Seven mysteries in French Alps massacre of Brit family including Masonic gang, Saddam Hussein hitmen & secret husband

THE MASSACRE of a British household slaughtered within the Alps stays unsolved ten years on with enduring mysteries persevering with to hold over the case.

French cops have made an arrest as we speak of a person over the killing of Saad al-Hilli, 50, his spouse Iqbal, 47, and his mother-in-law Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, in September 2012.

Saad al-Hilli and his spouse Iqbal have been gunned down within the horrific killing within the Alps

French cops have been baffled by the horrific slaughter for the previous 10 yearsCredit score: Doug Seeburg - The Solar

All three killed have been ruthlessly slayed with "double faucet" photographs to the top by a shooter who circled their parked BMW.

The couple's daughter, Zeena, 4, hid within the footwell of the car and was unscathed, whereas her sister, Zainab, seven, was shot and crushed however made an excellent restoration.

French bicycle owner Sylvain Mollier, 45, additionally died within the massacre, after being shot seven occasions at point-blank vary. 

And as we speak's arrest is lengthy awaited progress after a globe-spanning investigation because the motive stays unknown.

Prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis has all the time insisted that the enquiry was nonetheless very a lot energetic regardless of little motion over the killings close to magnificence spot Lake Annecy in jap France.

Even with as we speak's arrests nevertheless, quite a few mysteries nonetheless endure - and listed below are seven which proceed to loom over the stunning slaughter over a decade on.

SADDAM'S HITMEN

Might the household's alleged hyperlinks to Saddam Hussein have led to their deaths?Credit score: AFP - Getty

French cops probed potential hyperlinks between the al-Hilli household and deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

It had been speculated the household's hyperlinks to the collapsed regime might have led to the murders.

Hussein was hanged in 2006 - however he's reported to have hyperlinks to Saad's dad Kadhim, who fled from Iraq to Britain in Nineteen Seventies.

German intelligence reportedly discovered that Kadhim was on the listing of "beneficiaries" of funds from Huseein's fortune.

It was found in 2012 that £840,000 linked to Saddam had reportedly been transferred to Kadhim's account in Geneva.

Kadhim left behind appreciable wealth to his son in his will - and it understood there have been tensions between him and Hussein.

And in 2014 a suspected Iraqi contract killer was arrested over the murders - however he was by no means charged.

MASONIC GANG

It has been recommended that Saad and his household could not have been the meant goal of the murdersCredit score: AFP

One other twist within the case final 12 months noticed strategies that the al-Hillis could have been killed by a gang linked to the Freemasons.

The Freemasons are the oldest organisation on the planet - a secretive membership that operates "lodges" around the globe.

It was reported that Frederick Vaglio was the "Godfather" of a gang of hitmen who could have been concerned within the killings.

Members of the Athanor Gang — named after his Paris Freemasons lodge — are stated to have confessed to involvement in contract killings and spying on and assaulting victims.

Suspected killings by the gang are stated to be much like the homicide of the household - together with a layby slaughter in 2019.

And it has been speculated that Sylvain was the meant sufferer in spite of everything — and that the al-Hillis have been simply tragic passers-by who have been killed by the gang.

SECRET HUSBAND

American handyman James Thompson was secret married to Iqbal - and died on the identical day hundreds of miles away within the USCredit score: FACEBOOK

One other unusual twist within the case got here in 2014 when it emerged that Iqbal had a secret husband she saved in contact with, American handyman James Thompson.

And the hyperlink obtained even stranger when it was revealed that Thompson died on the exact same day because the household some 5,000 miles away in Natchez, Mississippi.

He stopped at a crimson gentle and sat lifeless within the driver's seat for 45 minutes after struggling a coronary heart assault.

Onlookers thought he had simply damaged down.

French police revealed the hyperlink as a part of the investigation and it additional muddied the waters across the case.

It was recommended on the time that Thompson's physique may very well be exhumed by the FBI to see if he died of foul play.

No concrete hyperlinks between the 2 deaths have ever been established.

The 2 are believed to have been married for "comfort" so Iqbal might keep within the US.

SNIPER

French sniper Patrice Menegaldo was as soon as thought of a chief suspect within the caseCredit score: Gather

French Overseas Legion sniper Patrice Menegaldo was at one time described as a chief suspect within the murders.

He was as soon as in a seven-year on-off relations with Mollier’s sister Sylviane - and he additionally knew his associate Claire Schutz.

They have been each from the city of Ugine and he match the profile of a "skilled" killer.

And the idea is that the 50-year-old was focusing on the bicycle owner, with the household merely being within the improper place on the improper time.

State prosecutor Eric Maillaud stated Menelgado was “on the high of the chain” for detectives in 2015.

Menegaldo, killed himself in June 2014, after he was interviewed as a witness to the shootings.

'SERIAL KILLER'

Nordahl Lelandais has confessed to killing two individuals - might he have killed al-Hillis?

Suspected serial killer Nordahl Lelandais has additionally been speculated as a doable suspect within the slaughter of the household.

He has individually been investigated by cops over a string of unsolved disappearances within the French Alps.

Lelandais has since confessed to killing Maelys de Araujo in August 2017 in a case that horrified France.

And he additionally reportedly admitted to killing Corporal Arthur Noyer, 23, within the early hours of April 12, 2017, after selecting him up as he hitchhiked.

It's thought on the time Lelandais lived together with his mother and father in Chambery, on the opposite aspect of the mountain vary from the homicide scene.

He was reported to have identified the slim mountain tracks across the layby - and cops speculated the killer might have gotten away on mountain bike.

LONE PSYCHOPATH

And even when it was not Lelandais, cops on the time did recommend that the killer might not be knowledgeable hitman - however as an alternative a "lone psychopath".

It was recommended that the kind of weapon used an, vintage Luger P06 was not the kind of weapon utilized by knowledgeable murderer.

Police information revealed in 2012 recommended that the killings have been probably carried out by "a lone and psychologically disturbed killer".

ANTIQUE PISTOL

It was a particularly odd homicide weapon - maybe not the kind of gun utilized by knowledgeable murdererCredit score: Wikipedia

Following on from this concept - the strangeness of the homicide weapon additionally provides to the mysteries across the deaths.

The killer fired 21 bullets - altering journal as soon as, and hit his victims with 17 of them.

It's believed the gun would have been made for the Swiss military someday between 1909 and 1947.