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8,070 thoughts on “Not Forgetting the al-Hillis continued

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  • Pink

    When ever I see the aerial pictures the tyre tracks look to me the same colour as the bloodstains, as I use an old comp I am not sure if I get a true colour, in the recent picture showing the bike the bonnet of the car looks white so my comp may be on the way out ,so what exactly is causing the tyre tracks to stand out ?
    An aside if I was describing the bike postion I would say ” lying on the edge of the road” not “corner of parking”perhaps it was a translation thing.

    Picture here

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1722711/ex-army-sniper-suspected-of-french-alps-killings-had-seven-year-relationship-with-victims-sister/

    • Peter

      A slightly bigger version of the same photo:
      https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nintchdbpict000027446484.jpg

      To my mind, the most interesting aspect of this photo is the position of the bicycle: lying on its right-hand side. No cyclist would ever voluntarily lay down a precious bike on its right-hand side, for fear of getting the chain dirty and possibly putting the rear derailleur out of alignment. Thus, it looks as if SM either fell off his bike or if he threw it at the killer in self-defence.

    • michael norton

      Pink, in an “accident@ involving a bicycle, it is almost inevitable, that somebody will move the bike, out of the way.
      This is done mainly because it is within almost everybody’s ability to move a bike, and in an horrific situation, unless you are trained, there is very little you can usefully do, so move the bike.
      As, it has been said, that the discoverer of the massacre was William Brett Martin, we would need to ask W.B.M. in what position was the bike before any person moved it, post massacre.

      • michael norton

        I can not recall id W.B.M. has publicaly mentioned the first position of Sylvain Mollier’s bicycle,
        nor if he stated what type of bike it was or anything else of interest about the bike.

          • Peter

            Look at that red square in the middle of the road, just below the topmost three coppers. I reckon that is the back pocket of SM’s cycling jersey, torn off when the BMW snagged him whilst he was lying on his back and dragged him into the lay-by.
            http://r.llb.be/image/f6/53047938357025291dd07ff6.jpg
            For his body to have ended up in that final resting position, and for the back pocket of his jersey to have ended up where it did, he must have been shot pretty much where the back pocket is – quite a distance away from the bike. Thus, the question is, how did the bike end up where it did? My best guess is that SM flung it at the attacker.

          • Good In Parts

            Peter

            I also suspect that the velo was used as a weapon.

            https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2012/09/not-forgetting-the-al-hillis-continued/comment-page-209/#comment-608325

            A further guess would be that if the velo was used somehow to knock the Luger out of the shooter’s hand, then there could be skin flakes or blood on the velo. This could be the unacknowledged source of the DNA that the investigators implicitly have used to exclude suspects.

            Re the possible ‘ripped back pocket’. The image you link to seems to be a cropped version of one of the photos broadcast by BFMTV. The low-res TV screenshot I have seen includes the entirety of the road (and part of one of the landing skids of the helo). Crucially, it covers the area that your red square should appear in but does not show it.

  • michael norton

    Is it possible to enhance the picture with the bicycle for a more clear view?
    The bike seems to have very large frame tubes and very fat tyres.

    I did suggest years ago that although we were supposed to swallow the story that Sylvain Mollier was on a rather expensive road bike,
    we were never shown a picture of the bike, I had my suspicions that Sylvain could have been on a mountain bike and he was on a round trip, leaving and “returning” from the Pharmacie Schutz-Morange, Grignon.
    I suspected that Sylvain and Claire and their new born, lived over the shop, adjacent to the Sapeurs-pompiers,
    no doubt equipped with radio net.

  • Pink

    Going back to the picture with the bike ,SM was shot in the back and then dragged by the car ,he was supposed to be riding uphill ,I don’t think he would have thrown the bike to where it is ,he would have been roughly where the guy is uphill of the pink mark for the car to catch him when it reversed .
    The only reason I can see for the bike being where it is would be to allow a vehicle to go uphill but its still a long way from SM in that scenario ,so it still makes more sense to me that SM was going downhill dropped the bike and ran towards the car any thoughts?

    Also can anyone make out what is lying down the bank below the police tape on the scuffed bit of dirt ,its lying nearer the tree end than the bike end and looks like a thick stick at right angle to the tape with a pink ball lying centre of it ,thats the best description I can manage with my poor eyesight .
    I am curious about that area since Max made the magenta picture.

