friends in England who said Iqbal was a technophobe who refused to let Sard set her up with an email address. According to Judy, when she went to check Jimmy's email, all of his messages had been erased.

The FBI got involved to explore the possibility that Jimmy Thompson's death was somehow linked to his ex-wife's murder. They even considered exhuming his wife's murder. body to conduct an official autopsy, but ultimately there was nothing to support the theory that Jimmy's death was connected to the French shooting. The fact that both he and his ex-wife had both died on the same day was deemed a mere coincidence. Regardless, the fact that Iqbal had managed to conceal a secret marriage left some wondering what other secrets she might be hiding. Very little was known about Iqbal's mother, Suhela Al-Alaf,

The 74-year-old widowed mother of four lived in the suburbs of Stockholm, having moved to Sweden from Iraq in the mid-1980s with her husband, Abdul, and their son, Haydar. She was reportedly a quiet and private person. Investigators hadn't been able to ascertain the exact reason why she had decided to join the Alhili's on their last-minute French holiday. Due to her age and the limited background information about her, Suhela wasn't. an obvious choice when it came to investigators trying to determine which one of the victims had been the intended target. But some suspicious elements quickly emerged that meant she couldn't be crossed off entirely. According to the book The Perfect Crime, a search of Suhela's personal computer revealed that it was fitted with spyware. This meant that whoever had access to the spyware

was able to remotely view every move that Suhela made on the computer. installing the software would have required technological skills that Suhela wasn't known to possess. This raised the question of why anyone would want to keep tabs on the elderly woman's online movements. Bank records didn't reveal her to be a wealthy woman, which made it even more confusing when Suhela's home in Sweden was ransacked in the aftermath of the shootings. Several items were stolen, including an assortment of personal documents and bank records. Investigators weren't prepared to close the door on any lines of inquiry, but the possibility that Sue Hela was the target and her daughter's family somehow got tied up in it, went to the bottom of the list.

Another possibility was much more plausible. From the outset of the investigation, the family of the murdered cyclist Silvan Moliere had requested complete privacy to mourn his loss in peace. Because of this, very little was known about him. French investigators were confident that Silvan had just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Others weren't so sure. Silvan had sustained more gunshots than any other victim, five in total, and he was the only victim who lived locally. For British investigators, it therefore made sense to consider that Silvan could have been the target.

while the Alhili's were collateral damage, instead of the other way around. Until having recently taken an extended period of paternity leave, Silvan Moliere worked at Sezuse, a factory just outside of Anasi that produced a nuclear components. Some wondered whether Silvan could have been selling nuclear secrets to other nations and had gotten in over his head, or angered an enemy who wanted to put a stop to his involvement. It was even speculated that Silvan knew Sard, and the two were conspiring together to sell both their satellite and nuclear secrets. But Silvan simply worked as a welder for Sezuse. He wasn't privy to any classified information.

There was nothing in his phone or email records to indicate that he'd arranged to meet anyone at Le Matanet, nor was there any evidence that he and Sard had ever crossed paths before. It also turned out that Sard wasn't the only one allegedly embroiled in a bit of feud over money. The Sunday Times newspaper looked into Silvan's background and discovered that his partner, Claire, was from a wealthy local family. Claire had recently received ownership of her father's pharmacy, which was valued at just over one million pounds. According to the newspaper, Claire's family felt that Sylvan was taking advantage of their wealth

and sponging off their daughter. When Silvan announced he was going to be taking up to three years off work and effectively living off Claire's income, tensions reached a boiling point. On the day of the shooting, Claire's father recommended Silvan take the route up Coom Deer. French investigators considered the possibility that this could have been part of an intentional plan to rid Silvan of any claim to the family fortune. But Claire's family weren't nearly as well off as reporters had claimed. Claire hadn't been given the pharmacy.

