Gun found in Lake Annecy may be linked to 2012 unsolved killings of British family

Key facts

• A Luger pistol was found in Lake Annecy by British tourists on August 20.
• Authorities are investigating the pistol for a potential link to the 2012 Chevaline murders.
• The weapon bears similarities to the gun believed to have been used in the 2012 killings.
• The 2012 incident claimed the lives of a British-Iraqi family and a French cyclist.
• The al-Hilli family's two young daughters survived the attack.

French authorities are examining a Luger pistol recovered from the bottom of Lake Annecy, which could be connected to the unsolved murders of a British-Iraqi family and a French cyclist that occurred 14 years ago. The weapon was found by British tourists swimming in the lake on August 20 and exhibits characteristics similar to the firearm used in the 2012 attack.

In the 2012 incident, Saad al-Hilli, 50, his wife Iqbal, 47, her mother Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, and French cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, were found deceased on a mountain road near Lake Annecy. The al-Hilli daughters, aged four and seven, were the sole survivors; the younger was found hidden, while the elder sustained gunshot wounds.

Prosecutors in Nanterre confirmed the investigation into the pistol, noting that ballistics experts previously involved in the case identified a specific 1935 model of a Swiss Luger pistol as the likely murder weapon. Fragments from the handgrip of this model, a Luger P06-29 in calibre 7.65 parabellum, were discovered at the 2012 crime scene. Investigations at the time explored potential motives related to al-Hilli's past as an engineer working on sensitive topics in Iraq and his professional activities at the time of his death.