France - 5 shot, 4 dead in French Alps, may have int'l ramifications, 2012 #2

[ZaZara]

«Ça a été un drame» : les habitants de Chevaline toujours traumatisés dix ans après

"It was a terrible tragedy": the inhabitants of Chevaline are still shocked ten years later

Ten years ago to the day, the Chevaline massacre took place near Annecy, in Haute-Savoie. A British family of Iraqi origin and a French cyclist were found dead in a car park near a forest road, each shot several times. An unexplained tragedy that still lingers in the minds of the inhabitants of the village.

The Chevaline massacre is still very present in people's memories. Ten years to the day after the tragedy, the inhabitants of this commune near Annecy in Haute-Savoie have not forgotten. The quadruple murder committed in the woods near a forest road still remains unexplained today. The investigation is still ongoing, and the murder lingers on in people's minds, especially Ginette's: "It was a tragedy, everyone searched and searched. And they found nothing. How? Why?" she still wonders.

Bernard also has no answer. This cyclist often takes the Combe d'Ire hiking trail, a stone's throw from the car park where the bodies of the British family of Iraqi origin and a French cyclist were found. "Every time I pass here, I think about it. There were these girls, I think about them. It's nice to walk along this path. But now, the shootings are always in the back of my head." Bernard also regrets that this drama has become the main story of his village. "It's a bit of a drag on the village. The name of Chevaline reminds people of this sinister event."

Ten years later, the people of Chevaline continue to come up with hypotheses, like Brigitte. "We think with the neighbours that they were meeting someone," she explains. "Because getting into a car with five people, dressed in street clothes and not going for a walk, doesn't fit in with the area at all."

Lately, the investigation has shifted to the local trail. It is difficult to envisage this for Michèle Domenge-Chenal, mayor of Chevaline. "Among us, we all know each other. And really, I can't believe that it could be one of us. It's not possible. There is no spirit of suspicion in the village, at any rate."

In Chevaline, many remain convinced that the truth about the massacre will never come to light.


BBM

 

[Lonicera]

Le dossier transmis au nouveau pôle «cold case» de Nanterre The file sent to the new “cold case” division in Nanterre​

Tuerie de Chevaline (F): Le dossier transmis au nouveau pôle «cold case» de Nanterre

The Annecy prosecutor’s office has divested itself of the investigation into Chevaline’s quadruple murder in favour of Nanterre’s new "cold case" pole. Unsolved crime specialists will continue investigations.
Ten years after the events, the investigation into the killing of Chevaline continues, but now under the aegis of the national pole dedicated to the treatment of serial or unsolved crimes of the judicial court of Nanterre. The divestment in favour of this "cold case" pole was announced this Friday by the prosecutor of the Republic of Annecy, at the origin of the transfer request.
Tuerie de Chevaline: après 10 ans d'enquête, le dossier transféré au pôle "cold case"

 

[Snoopster]

Le dossier transmis au nouveau pôle «cold case» de Nanterre The file sent to the new “cold case” division in Nanterre​

Tuerie de Chevaline (F): Le dossier transmis au nouveau pôle «cold case» de Nanterre

The Annecy prosecutor’s office has divested itself of the investigation into Chevaline’s quadruple murder in favour of Nanterre’s new "cold case" pole. Unsolved crime specialists will continue investigations.
Ten years after the events, the investigation into the killing of Chevaline continues, but now under the aegis of the national pole dedicated to the treatment of serial or unsolved crimes of the judicial court of Nanterre. The divestment in favour of this "cold case" pole was announced this Friday by the prosecutor of the Republic of Annecy, at the origin of the transfer request.
Tuerie de Chevaline: après 10 ans d'enquête, le dossier transféré au pôle "cold case"

I don't know if this is good or bad. I hope it's good news.
Are they really going to work this as a cold case and bring lots of resources to this case?

 

[ZaZara]

I don't know if this is good or bad. I hope it's good news.
Are they really going to work this as a cold case and bring lots of resources to this case?

This is good news.
I have posted about the Cold Case Division in Nanterre on another thread.

