FAMILY TIES
Who is Zaid Al-Hilli?
And why the police turned the finger on the accountant
THE murders of a family and a lone cyclist in the French Alps have remained unsolved for 12 years.
Police struggled to figure out any suspects, but in June 2013, investigators arrested and questioned Saad's elder brother Zaid.
1
Who is Zaid Al-Hilli?
Zaid is the brother of murder victim Saad al-Hilli, who was killed near Lake Annecy in September 2012.
Saad, 50, along with wife Iqbal, 47, and mother-in-law Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were executed in their car.
Cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, was also killed.
The al-Hilli family were each shot twice in the head but Zaid's nieces Zeena, seven, and Zainab, four, survived the attack - Zeena suffered a shot to the shoulder.
Read More on the Alps Murders
Zaid remains in touch with Zeena and Zainab, who requested a payout from the French criminal injuries compensation authority for the handling of the case.
The orphaned sisters' request was denied.
He has been outspoken about the authority's approach to the murders, criticising the way it has been dealt with.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “The French authorities tried to hide the truth.
Most read in The Sun
"They are culpable in it.
“I think they know who was behind it but there’s some influential people behind Mollier.
"If there’s no resolution, I can’t see how one can get over it.”
Zaid, who is of Iraqi heritage, has suggested that racism may have played a role in the investigation.
Was he a suspect in the investigation?
One line of investigation was followed which involved Zaid as he had argued with his brother before the deaths.
He was arrested on conspiracy to murder but released with no charges.
The arrest was made due to a family feud involving the two brothers in over a £1million house which they co-owned in Surrey.
In an interview with Zaid said: “The disagreement is merely about one thing. Saad wanted the house that he was living in, my share, to give it to him.
“I’ve left it to him in a will but I wasn’t prepared to give it him there and then.”
French prosecutor Eric Maillaud maintained that Zaid was the only family member who could have a motive, but conceded that there was no evidence linking him to the crime.
When an arrest was later made, which ultimately amounted to no charges again, Zaid told The Sun Online: “I want to say that hopefully this is the end of it but we have had so many red herrings over the last few years."
"The investigation by the French hasn’t been the best and now I think they just want to show they are still working on it but it’s a little too late.
“Anyone could see that but the French insisted on going up blind alleys and trying to cover up their original mistakes."
Who killed Saad al-Hilli?
The killer of the family is still unknown as the case remains unsolved a decade on.
Arrests continue to be made as recently as January 2022, but nobody has been convicted of the four murders.
According to witness Brett Martin and the two girls, a lone motorcyclist carried out the attack.
Brett, 62, said: “In hindsight I realise I could have been the fifth victim.
“I couldn’t see their face and couldn’t even say if they were male or female.
“When they slowed right down, I thought they were going to stop and talk to me, but then they seemed to change their mind.
“When you reflect, you think, that’s interesting, because at the very least, he or she would have passed the murder scene.
“I nickname it my ‘luckiest unlucky day’. I think that if the trigger person had had a few more clips of ammunition, I wouldn’t be here.”
There are lots of theories as to why the family was killed, although many believe they were unfortunate witnesses to a hired hit on Sylvain Mollier.
The most prominent of these theories is that French Foreign Legion sniper Patrice Menegaldo had targeted the cyclist and the family had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
A masonic gang has been suggested as they are linked to murders with similar modus operandi.
Another strange twist came as it was revealed victim Iqbal had a secret American husband who died of a heart attack on the same day.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Serial killer Nordahl Lelandais or another lone psychopath have been suggested in connection with the bloodbath.
A Channel 4 three-part documentary called Murder In The Alps examines the theories and facts behind the crime.
Topics