    Not using Peter’s link as firefox is saying it’s not safe for some reason but the bike picture can be found here.
    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1722711/ex-army-sniper-suspected-of-french-alps-killings-had-seven-year-relationship-with-victims-sister/

    • michael norton

      Pink,
      is it one of those things, lazy dog walkers have, for chucking the ball, without having to put any energy into being a dog walker/owner, then leave dog crap in a bag hanging from a tree?

  • Pink

    When you look at the vehicles coming down in Em’s video they must have been stuck for space up the hill, there is two guys in camo by the blue van at the bottom so I wonder if it was the team they used for the search coming down and if they would have been allowed up to the top car park ,they had the tent and police cars in the lower layby .

  • Good In Parts

    Pink

    I dont know what the object “lying nearer the tree end than the bike end and looks like a thick stick at right angle to the tape with a pink ball lying centre of it” actually is however I did notice it myself.

    The ‘top’ of the picture looked a bit strange to me and not just some areas being out of focus. It appears that the ‘top’ quarter of the picture has vertical shake with a double image about five or so pixels vertically displaced.

    Unsurprising really, given it was taken from a helicopter.

    The colour and brightness seems to affect the discernibility of the double image, with the rear wheel of the velo almost merging into one fat donut. At maximum magnification for my browser one can just make out the double image in the lower part of the rear tyre.

    Across the road, just above of and to the right of the other barrier post is a short branch lying at about 30 degrees to the horizontal. It is not very thick, hence the double image is clearly visible. It too has an odd blob of red on its leftmost end.

    So back to your mystery object, whatever it is, some patch of red on it has become more prominent to human eyes because of camea shake and some subtle interaction with the response of the imaging chip. Not to mention post processing.

  • Pink

    I suppose we were quite lucky to get these pictures as I assume they were not officially sanctioned I wonder if the distortion you mention is why the bike was cropped out originally and if they have any others they didnt print.

    • Good In Parts

      Pink

      There will be a shedload of unused photos.

      There was a picture of the press helicopter on the ground, the gendarmes were all over it like a rash. So the ones published may have been somehow ‘tolerated’ rather than ‘sanctioned’. How any approval process panned out is opaque but trading veto rights for not losing all that expensive kit seems fair.

      I don’t think the distortion level in this picture made it require cropping. It would have been first published at a lower resolution. We are lucky that a range of pictures have a hi-res version available on the web.

    • michael norton

      Former head of DGSE confirmed FRENCH campaigns against international targets
      http://www.scmagazine.com/former-head-of-dgse-confirmed-french-campaigns-against-internatl-targets/article/521723/
      France’s former head of external intelligence service this summer confirmed a French cyber campaign that targeted Iran, Canada, Spain, Greece, Norway, and other nations.

      The incidents had been widely reported but were never confirmed by French officials, that is until Bernard Barbier, former head of the French General Board of External Security (DGSE), spoke at French engineering university CentraleSupélec and his recorded comments posted on YouTube and later published in the French newspaper Le Monde.

      Barbier also told students at the event that he discovered the NSA had probed computers at the Elysée Palace, the official residence of the French president. He also discussed the surveillance malware ‘Babar,’ which was previously reported to have been used in espionage campaigns by the French government. In 2014, Barbier joined Sogeti, a Paris-based subsidiary of the technology consulting firm Capgemini Group as a special advisor of cyber security.

        • Trowbridge H. Ford

          As usual, Michael Norton has supplied much info, but some of it wrong.

          The current Director of the DGSE is Bernard Bajolet, not Barbier.

          He took over from Erard Corbin de Mangoux who was exposed and fired shortly after the failed mission to resscus its agent Denis Allex in Somalia.

          De Mangoux was blamed for doing too many things without properly consulting helpful allies.

          Isn’t this what happened before in the al-Hilli et al. fiasco?

  • intp1

    Regarding the position of the bike and where SM was attacked: I have somewhere a picture of evidence markers which were presumed to be marking shell casings. They start quite a few feet down the road before the 2nd lay by and seem to trail up to after the BMW on the rhs going up, then cross over towards the lay by if my memory serves me. It suggested to me that SM was targeted as he cycled uphill before the lay by and continued to take rounds as he tried to cycle up & away and then swerving/crashing towards the lay by. Like he was being chased down, perhaps by a car.