She had taken a loan out from her father and was paying it back slowly. Furthermore, she and Sylvan weren't married, meaning he wouldn't have been legally entitled to any of her money. The theory was ruled out. It was impossible for forensic investigators to determine which of the four victims had been shot first, But in one interpretation, Silvan had sustained the first bullet. If true, it was logical to assume that he could have been the intended target. But if money wasn't the issue, what was?

A friend of Silvan spoke to French newspaper Lissau Savoyar on the condition of anonymity. They claimed that Silvan was known to be a bit of a ladies' man. According to the friend, Silvan had once confided that, quote, He felt he had to be careful while walking down the street because he feared he would be shot. French investigators considered whether Silvan could have been killed by a jealous spouse in a crime of passion, but there was no evidence to indicate that his behaviour extended beyond harmless flirtation. Anisee prosecutor Eric Mayu told journalist Tom Parry, We have examined his life from every possible angle in every aspect, and we have found nothing

which explains to us why anyone would want to get at this man. The French remained convinced that the answer to all their questions most likely lay with the British victims, but after extensive investigations, another credible theory started to gain serious What if no one had been targeted, and all of the victims had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time? It was entirely possible that a lone mentally ill gunmen familiar with the area might have been lurking in weight, ready to launch an attack on whoever was unfortunate enough to stumble upon Le Martinet first. It might have been entirely coincidental that a carload of people and a lone cyclist just so happened to arrive at the same time.

If the murders were the result of a random opportunistic attack, the perpetrator's firearm proficiency indicated they might have been ex-military or a member of law enforcement and legally licensed to own a gun. Investigators in both France and Switzerland examined psychiatric records on the lookout for anyone with a military background who also displayed homicidal tendencies. They tracked down recently released patients with prior convictions for gun violence or access to weapons, but didn't find anyone who fit the bill. Police also considered the possibility that the motorcyclist and the occupant of the mysterious

four-wheel drive had met at Le Matanet to complete a drug deal or other illegal handover. Both Silvan and the Al-Hillies might have unexpectedly disturbed the transaction and been killed as a result. This theory was quickly ruled out as the sleepy, remote town of Chevoline was a highly unlikely place for a serious drug deal. In France, there were ongoing tensions between the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities, which led to speculation that the murders were an Islamophobic hate crime. Some theorise that a local racist experienced with firearms might have simply spotted the Al-Hili family holidaying in Lake Anasi

and singled them out due to their Middle Eastern background. But if this was the case, it didn't fit the typical bill for this type of attack. If the gunman was motivated by race or religion, investigators expected that they would have taken credit for the shootings in some capacity. Whatever the truth, prosecutor Mayhew concluded to GQ magazine that the target, quote, was one, the other, or neither. Months passed with over 40 officers dedicated to the case.

Despite the thorough investigation, all police had were unsubstantiated theories. The public remained gripped, with all the wild stories about spies, assassinations and foreign secrets becoming the perfect fodder for tabloid headlines. By April 2013, seven months had passed with no breakthroughs in the case. French investigators remained convinced that the Al-Hili connection held the key to solving the crime. Zaid Al-Hili was re-interviewed. he maintained that the fallout with his brother had been nothing more than a financial discrepancy

for which he held no significant grudge. He said he loved Sard and was heartbroken by the tragedy, which he wanted solved as much as anyone. But when Zayyid was summoned to France to act as a witness, he flat out refused. Zahid was vocal about his distrust for the French authorities. He felt they were using the financial matters between himself and Sussie. to deflect from the truth, that the crime had its origins in France. If Zaid travelled across the English Channel, he feared the authorities would find a way to plant his DNA at the crime scene. Zaid told GQ Magazine,