France - Maëlys De Araujo, 9, found deceased, Pont-de-Beauvoisin, 27 Aug 2017 #2

> Created within the framework of the law for confidence in the judiciary, the national judicial centre dedicated to unsolved cases and serial crimes was set up on 1 March at the judicial court of Nanterre, within the jurisdiction of the Versailles court of appeal.
> The unit is composed of three specialised investigating magistrates, a first president, a vice-prosecutor, three court clerks, as well as two judicial police officers, seconded from the Ministry of the Interior. These specialists are fully involved in the activities and cases of the national judicial centre.
> This unit is a new structure in the French judicial system, and in particular makes it possible to link complex or unsolved cases throughout France by creating a single point of contact for European and international mutual legal assistance.
> Among the cases likely to be transferred to the national judicial centre, the oldest dates back to 1972: the mysterious disappearance of the Méchinaud family (the father, mother and their two minor sons) on Christmas Eve near Cognac in Charente. The most recent ones date from 2020.
>The transfer of a case to the national centre is subject to prior consultation between the Nanterre prosecutor's office, the prosecutor's office where the case originated and the investigating magistrate in charge of the case. With regard to unsolved cases that are not time-barred in France, it is estimated that nearly 200 cases are potentially transferable.
> More than thirty-five cases are currently being examined by the unit. These include the double murder of an octogenarian couple in August 2004 in Vernou-sur-Brenne (Indre-et-Loire), which was closed in 2012.
> The case of the remains of Fort de Tamié (Savoie) and the Chevaline massacre (Haute-Savoie), two cases dating back to 2012, are also likely to be transferred to the centre in the near future.

Also:
France - Maëlys De Araujo, 9, found deceased, Pont-de-Beauvoisin, 27 Aug 2017 #2

 

[Lonicera]

I don't know if this is good or bad. I hope it's good news.
Are they really going to work this as a cold case and bring lots of resources to this case?

I sincerely think that this is good news since the local jurisdiction has not managed to solve this mystery: know that French justice is sorely lacking in resources .
So the creation of this cold case pole will allow to gather around the magistrates the best specialists that France has: I think in particular of the exploitation of DNA traces that were found at the scene of the massacre .
Very late in France on this point because many are those who fear for their privacy , so there was a lot of opposition against the creation of a delinquent file , against genetic genealogy ...
We must do justice to the four victims and I remain hopeful.

 

[General wooster]

How is it possible that the motor cyclist who was recently”cleared” could have rode past the scene of the crime and saw NOTHING?! On that tiny road this would have been impossible. What about the forest workers who told him he must turn around? Why did SM receive so many shots? What connection did FV have with SM’s in-laws? Since he was deeply rooted in the small community, he must have had connections to them. Hard to imagine why some French investigative reporter has not dived into this.

 

[ZaZara]

Tuerie de Chevaline : trois juges d'instruction du pôle "cold cases" saisis du dossier

Chevaline massacre: three investigating judges from the "cold cases" unit have been appointed to the case

Three investigating judges from the "cold cases" unit have recently been appointed to continue the investigation into the Chevaline massacre. Among them, Sabine Khéris, the magistrate who obtained the confession of Michel Fourniret in the disappearance of Estelle Mouzin.

Ten years after the tragedy, the investigation into the Chevaline massacre has taken a new turn. The three investigating judges of the national centre in charge of unsolved cases ("cold cases") have been appointed to investigate the Chevaline murder.

Among them is Sabine Kheris, who distinguished herself in March 2020 for having solved the Estelle Mouzin case. During a hearing, she managed to make serial killer Michel Fourniret confess to the murder of the girl who disappeared in Seine-et-Marne in 2003.

Next to her, two other judges have been appointed to investigate Chevaline. "It will be the first case of the cold cases unit to benefit from the joint expertise of Sabine Khéris, Nathalie Turquey and Emmanuelle Ducos, revealed the new president of the judicial court of Nanterre, Benjamin Deparis, on Monday.

"It is important not to lose momentum" on this case "of particular complexity" and which is "at a standstill, objectively", according to the magistrate.

The case of the "Chevaline massacre", a quadruple murder that has remained unsolved since 2012, was transferred at the end of September to the new "cold cases" unit in Nanterre, which has more " expert staff ", the Annecy prosecutor's office announced.

Ten years of doubts and uncertainties

On 5 September 2012, a 50-year-old British man of Iraqi origin, Saad al-Hilli, his 47-year-old wife and his 74-year-old mother-in-law were found dead in their car, shot several times in the head, on a country road near Chevaline, not far from Lake Annecy.

