In brief
The discovery of a Luger P06 pistol in Lake Annecy has breathed new life into the longstanding case of the 2012 killings that claimed Saad al‑Hilli, his wife and mother‑in‑law. Forensic tests aim to confirm the weapon’s identity, while investigators revisit theories of a motive‑less assault or a targeted hit. Ancillary evidence points to possible links with the Swiss border and family disputes over money, but no suspect has yet emerged. Authorities now urge the public for any new information that could bring closure to the grieving family.
Police investigating the unsolved murder of a British family in France have a surprising new clue after a Luger pistol was found in Lake Annecy.
When Saad al‑Hilli with his wife and mother‑in‑law were shot in September 2012, a fragment of the firearm’s butt left investigators confident that the weapon was a Luger P06, a classic Swiss army pistol that once appeared on the shelves of collectors’ keepsakes.
In August 2024, British tourists on a boat tour discovered the pistol 2 metres beneath the water – a weight that would not have seemed at all like a miniature watergun.
The wreckage was located just outside the caravan camp Le Solitaire du Lac, the very spot where the family’s vacation had last been recorded.
Forensic experts are now examining the stainless‑steel frame and barrel, hoping to establish if it matches the Luger model that the earlier investigation linked to the fatal shots.
Although the Luger P06 is far from a typical hunting rifle, the fact that the weapon was found in or near the murder scene fuels speculation: could the shooters have remembered the familys presence in the lake? Or simply used a readily available handgun to drive a pre‑planned intimidation act?
The murders spread the remains of a dramatic story: the two al‑Hilli daughters aged 4 and 7 survived, one suffering a head injury inflicted by the butt of the pistol whilst the other was rescued from the car after a delay. A passing cyclist also met the same fate, as the investigators noted.
Investigators have, over the years, cycled through theories of a family money feud, a random act of violence and a calculated agency hit. The recent discovery provides a new tangible link to tie those possibilities together.
By Hugh Schofield, Paris correspondent