To be honest with you, if the French authorities told me the sunrises in the east and sets in the west, I would think they were lying. Zahid wasn't legally obligated to obey the French summons unless they had compelling evidence, against him, so at the advice of his lawyer, he ignored it completely. This did nothing but add weight to the suspicion against him. If Zahid had nothing to hide, the belief was that he'd do anything to assist with the investigation. Police obtained Zahid's phone records from 2012 and noticed something out of the ordinary. In the three weeks leading up to the annesy shootings, numerous phone calls had been made to and received

from five different numbers in Romania. The calls had stopped abruptly after the murders. The numbers couldn't be immediately traced, leading investigators to wonder what reason Zaid had to be calling the Balkan country. Zayyid flat out denied making the calls and had no explanation for them. This, coupled with his initial denial that there was any conflict between himself and Assad, along with his refusal to cooperate with the French. investigation brought things to a crescendo. On Monday, June 24, 2013, nine months after the

shootings, two British detectives visited Zaheed at his flat and placed him under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder. A team of police searched his flat but found nothing to link him to the crime. Zahid was released on bail the following day, which under UK law didn't require a monetary bond. It simply required Zayy to continue living at his current address and stay away from any other potential witnesses. Zahid maintained that he never called anyone in Romania. French investigators looked back over their records and realised he was right. The unexplained calls had actually been made by Sard himself. But months of investigation failed to uncover a single shred of evidence linking Zayyad al-Hilly to the murders.

His bail conditions were lifted with a spokesperson for the British police announcing. At this stage, there is insufficient evidence to charge him with any criminal offence and no further police action is being taken at this time. French prosecutor Eric Mayhew clarified, this does not mean that we're finished with Zahid al-Hilly, nor that he is innocent. By the one-year anniversary of the shootings, more than the same, three and a half thousand statements had been taken, with lines of inquiry being followed in 23 different countries. With the investigation back to square one, in early November 2013,

French authorities finally decided to release the suspect sketch of the motorcyclist the forestry workers had seen near Le Martinère right before the shootings. They'd been working hard behind the scenes to identify the distinct dark-colored helmet the rider had been wearing in the hopes this could lead them to its owner. The unusual style of helmet had been produced by a French company called GPA, and there were only 8,000 of the dark-coloured models in circulation. Detectives attempted to track each and every one of them down. They spoke to retailers and motorcycle clubs, monitored online sales,

and searched the homes of people who were known to own such helmets. But nothing led them to the mysterious Le Martan. motorcyclist. The decision to release the suspect's sketch paid off. A local who saw the image thought the motorcyclist bore a strong physical resemblance to 48-year-old Eric Dervoisou, a married father of three who lived just a few miles north of the crime scene. Known as an eccentric outdoorsman, Dervoisu had strong knowledge of the woods surrounding

the murder scene and was familiar with the local mountain routes. Police looked into Eric Dervoisou and discovered that his was one of 4,000 mobile phones that had pinged off the nearest phone tower on the day of the murders. Not only did that put him in the area at the time of the shootings, a background check revealed that in the weeks leading up to the crime, Dervoisu had applied for a firearm permit. He'd previously received combat training as part of his role as a French military reserve and had recently been fired from his job as a munichy. municipal police officer due to alleged misconduct. It was also reported that he held racist views. On Tuesday, February 18, 2014, a team of police officers aided by members of an elite tactical unit raided Eric Dervoiso's home, as well as a property owned by his in-laws. They discovered a collection of approximately 40 weapons, most of which were related to the

Second World War, and some which had to have. hadn't been obtained legally. They also uncovered similar ammunition to that used in the Luger pistol. Outside Dervoisu's home, a yellow tarpaulin was draped over a large item. Police lifted it up to reveal an old black and grey motorcycle. Both the bike and Dervoisu's helmet were taken away for further examination, while officers searched his back garden with a metal detector. Eric D'Evoisou was taken into police custody and questioned for four days,

but he didn't reveal anything that linked him to the annesies shootings, nor was anything discovered in the search to connect him to the crimes. Witnesses who had seen the motorcycle near Le Martinez on the day of the murders were shown Dervoisu's motorbike and concluded it wasn't the same one. He was released without charge. Six months later, the clothing Sard Al-Hilly had been wearing at the time he was killed was re-examined. In his jacket pocket, investigators made an unexpected discovery. There, they found the missing passports belonging to Sard and Dick Bell.

