Brit sisters who survived Alps family 'massacre' could return to crime scene for reenactment- after gun found in nearby lake
Zainab and Zeena Al–Hilli could return to where their parents were fatally shot 15 years ago while on holiday in the French Alps - as the hunt to find the killer continues.
Two British sisters who got away as their parents were massacred in the French Alps could be forced to return to the crime scene for a reenactment, local authorities have said.
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Zainab Al–Hilli was just seven years old when she was left with serious injuries after she was shot in the shoulder and beaten around the head with the gun on a quiet mountain road near Lake Annecy in 2012.
Her sister, Zeena, who was four at the time, escaped by hiding in the back of the family's BMW.
While the pair survived, their father Saad Al–Hilli, 50, was fatally shot at the wheel.
His wife Iqbal, 47, and her mother Suhaila, 74, also died during the massacre, as did local cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45.
Nearly 15 years later, the two surviving sisters, now aged 21 and 18, may have to relive those traumatic moments again.
Marie-Celine Lawrysz, a prosecutor for the Nanterre cold case unit, said a reenactment of the events that took place that day is being considered, claiming this could unlock vital new evidence buried in the women's memories.
“We see this in other cases, with reconstructions involving interviews and very specific methods, with investigators highly experienced in interviewing traumatized victims who, at the scene of the events, can obtain details and new information from witnesses or victims,” she told French outlet RTL.
A reenactment date has not been confirmed as officials wait for the sisters to consent.It comes after the same type of rare pistol used to kill their family was recovered from the bottom of a nearby lake in August - near where the killings took place.
The murder weapon was a semi-automatic pistol of Swiss origin, a Luger PO6/29, identified after police found fragments of the pistol butt.The model is seen more as a collector's item than a functioning weapon, and its discovery has led to multiple theories about the killer.
Sabine Khéris, a Nanterre magistrate specialising in cold cases said the gun was built in 1935, when just 940 Lugers were made.Khéris said the killer was likely to have been “methodical and calm” and unquestionably received ‘"shoot to kill" training.
The killer reportedly used the so-called "double tap" technique, when an initial bullet is fired and second is used to confirm the kill.
Investigators have also previously pointed to the calculated manner of the killings - which suggests the murderer may have undergone elite training.
They said the horror shooting may have been conducted by a special forces soldier who “went off the rails,” French outlet le Parisien reported.
The killer is believed to be a “seasoned former soldier, trained in very particular shooting techniques” who went “off the rails.”
According to investigators, a key detail being considered is the perpetrator’s decision to conduct the killings at close range - a technique employed by the Swiss Détachement d'Action Rapide et de Dissuasion.
“This is something learned in Switzerland, not in France, or the guy is part of a specialised unit,” Kheris told Le Parisien.