Police probing the unsolved 2012 murders of Saad al‑Hilli and his family in France have uncovered a Luger pistol in Lake Annecy, a finding that may finally link a weapon to the victims.
The gun is a Swiss‑army model P06, a rare collectible that is not a functional firearm, but fragments of the pistol butt proved it was used to shoot the victims. The Luger has a heritage of more than 60,000 units produced, with three million more sold globally.
The weapon was recovered on 20 August by British tourists who mistook it for a water pistol before recognizing its weight and examining it in the lake’s shallow water. The find was made near the campsite Le Solitaire du Lac, just a few kilometres from where the al‑Hilli family was staying.
Forensic specialists will examine the pistol for signatures that could tie it to the crime scene and potentially identify the shooter. The Luger’s Swiss origin is significant, as the model was familiar to older Swiss veterans and some French families keep them as collectibles.
The 2012 incident saw Saad al‑Hilli, a British national born in Iraq, and his wife and mother‑in‑law shot through the head in a forest road near Chevaline, with a passing cyclist also a victim. The younger al‑Hilli daughter, aged four, was unharmed, and the older, aged seven, suffered a serious head injury.
Exhaustive investigations over the years have failed to identify the assailant, with theories ranging from a family row over money to a motiveless attack or a targeted homicide against the cyclist. The discovery of the Luger could direct the focus of the cold‑case unit and potentially break the long‑standing deadlock.
