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Al-Hilli massacre: Man held was policeman at time of killings Al-Hilli massacre: Crimes are “not solved” says prosecutor, as a second man is arrested
(35 minutes later)
A second man has been detained over the killings of a British family in the Alps, according to a French prosecutor. The mystery of the Al-Hilli family massacre in the French Alps remains unsolved despite the arrest of a 48-year-old local man, leading investigators said today.
The local man arrested earlier for questioning about the Al-Hilli massacre was a policeman at the time of the killings, it has emerged. A second local man – also 48 years old – was arrested today for questioning about his links with the former policeman, Eric D, who was arrested on Tuesday.
The 48-year-old man, identified by the French press as “Eric D.”, is a father of three and a gun-lover with a reputation for making racist remarks. He was dismissed from his job as a municipal policeman – a low level, unarmed officer – in a nearby town last June, nine months after the quadruple murder on a forest road above Lake Annecy. The pair are suspected of running an illegal trade in old World War Two weapons, including grenades and shells.
Sources in the investigation say that they are now concentrating on the likelihood that an “isolated, local” gunman was responsible for the brutal murder of three members of the British-Iraqi Al-Hilli family and a French cyclist on 5 September 2012. They admit, however, that they have no firm evidence against “Eric D”, who is regarded at this stage as a “key witness” rather than a formal “suspect”. But the Annecy prosecutor, Eric Maillaud, told a press conference this afternoon that there was no clear evidence “so far” linking either man to the brutal murder of three members of the British-Iraqi Al-Hilli family and a French cyclist 18 months ago.
Neighbours told local journalists, however, that they had never seen “Eric D” riding a motorcycle. He has identified by gendarmerie detectives as a possible “witness” or “suspect” because of his physical resemblance to a beefy, bearded man seen riding a motorbike close to the forest lay-by where the murders happened.     Mr Maillaud said that the former policeman had a record or making racist remarks and had also verbally “attacked” foreign tourists in the past. His mobile phone records showed that, on 5 September 2012, when he was still a municipal police officer in a nearby town, he was close to the scene of the massacre near the village of Chevaline.
Neighbours and acquaintances painted a mixed portrait of Eric D. Alexis, a waiter in Menthon-Saint Bernard where he was once a policeman, described him as “very nice”  and “always ready to listen”. After he was dismissed from the local force, he worked for a Swiss security firm and gained the nickname, in English, “Men in Black”. The phone records suggest that he “could have been present” at the scene of the murders but offer no definite proof, Mr Mailaud said. Bullets of 7.65 mm calibre, similar to those used in the quadruple murder, were found in police raids on two houses owned by Eric D in villages near Chevaline on Tuesday.
Other local people described him as a un unpleasant “aggressive” man, who loved to hand out parking tickets and was known for making “xenophobic” or “racist” remarks. The prosecutor said that the former policeman also bore a strong physical resemblance to a motorcyclist seen near the murder scene who has ignored all appeals to come forward.
According to the regional newspaper, Le Dauphine Liberé, records of Eric D’s  mobile phone show that he was close to the murder scene on 5 September but it is unclear how close.  On the other hand, Mr Maillaud said, there was no firm evidence so far tying the former policeman to the murders. An antique Luger revolver found in one of the houses was not the one used by the killer. He had no known connection with the Al-Hilli family and none with the French cyclist who was also murdered.
According to French press reports, at least seven other local people may be arrested for “acting as a criminal gang”. It is unclear whether they will be accused of involvement in the quadruple murder itself or whether they are thought to have conspired to cover the tracks of the murderer. “As I speak, the slaughter at Chevaline is not yet explained,” Mr Maillaud said. “Nothing points to the fact that we have perhaps found the murderer. The investigation must continue. ”
Eric D was under questioning for a second day today at the regional gendarmerie headquarters in Chambéry. He can be held for up to four days before a judge has to decide whether or not he should be released. The theory of a random crime by an “isolated, local” gunman was being taken seriously, he said. But all other lines of investigation, including a quarrel over a will within the Al-Hilli family, “remained open”.
Eric D had been under surveillance for several weeks before he was arrested on Tuesday. A number of local people had tipped off gendarmes about his resemblance to an e-fit sketch released in November last year of the biker seen close to the massacre.. Zaid Al-Hilli, elder brother of Saad who died in the shootings, was still considered a possible “suspect” he said.
