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8,072 thoughts on “Not Forgetting the al-Hillis continued”

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  • Reply ↓
    Good In Parts

    Peter

    “Whatever type of mask it was, I would bet that it was full-face, because it not only served as a disguise, but also to prevent the killer from spraying saliva (and thus DNA trace evidence) all over the place.”

    It looks like you are correct. The gloves also were probably to prevent DNA and fingerprint traces being left.

    So, if there were any doubt, forensically aware and not shabby with a one hand gun, even when wearing a mask.

    The bicycle pump found near the top of the parking could have made an effective weapon, knocking the mask out of alignment.

    Sorry it doesn’t look like plot material for you!

  • Reply ↓
    michael norton

    It would be “interesting” to know if Zainab has been shown the E-FIT-SKETCH supplied by the police artists, if this correspondes to her vision of the motorcycle killer?

  • Reply ↓
    Good In Parts

    Peter & M.

    The gloves and mask reduced the risk of leaving traces and in the case of the mask of being recognised* but not of being spotted approaching.

    I tend to think, as M. noted, that these items were easily available, untracable and perfectly reasonable items for that person to have in their van or workshop.

    Possibly volume or disposability were factors too. Latex gloves can be rolled up tightly, a thin plastic mask can be crushed. Both could be burned, melted or even disolved into solvent.

    (*) could apply to gloves too, if tatoos or scars present.

  • Reply ↓
    M.

    MN, have a good read, you may then be able to better understand some of the posts.

    The only person alive who could have described the ‘baddie’ is Zainab, if the description of a person wielding a gun is that of a someone wearing a white full face mask and white gloves, clad in black with a hood worn over the head, how the heck is she going to recognise a man in a helmet, side opening or not ?

    Consider this, she said when they arrived at Le Martinet the place was empty, she didn’t see a cyclist, she saw a 4×4….

    The French love their Carnivals and dressing up, remember the odd report about two men in funny wigs ….

  • Reply ↓
    M.

    LMC is not the killer and they knew this before they finally identified him. The CCTV meant he left before WBM could have crossed him.

    There is another MC of sorts, WBM saw this one, it turned off or parked up before PB got near the crime scene and fell upon WBM, most likely the ado ‘mis hors cause’.

    Gunman left on foot, keeping to solid ground where his footprints could not be traced. Back down Combe d’Ire, would he have been seen, not if he heard a vehicle approaching and was able to keep out of sight, and the third cyclist, the elderly tourist who was slow to climb didn’t see anything unusual either.

    GIP, strange wording from Lars but yes I’d be inclined to go with scripted or even ‘scribed’, copied. Do you recall the very old reference to the gunman behaving as if in a Video game ?

  • Reply ↓
    Peter

    Do you recall the very old reference to the gunman behaving as if in a Video game ?

    Yes, the kind of video game where you score points by killing your foes, not wounding or crippling them, but killing them stone dead, ideally with a double tap to the head. It is clear that this absolute intent to kill was a key element of the fantasy, with the killer moving around on the scene of the crime in order to get good shots at each victim. Given that the killer was masked, he need not have done so, he could have content himself with leaving his victims probably dead, but his fantasy appears to focus upon him delivering certain death (which does not exactly endear him to me). This element of certain death goes beyond pragmatic requirements and thus constitutes his ritualistic, fetishistic personal touch.

    By the way, I have been thinking about the gloves. Latex gloves don’t exactly look white, particularly not whilst being worn, they are extremely tricky to put on without getting fingerprints on them, and they are prone to tearing. Those cheap, tight cotton jersey gloves worn by painters and decorators would have been a much better choice. As their palms are often covered with rubber pimples, they offer great grip, they are pure white, they are dirt-cheap and their possession is easily explained away.

  • Reply ↓
    Peter

    And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

    Sorry to drone on, but, further reflecting upon the killer’s fantasy of bringing certain death, I think that I have figured out what this look with the black clothing, black hood and white face mask symbolises: death himself. This guy wanted to play the Grim Reaper.

  • Reply ↓
    michael norton

    M

    I am with you that I do not think LMC was the shootist.

    My reasoning is:

    he was never there, LMC has been invented.

  • Reply ↓
    M.

    I’m not into Video Games, so which one would fit ?

    Peter, there are lots of examples of ‘white latex gloves’ ! ‘gants latex blanc’, and do you know where I’ve seen them worn recently, in the supermarket being used by the butcher, the fishmonger and the meat and cheese counter.

