Suspect arrested in British family murder

An arrest has been made over the gunning down of Saad al-Hilli in September 2012, along with his wife and her mother, near the French village of Chevaline.

French police have arrested a 48-year-old man as part of their investigation into the 2012 murders of a British-Iraqi family and a cyclist in the Alps.

Annecy prosecutor Eric Maillaud said the man, from the Haute-Savoie region, was placed in formal custody and was detained following the release in November of an identikit image of a mysterious motorcyclist seen near where the quadruple murder took place.

"This arrest, which may not be the only one, was the result of witness statements" that came in after the image was released, Maillaud said.

Saad al-Hilli was gunned down in September 2012 along with his wife and her mother in a woodland car park close to the village of Chevaline in the hills above Lake Annecy.

His two daughters survived the gruesome attack but French cyclist Sylvain Mollier, apparently an innocent bystander, was also killed.

Police have struggled to make any progress in the case, despite a major investigation carried out in co-ordination with British officers.

Al-Hilli's brother Zaid was arrested in Britain in June 2103 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, but police said in January there was insufficient evidence to press charges.


2 min read

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Updated

Source: AAP



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