Gun found in Alps lake by tourists could help finally solve 14-year-old violent murders of al-Hilli family

An unexpected discovery by a group of tourists could help finally uncover the violent murder of a family in the French alps that shocked the world 14 years ago.

The bodies of Saad al-Hilli, 50, his wife Iqbal, 47 and her mother Suihaila-al-Allaf, 74, alongside nearby cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, were found near a bullet-ridden vehicle in a Chevaline village in 2012, with the image sparking intrigue worldwide over what could have led to such a brutal, seemingly random attack.

The victims had been shot through the head with a Luger model P06 — a type of pistol used by the Swiss army until around 1960.

The attacker is also believed to have pistol-whipped the couple’s eldest daughter, Zainab, then aged seven, shattering the butt of the weapon in the process.

She survived along with her younger sister Zeena, four, who hid in the skirt of her dead mother.

For months following the violent murders, detectives tried to find the Luger pistol used to commit the murders at the Alpine beauty spot.

Despite testimony from 800 witnesses and thousands of hours of footage from roadside cameras, the murder weapon and its owner were never found.

But now France’s cold case unit has confirmed the discovery of a Luger in Lake Annecy, not far from the scene of the murders, by a group of British tourists who found the weapon lying in two metres of water.

Marie-Céline Lawrysz, the deputy prosecutor in the investigation, said that analysis of the weapon was now a priority for the department.

“I can confirm that a weapon, which appears to be a P06, was discovered on Aug 29 by British tourists in Lake Annecy,” Ms Lawrysz told The Telegraph.

“This weapon was handed over to the Chambéry criminal investigation department, which is acting under a letter of request from the investigator appointed by the investigating magistrates of the unsolved serial crimes unit.

“Analyses are currently underway to enable a forensic examination to be carried out; this examination will be launched to establish and determine whether there is a link between this weapon and the one used during the Chevaline killings.”

“[The weapon] was submerged in the lake for some time. It may take a while before we get the results.”