Zaid Al-Hilly accused the police of incompetence, telling the BBC, It seems that the jacket has been in the lab for a year and a half and no one bothered to search it. So what other evidence have they missed? It was a sentiment echoed by others. With almost two years passing and no significant developments in the case, some questioned whether the police had blundered the investigation from the get-go. When members of the media had first arrived at the crime scene, the police cordon had been temporarily brought down

so that camera operators and news reporters could wander throughout the parking area and capture their desired footage. This led to accusations that vital evidence could have been missed or compromised. Furthermore, Brett Martin, the witness who discovered the shootings, wasn't even interviewed when police arrived at Le Martinez, despite being covered in blood. By the time police asked to take Brett's clothing as evidence, several days had passed and he'd already washed it. While Brett wasn't involved in any way, it added weight to criticisms that a thorough job

hadn't been done from the start. GQ journalist Sean Flynn remarked, You would think that quadruple homicides, particularly those involving middle-class professionals on vacation, would get sorted out fairly quickly. That scores of detectives hadn't managed to do so suggested either epic incompetence or criminal brilliance. The British investigation team started to grow weary of the French investigation, which had seemingly gone nowhere. The more time that passed, the more convinced they became that Sard and his family had nothing to do with it. By focusing unnecessarily on Zaid Al-Hilly, alternative lines of inquiry had gone cold. For the British investigators, all of the theories involving inheritance disputes,

industrial espionage, state-sponsored assassinations and spies, were just distractions. from the truth, that the crime had its origins in France. Earlier in 2014, French detectives revisited the possibility that Silvan Molière was the intended target. They compiled a list of anyone acquainted with Silvan or his partner Claire and set up routine interviews with each individual. Among them was 50-year-old Patrice Menagaudo, an Eugene firefighter who had previously served as a paratrooper for the French Foreign Legion. He was questioned for under an hour, but it was clear he had nothing to add. Police sent him on his way with no further thought. Two months later, Patrice took his own life. He left behind a letter that included a surprising

explanation for his abrupt suicide. He couldn't handle being considered a suspect for the annesies shootings. Investigators were stunned. They'd never considered Patrice to be a person of interest, nor was he ever held in custody. But now they were left wondering whether Patrice Menagado had killed himself because he was in fact involved with the crime and was consumed by guilt. It seemed so illogical that a hardened soldier who had firsthand experience in foreign conflicts would be driven to the brink by something as minor as a cursory police interview, unless he had something to hide. An examination of Patrice's life revealed he suffered psychological problems from his 20 years in the

Foreign Legion. He was also proficient with firearms and had local knowledge of the Chevoline area. All of these factors fit the profile for the annesy shooter, but they didn't explain why Patrice waited two months after being interviewed by police to end his life. and if he was responsible, why had it taken almost two years since the crime for the guilt to finally become unbearable? Patrice Managado quickly rose to the top of the suspect list, but an in-depth inquiry failed to find any evidence to link him to the crime. September 2014 came and went, marking a bitter two-year anniversary of the unsolved crime. In a bid to identify the mysterious motorcyclist seen near the crime scene, police continued to cross-check mobile phone records with motorcycle license data.

In February 2015, their hard work finally paid off. The rider was identified as a 57-year-old man from the city of Leon, located roughly 150 kilometres west of Chevoline. He explained that he'd been in the Annesie region on the day of the shootings by accident. He was an enthusiastic paraglider and the particularly nice weather that day had inspired him to ride the hills above Lake Anasi

to scope the area for potential paragliding spots. He recalled having a brief encounter with the two forestry workers but said he left the area after they warned him about the restricted road. He hadn't noticed anything suspicious and hadn't been following the story of the murders in the media, so it never even occurred to him to come forward to clear himself as a witness. Police had no reason to doubt this man's story. He was a reputable businessman with a wife and children and no criminal record.