A local cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, 45, was also shot dead. One of the al-Hilli girls was seriously injured, while the second, curled up under her mother's legs, escaped unharmed.

The case, which has had a worldwide impact, has remained an enigma after thousands of hours of investigation and dozens of hearings.

Since its creation in March, the "cold case" unit has opened 37 investigations, 35 of which have been entrusted to investigating judges, the court chiefs announced in September.

BBM


Profile of the three investigating judges:


Sabine Khéris, 57, is well known for her investigation into the bombing that killed three French soldiers in Bouaké (Côte d'Ivoire) in 2004. She is familiar with the subject of serial crimes, having investigated the high-profile case of the kidnapping and murder of Estelle Mouzin in 2003. It was she who succeeded in getting Michel Fourniret, the Monster of the Ardennes, and his companion Monique Olivier to confess. "She doesn't make any noise, but she never gives up. She is one of the best, and has been for a long time," criminal lawyer Joseph Cohen-Sabban told the news website Actu Hauts-de-Seine.

Nathalie Turquey is the one who solved the cold case of the "Grêlé" case. Reputed to be discreet and hard-working, the Parisian magistrate took over the file on the notorious serial killer at the end of 2014, "promising to see it through to the end." Nathalie Turquey then started the case from scratch by having the witnesses and victims rehear but also by launching new investigations. "She kept her word" and François Vérove, wanted since 1986, was identified. "Fussy and uncompromising! This is a summary of the character of the magistrate, who investigated the Bertrand Cantat case after the death of Marie Trintignant in 2003, as described by an investigator in Les Jours.

Emmanuelle Ducos, for her part, is an investigating judge who has contributed to the establishment of an effective tool adapted to the specificity of litigation relating to serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. In particular, she investigated several cases related to the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda. From 2008 to 2010, Emmanuelle Ducos was assigned to the Eulex Mission, led by the European Union, aiming at the restoration of the rule of law in Kosovo.

CHEVALINE | Tuerie : Qui sont les nouvelles juges ? Les explications du magistrat annécien Jacques Dallest

 

[Cluesleuth]

Were there any tyre print moulds taken from the layby that suggested other vehicles had also used the the laybay?
In particular a motor cycle or 4 wheel drive vehicle?

 

[Cluesleuth]

Does anyone know if the french cyclists gunshot entry wounds were all to the front of his body?

 

[5W's]

Does anyone know if the french cyclists gunshot entry wounds were all to the front of his body?

Good question. IDK but perhaps you can look at the initial coverage and it may have info. I know there were some diagrams of the scene as well, when this case came to light initially. If you do find the answers please post what your assumption or train of thought could be. I'm sure there are those of us who would be interested on this thread.

 

[Cluesleuth]

Good question. IDK but perhaps you can look at the initial coverage and it may have info. I know there were some diagrams of the scene as well, when this case came to light initially. If you do find the answers please post what your assumption or train of thought could be. I'm sure there are those of us who would be interested on this thread.

On viewing some of the news reports and and documentaries there is some variation in the position of the child, french cyclist and his bicycle if there is an official mapping of the crime scene and the victims I would like to work off that.

Having recently watched the 3 part documentry of the murders screened on UK, part 3 includes a short clip of Ex-DCI Mark Preston who was the senior investigating officer for Surrey Police, he was revisiting the scene for the documentry and gave his view of what he thought happened that day. I would like to compare what he suggests with the actual positions of the frenchmans body and his bicycle and how this inturn compares with the account the English cyclist gave as he came upon the scene on the actual day which I would always defer to as more acurate.

A few random questions

1. Was it absolutely confirmed that SH had been outside of the car with his daughter ZH. - were any footprint moulds /photographed/forensically soil match taken.
2. I believe ZH was shot in the shoulder is this true.
3. The Al Hilli's car was severely reversed into a bank. What was the original position of the car on arrival at the layby.

 

[ZaZara]

A few random questions

1. Was it absolutely confirmed that SH had been outside of the car with his daughter ZH. - were any footprint moulds /photographed/forensically soil match taken.
2. I believe ZH was shot in the shoulder is this true.
3. The Al Hilli's car was severely reversed into a bank. What was the original position of the car on arrival at the layby.

RSBM

IMO these questions are best posed to the French Prosecutors. They have all the files with the data that their investigations have yielded. I don't think it likely that they will share their info with you (why would they?) but you can try anyway.