    I possess pairs of the decorating type, they have sort of rubberised tips, as a material could they have left fibres on the piece of grip found ?

    Here is a very popular scarf worn by the youth locally, many will like this story :

    http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/a-soldier-in-a-skeleton-scarf-in-mali/

    ‘Ghost’ in Call of Duty

  • Reply ↓
    Q

    Black nitrile gloves are de rigeur in the (alleged) serial killer kit.

    Advertised uses are for automotive repair shops, due to grip and durability.

  • Reply ↓
    Bacchus

    @Q
    balaclava is a “cagoule” not a “masque”.

    @M

    ‘synthetique’ why not say ‘plastique’, strange use of this word. Why not say simply “masque” or “cagoule”

    cagoule = MC

  • Reply ↓
    Peter

    @ M., 2 Mar, 2016 – 5:42 pm
    I possess pairs of the decorating type, they have sort of rubberised tips, as a material could they have left fibres on the piece of grip found ?

    The gendarmerie will definitely know what type of glove was used, because all types leave traces: Latex gloves are typically dusted with talcum on the inside, which flies all over the place, whereas those decorating gloves will leave white cotton fibres behind (which are completely ubiquitous and hence worthless in identifying an individual).
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glove_prints

    The killer’s clothes are probably a better bet. There will be plenty of gunshot residue on the sleeve of the top – or on both sleeves if he used a two-handed firing grip – plus blood spatter from Zainab’ head wound both on the top and the trousers. AFAIK, a number of 90° C washing cycles will degrade blood traces to the extent that they can no longer be matched to an individual, or even to a human being rather than an animal, but one can still detect the presence of blood stains in the fabric. Thus, if the killer is forensically aware, he will have got rid of his clothing soon after the deed. Somebody might have noticed that.

    Indeed, I am puzzled why, assuming that the gendarmerie were aware of the killer’s strange get-up all along, they did not appeal to the public straight away, enquiring about any individuals who had recently got rid of a black hooded top (and black trousers?).

  • Reply ↓
    M.

    Peter, certainly agree, because in general hoodie type tops will shrink like crazy if washed at 90°C.

    Whatever was worn, whether coveralls or clothing will have been destroyed pdq.

    If Nitrile gloves were used could it be because X had an allergy to Latex ?

    Should the info have come from Zainab, it would surely be after she was brought round from the induced coma, that was sufficient time foor many of the ‘theories’ ‘pistes’ to get into the public arena.

  • Reply ↓
    Good In Parts

    Peter & M.

    There have been a lot of activity here recently that could easily get lost behind the page fold.

    M. Your post on 2 Mar, 2016 – 1:44 pm has a number of key points that demand attention – at least from an opinionated gip like me!

    Peter, ditto re your posting on 2 Mar, 2016 – 11:29 am pondering on the nature of any ‘rehearsal’ involved.

    Unfortunately I am busy. Shall be back sometime over the weekend.

  • Reply ↓
    michael norton

    @ Bacchus
    Quote
    “Chevaline the honorable Lyon Motorcyclist did not contact the police
    when Eric Devouassoux was falsely accused of being the biker?”

    Rather a good point.

    If LMC had not yet been selected for his brief role as “The MOTORCYCLIST”
    at the time Eric Devouassoux had been accused, that would eXplain why he did not come forward.
    The authorities made the E-FIT-SKETCH resemble their patsy, Eric Devouassoux and Maillaud was fairly convinced the “Shootist” was in his bag.
    However it turned out to be a false dawn, so LMC had to be imagined.
    We have never seen LMC
    so have no idea if he resembles the E-FIT-SKETCH

  • Reply ↓
    michael norton

    The meeting between Hollande & Cameron in Northern FRANCE will issue
    an update on French energy group EDF’s (EDF.PA) planned 18-billion-pound construction of two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in western England

  • Reply ↓
    Peter

    I am a bit concerned that this story about the killer’s dress remains “single-source intelligence” to date. Surely no journalist worth his salt would pass on a story like this, especially so because it would prove that Eric Clouseau was economical with the actualité when he claimed that Zainab could not recall anything useful. It would also do wonders for the local tourism industry, bringing that extra frisson of excitement to tranquil Savoy.

    Yet the story makes sense in a way, because it fleshes out the old hypothesis of a random nutter, bringing it to life, as it were. If, as I assume, this particular nutter wants to personify death, there is a twisted logic to him killing random strangers, because it is in the nature of death that it can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time.

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