Police investigating the unsolved 2012 murders of a British family in the French Alps have a new lead after uncovering a Luger pistol in Lake Annecy.
The victims – Saad al‑Hilli, his wife and mother‑in‑law, along with a passing cyclist – were found in their caravan, shot through the head with a Luger P06. The pistol, used by the Swiss army until the 1960s, had been identified from fragments at the crime scene.
British tourists discovered the weapon in August 2023 while walking near the Le Solitaire du Lac campsite. Misidentifying it as a water pistol, they realised its weight when they picked it up, and local authorities secured it for forensic examination.
The gun, now badly corroded after years underwater, will be tested to confirm its model and any traceable markings that could link it to a specific owner or shooter.
Lake Annecy lies only 50 kilometres from the Swiss border, where many Luger P06s, including those once issued to the army, remain in private hands. Investigation continues into whether the family’s tragedy was a targeted hit, a familial dispute, or a random act.
Although the shooting itself remains shrouded in mystery, the recovered pistol offers new data that may bring clarity to one of France’s longest‑standing unsolved crimes.