The daughter has tesitfied that she and her father had got out of the car, this much has been published in the press.

Hope this helps, and I regret that you will have to make do with what is available in the press. IMO the sources in French are better than many outlets in English.

 

[Cluesleuth]

RSBM

IMO these questions are best posed to the French Prosecutors. They have all the files with the data that their investigations have yielded. I don't think it likely that they will share their info with you (why would they?) but you can try anyway.

The daughter has tesitfied that she and her father had got out of the car, this much has been published in the press.

Hope this helps, and I regret that you will have to make do with what is available in the press. IMO the sources in French are better than many outlets in English.

Thank you ZaZara

I agree I very much doubt they will share as this is an open case.
I was hoping that some members who have ammassed more knowledge on the case may have those answers.

I have seen it published in the press a theory that SH had exited the car with ZH, but I have not seen the that ZH tesified to this, do you have a link to this at all?

The only account of ZH's memory of the day that I have read is that the man had a white hand, was wearing long trousers and a leather jacket, and she had struggled to get away from the man.

 

[ZaZara]

Thank you ZaZara

I agree I very much doubt they will share as this is an open case.
I was hoping that some members who have ammassed more knowledge on the case may have those answers.

I have seen it published in the press a theory that SH had exited the car with ZH, but I have not seen the that ZH tesified to this, do you have a link to this at all?

The only account of ZH's memory of the day that I have read is that the man had a white hand, was wearing long trousers and a leather jacket, and she had struggled to get away from the man.

Here's how you do it:

Go to the upper right corner of the screen to the search engine. It says Search.
Fill in the search word Zainab. Choose the option 'this thread'
Click Search (and not Advanced Search)

I found the following by putting my own forum name in the section for By....

This post of mine came up, page 30 of this thread, we are currently on page 31:

France - 5 shot, 4 dead in French Alps, may have int'l ramifications, 2012 #2

In June 2021, Zainab al-Hilli was interviewed by the British police at her request. The teenager, now 16, gave a uniquely detailed account of the tragedy. She recounted the beginning of the family car journey and the arrival at the Martinet car park, on the heights of Chevaline. The place is isolated, in the heart of a forest, on the edge of a small road full of potholes. She and her father get out of the BMW estate car. A local cyclist - Sylvain Mollier from Savoie - is already there, perhaps stopping off for a break. The other members of the al-Hilli family are about to get out of the car when gunfire breaks out. There is panic. Zainab hears Saad, her father, and Ikbal, her mother, ordering her to get into the car immediately. But the girl does not have the time.

In her memory, a man is holding her from behind. At first she thinks it is her father, notices the white skin and bare hands of her attacker and realises that it cannot be him. Zainab struggles but cannot break free from the grip.

There are more postings about Zainab, how she was found and what she saw, but IMO this testimony is the most detailed one.

 

[Cluesleuth]

Here's how you do it:

Go to the upper right corner of the screen to the search engine. It says Search.
Fill in the search word Zainab. Choose the option 'this thread'
Click Search (and not Advanced Search)

I found the following by putting my own forum name in the section for By....

This post of mine came up, page 30 of this thread, we are currently on page 31:

France - 5 shot, 4 dead in French Alps, may have int'l ramifications, 2012 #2



There are more postings about Zainab, how she was found and what she saw, but IMO this testimony is the most detailed one.

Thank you this will be a useful

 

[General wooster]

I am anxiously awaiting news on the connection Frederick Vaglio who has been arrested in regard to hired hitman business. He lived in Chevaline, had a ”business” there, and was found to be in possess of the same caliber bullets used in this crime. I am surprised to not see tighter news coverage.

 

[shadwell]

On viewing some of the news reports and and documentaries there is some variation in the position of the child, french cyclist and his bicycle if there is an official mapping of the crime scene and the victims I would like to work off that.

Having recently watched the 3 part documentry of the murders screened on UK, part 3 includes a short clip of Ex-DCI Mark Preston who was the senior investigating officer for Surrey Police, he was revisiting the scene for the documentry and gave his view of what he thought happened that day. I would like to compare what he suggests with the actual positions of the frenchmans body and his bicycle and how this inturn compares with the account the English cyclist gave as he came upon the scene on the actual day which I would always defer to as more acurate.

