On September 5 2012, a cyclist driving through the French Alps came upon a shocking scene. Married couple Saad and Iqbal al-Hilli, along with Iqbal’s elderly mother Suhaila al-Allaf, were shot execution-style while sitting in their BMW in a secluded parking spot in the woods surrounding Chevaline. 7-year-old Zainab al-Hilli clung to life on the ground nearby, while 4-year-old Zeena al-Hilli was nowhere to be seen. A local cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, was also fatally shot in the brutal killing spree.
The Annecy Shootings, Was this industrial espionage, a family dispute
An international investigation quickly raised more questions than it did answers. What were the victims doing in this isolated area? Had they been targeted as part of some sinister activity, or were they killed at random by a lone psychopath?