Nothing about him fit the profile of the killer, nor was there any evidence to link him to the crime. He was released without charge, with his name suppressed from the media. Identifying the motorcyclist after all this time was a woman. significant development, but all it did was rule out the possibility that the motorcyclist was involved. If anything, it was a case of one step forward, two steps back. As the years continued to pass with no breakthroughs, a new French prosecutor and lead British detective were eventually assigned to the case. They revisited the evidence from scratch in the hopes that fresh eyes might uncover new leads. The British team officially

cleared Zaheed Al-Hilly from their list of suspects. Zaheed told the Channel 4 documentary Murder in the Alps that the whole falling out with his brother was, quote, stupid and silly, and it shouldn't really have happened, but you can't turn the clock back. Zahid believes the investigation was thwarted from the beginning, and that French investigators were blindsided by racism. They didn't want the crime to have originated in their country,

so they saw the Middle Eastern Finlayers. family as the perfect cover-up. Zahid told GQ Magazine. To be honest with you, I don't think there was an investigation. I think this was a declaration of war against us. I think they hoped these Arabs would be terrorists or drug dealers. I think we were manor from heaven for them. The former lead investigator for the British team, Mark Preston,

appeared on the same Channel 4 documentary to reveal some new information for the first time. He said that just before the shootings, Silvan Moliere's bicycle chain had come loose. Ballistic evidence indicated that Sylvan had been shot when he was slightly bent over. Preston hypothesized that the killer could have been hiding in some nearby trees and pulled the trigger when Silvan stopped to check his bike chain. He stated, You don't need to be a seasoned investigator to realize that the person who is shot first, last, and most, is not going to be the witness, it is going to be the intended target. To me, it was very clear the killer wanted Molière dead.

The French investigation team disputed this, as it was scientifically impossible to determine the order in which the victims were shot. By 2021, three French investigators continued to work on the case full-time. They trawled through the files, starting to be the case. from scratch to see if anything had been missed. A full reconstruction of the crime scene was done, complete with witnesses. In February, the new lead prosecutor, Lin Bonnet, told Swiss reporters, I think we're nearly there, will succeed thanks to scientific evidence. This is not a cold case at all.

Four months later, the unnamed motorcyclist who had previously been cleared from the investigation was placed under arrest. It's unclear if this was based on the revelation of any new evidence. The man was questioned in custody, but released shortly after, with his lawyer stating, I hope that those guilty will be found, and I hope my client will never be considered a suspect again. This man's position is still the same. He did not cross paths with this poor family.

According to some reports, he remains. a suspect. With nothing to link either the Al-Hillis or Silvan-Mollier to the motive for the crime, the prevailing theory for French investigators is that the annesy shootings were most likely a random attack, committed by a lone gunman with no ties to the victims. The unsolved case has piqued the interest of many online sleuths. They continue to discuss possible theories, including that the victims could have been targeted by one of several serial killers who were active around France and Switzerland. Investigators have considered this theory too, but ultimately ruled it out.

Zainab and Zina Al-Hilly are now teenagers and have since been given new identities. In June 2022, British investigators interviewed Zainab one more time to see if she could offer any further insight almost a decade after the fact. According to Liu Parisian newspaper, Zainab's recollection was now clearer. After arriving at Le Matanet, Zainab and Sard got out of the car. She remembered seeing Silvan Moliere on his bicycle. As the rest of her family were about to get out, gunshot suddenly rang out. Zanab's parents ordered her back into the vehicle, but as she tried to get back in, she was grabbed from behind.

She first thought the person who grabbed her was her father, until she caught a glimpse of their bare hands and realized they were white. Zayneb struggled, but was unable to free herself from their grip. All she could remember before losing consciousness was that the killer was wearing long trousers and a leather jacket. With the ongoing conjecture, many who have worked on the case describe it as one of the most difficult they've ever been involved with. as prosecutor Eric Mayu remarked to journalist Tom Parry

We have tried everything possible, but perhaps we're in the presence of the perfect crime.