A Luger handgun recovered from the bed of Lake Annecy by British tourists is being examined over a possible link to the unsolved killings of a British-Iraqi family and a French cyclist in the French Alps.
The weapon was found on August 20 while the tourists were swimming in the lake, close to the Solitaire du Lac campsite. It was lying about two metres below the surface, a few dozen metres from the shore.
French investigators are now carrying out forensic and ballistic checks to establish whether it is the same type of pistol used in the Chevaline murders on September 5, 2012.
French prosecutor Marie-Céline Lawrysz said the tourists kept the firearm for around 24 hours while researching its identity online. They handed it to gendarmes at the local Saint-Jorioz brigade on August 21.
The investigation is being overseen by the Nanterre unit responsible for serial and unsolved crimes. Authorities have stressed that the discovery does not yet prove the weapon was involved in the massacre.
Lake Annecy Luger examined over Chevaline murders
Saad al-Hilli, 50, his wife Iqbal, 47, and her mother, Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were shot dead in their BMW near the village of Chevaline. Sylvain Mollier, a 45-year-old local cyclist, was also killed.
The couple’s two young daughters survived the attack. One, aged seven at the time, was seriously injured, while her four-year-old sister was found hiding beneath her mother’s body.
Investigators believe the gunman used a vintage Swiss-made Luger P06-29 pistol. Fragments from the weapon’s grip were found at the scene, but the firearm itself has never been recovered.
The newly found pistol is expected to undergo detailed examination, including checks of its serial number and any forensic traces that may have survived its time underwater. Any match with evidence from the 2012 killings could provide a significant new lead in one of France’s most closely watched cold cases.