A few random questions

1. Was it absolutely confirmed that SH had been outside of the car with his daughter ZH. - were any footprint moulds /photographed/forensically soil match taken.
2. I believe ZH was shot in the shoulder is this true.
3. The Al Hilli's car was severely reversed into a bank. What was the original position of the car on arrival at the layby.

1. Zainab told police she and her father got out of the car. SAH was also shot in the lower back (base of the spine) in the first volley as he got back into the car.
2. Yes. One bullet; left shoulder; from behind.
3. At a 45 degree angle, facing uphill close to the “Parc des Bauges” sign at the top end of the Le Martinet parking.

 

[General wooster]

IMO getting at motive is essential and developing to become clear with the possible involvement of hired killers already in custody. The puzzle is getting clear. Not random. Planned in conspiracy the way it looks to me.

 

[ZaZara]

Tuerie de Chevaline: les enquêteurs sur les traces de l'arme du quadruple meurtre


Ten years after the quadruple homicide, the "cold case" unit in Nanterre is aiming to find the perpetrator by focusing on the semi-automatic pistol that was used.

New impetus in the investigation into the Chevaline massacre. The Nanterre unit dedicated to serial and unsolved crimes (nicknamed the "cold case" unit) has been working since September on one of the most emblematic unsolved French cases of recent years.

And to try to advance the investigations, the investigating judge Sabine Khéris is calling on the investigators to focus on the weapon of the crimes, an old semi-automatic pistol, according to information from Le Parisien.

In a document obtained by our colleagues, Sabine Khéris instructs all police services in France to "report to the investigativer section of Chambéry any discovery or destruction of a P06 handgun (Luger type) of 7.65mm parabellum calibre as well as any discovery of ammunition of this calibre".

If the investigating judge is so interested in the weapon used by the perpetrator, it is because it is the only known element in the file that would make it possible to get hold of a suspect. It was precisely with an old Luger semi-automatic pistol that three members of the British family of Iraqi origin al-Hilli and a cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, were shot dead on 5 September 2012 in the village of Chevaline in Savoie.

In addition, as the perpetrator used the butt of a pistol on one of the two little girls who survived the attack, a fragment of the weapon was found at the scene of the crime, making it possible to target a certain range of the weapon in question.

According to Le Parisien, the courts had already been able to reduce the number of weapons to be examined to 3,000 thanks to this clue. However, so far, the searches have yielded nothing, hence the judge's call to remain vigilant and to report any discovery, even when they have been used for burglaries or suicides.


BBM

 

[shadwell]

Tuerie de Chevaline: les enquêteurs sur les traces de l'arme du quadruple meurtre


Ten years after the quadruple homicide, the "cold case" unit in Nanterre is aiming to find the perpetrator by focusing on the semi-automatic pistol that was used.

New impetus in the investigation into the Chevaline massacre. The Nanterre unit dedicated to serial and unsolved crimes (nicknamed the "cold case" unit) has been working since September on one of the most emblematic unsolved French cases of recent years.

And to try to advance the investigations, the investigating judge Sabine Khéris is calling on the investigators to focus on the weapon of the crimes, an old semi-automatic pistol, according to information from Le Parisien.

In a document obtained by our colleagues, Sabine Khéris instructs all police services in France to "report to the investigativer section of Chambéry any discovery or destruction of a P06 handgun (Luger type) of 7.65mm parabellum calibre as well as any discovery of ammunition of this calibre".

If the investigating judge is so interested in the weapon used by the perpetrator, it is because it is the only known element in the file that would make it possible to get hold of a suspect. It was precisely with an old Luger semi-automatic pistol that three members of the British family of Iraqi origin al-Hilli and a cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, were shot dead on 5 September 2012 in the village of Chevaline in Savoie.

In addition, as the perpetrator used the butt of a pistol on one of the two little girls who survived the attack, a fragment of the weapon was found at the scene of the crime, making it possible to target a certain range of the weapon in question.

According to Le Parisien, the courts had already been able to reduce the number of weapons to be examined to 3,000 thanks to this clue. However, so far, the searches have yielded nothing, hence the judge's call to remain vigilant and to report any discovery, even when they have been used for burglaries or suicides.


BBM

A somewhat underwhelming opening gambit from the pôle cold case - the parquet d’Annecy and the Swiss were doing this years ago, to no avail. What next? Another GAV for the Lyon motorcyclist?