Eric D had been under surveillance for several weeks before he was arrested. A number of local people had tipped off gendarmes about his resemblance to an e-fit sketch released in November last year of the biker seen close to the massacre.
Forestry workers told gendarmes at the time that they had seen a beefy man with a beard on a private road in the mountains just above the crime scene. He was wearing a rare type of motorcycle helmet with a sideways opening at the mouth and jaw.Forestry workers told gendarmes at the time that they had seen a beefy man with a beard on a private road in the mountains just above the crime scene. He was wearing a rare type of motorcycle helmet with a sideways opening at the mouth and jaw.
Just after he was seen, a gunman attacked the Iraqi-British Al-Hilli family in their maroon-coloured BNW estate car in a lay-by at the end of a steeply winding forest road near the village of Chevaline.  Saad al-Hilli, 50, a satellite engineer from Surrey, his wife, Iqbal, 47, and her mother Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were shot repeatedly.  A local cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, 45, was found lying dead beside their car, shot several times in the head and body.  Just after he was seen, a gunman attacked the Iraqi-British Al-Hilli family in their maroon-coloured BNW estate car in a lay-by at the end of a steeply winding forest road. Saad al-Hilli, 50, a satellite engineer from Surrey, his wife, Iqbal, 47, and her mother Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were shot repeatedly. A local cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, 45, was found lying dead beside their car, shot several times in the head and body. 
September 2012: Police guard the road to the spot where Saad al-Hilli and his family were killed Seven-year-old Zainab al-Hilli was found alive outside the car, beaten savagely about the head and face and wounded by a gunshot in her shoulder. Her sister, Zeena, aged 4, was found eight hours after the killings,, unharmed but terrified, hiding under her dead mother’s legs. Seven-year-old Zainab al-Hilli was found alive outside the car, beaten savagely about the head and face and wounded by a gunshot in her shoulder. Her sister, Zeena, aged 4, was found eight hours after the killings, unharmed but terrified, hiding under her dead mother’s legs.
The murders have generated several official lines of inquiry – and a host of wild speculations – but their motive has never been clear. The only other person arrested during an 18 months long, joint French-British investigation was Mr Al-Hilli’s older brother, Zaid. September 2012: Police guard the road to the spot where Saad al-Hilli and his family were killed
He was questioned by Surrey police last year about a  quarrel with his brother over their father’s Pounds 800,000 will but was released without charge. Surrey police said last month that there was no evidence to link him with the killings.  Eric D was identified by French journalists as a father of three and a gun-lover with a reputation for making racist remarks. He was dismissed from his job as a municipal policeman – a low-level, unarmed officer – in a nearby town last June, nine months after the murders.
The Annecy prosecutor, Mr Maillaud, said last September, on the anniversary of the massacre, that the investigation team was also looking at the possibility of connections with Iraqi politics or “ industrial espionnage” linked to Mr Al-Hill’s work as a satellite engineer. Neighbours told local journalists, however, that they had never seen Eric D riding a motorcycle. He was identified by gendarmerie detectives as a possible “witness” or “suspect” after pubic tip-offs that he resembled a sketch published in November of the beefy, bearded motorcyclist seen in the mountains above the forest lay-by where the murders happened.     
Mr Maillaud played down the possibility that the killings were the work of a lone psychopath. He also dismissed the possibility that the local cyclist, Sylvain Moller was the real target.  Neighbours and acquaintances painted a mixed portrait of Eric D. Alexis, a waiter in Menthon-Saint Bernard where he was once a policeman, described him as “very nice” and “always ready to listen”. When he was dismissed from the local force, he worked for a Swiss security firm and gained the nickname, in English, “Men in Black”.
Other local people descrbed him as an unpleasant, “aggressive” man, who loved to hand out parking tickets and was known for making “xenophobic” or “racist” remarks. 
According to the regional newspaper, Le Dauphine Liberé, records of Eric D’s mobile phone show that he was close to the murder scene on 5 September but it is unclear how close. 
Eric D was under questioning for a second day today at the regional gendarmerie headquarters in Chambéry. Mr Maillaud said that he and the other man would be formally accused of illegal trafficking in antique arms, including grenades and shells from World War Two.
The murders have generated several official lines of inquiry – and a host of wild speculations – but their motive has never been clear. The only other person arrested during an 18-month joint French-British investigation was Mr Al-Hilli’s older brother, Zaid.
He was questioned by Surrey police last year about a  quarrel with his brother over their father’s £800,000 will but was released without charge. Surrey police said last month that there was no evidence to link him with the killings.