  • Pink

    intp1 I don’t have much idea about how its worked out so noone should take what I say as worth much I am looking at the picture and trying to think what would make sense to me ,in your idea it sounds like you have X running after SM and SAH reversing towards the shooting that dosen’t sound like the best plan although if a vehicle was coming downhill it might have limited SAH’s choices .
    Could the markers be missed shots ?

  • intp1

    @Pink
    September 12, 2016 at 18:57
    First of all, any candidate scenario that partly fits the evidence is worth looking at. I am just brainstorming. As far as missed shots that might be unlikely since we already have enough on-target shots to stretch what could be credible to fire in the time apparently available.
    As far as the BMW, if it reversed from the middle into the bottom end, it wouldn’t necessarily have been at the same time, it could have been sequential, but in any case I am not convinced yet that is what caused the tire marks, The arc radius and final position of the Bimmer doesn’t work for me. I think it could been caused by another vehicle taking off rapidly and heading down the road, probably after the deed was done, which means that the car was always tucking into the bottom of the lay by which is odd.
    My scenario has SM cycling up the hill, a vehicle (could be a MC or even on foot, or perhaps even Martin on his bike?) approaches him from behind, shoots him in the back and side as they come alongside then pass SM. SM teeters towards the lay by and falls off, done for. Either the occupants of the BMW have already been despatched or they then react in panic, and are then engaged.

    While I am here on a rare interjection, I have thought from the very beginning that the way the Al Hillis were shot looked like punishment and possibly to deter others. Unless they knew the shooter it was not necessary to kill all witnesses like that. Especially as it looks like an organized operation with effective extraction. I think there was no reason to do what they did if the Al Hill family were merely bystanders.

  • michael norton

    I t would be very helpful, if we could know who is now in charge of the four year old operation.
    If we cannot find out from the VERY quiet French,
    perhaps someone could ask Nigel Farage?
    As he is an M.E.P. for the area in which the family al-Hilli resided in England.

    After four years the French should have had enough time to understand what happened?

    It would be informative to know, was Sylvain Mollier shot whilst riding up hill.
    Was he shot riding down hill
    or were all the hits he took, whilst he was standing, after having leisurely dismounted, i.e.
    engaged in conversation with Mr.al-Hilli or another?

  • intp1

    Yes of course, all these could and would be tested, like the tire marks too but you start from a premise that I don’t think is true, that the objective is to discover what happened. It is obvious to me that is not the objective; many (Clouseau-esque) facts point to both the French and UK governments needing not to investigate this but to wait quietly until people forget about it. Someone screwed up, they know what happened but are discouraging thorough, public root cause analysis. That says to me that some other guilty entity needs to be protected and/or that they have agreed it is not in best interests of either country to argue in public about it. I suspect a third party is involved.
    My suspects: Iraqi factions that we are supposed to be friendly with, Israelis or the Americans.

  • Pink

    The problem with that is the vehicle would have to pass BM and we know what passed him the LMC motorbike and ONF plus if the BMW was tucked in forward facing it would have no need to reverse and get stuck surely?

    “The arc radius and final position of the Bimmer doesn’t work for me. I think it could been caused by another vehicle taking off rapidly and heading down the road, probably after the deed was done, which means that the car was always tucking into the bottom of the lay by which is odd.”

      • michael norton

        The conclusion to draw is LMC either does not exist, in any meaningful sense or he was not there
        or he is a senseless person who is incapable of experiencing the environment in which he is situated but that last option would be tricky as LMC is supposed to be a LYON entrepreneur

        • michael norton

          The last option would also be tricky as we have been told LMC not only rode motorcycles but also engaged in parapente
          both activities that if you are not fully aware of the environment in which you are situated – you die.

          • Good In Parts

            michael norton

            “Apparently we are expected to believe that LMC did not see any dead bodies, he heard no shooting and he did not see W.B.M.”

            Come on chap, you are smarter than this, get with the program !

            Do the math, hey I’ll even do it for you, here ya go :-

            15:11:00 – ONF2 meet LMC at second hairpin
            15:12:00 – LMC start descent from Martinet parking
            15:12:30 – ONF2 start descent from Martinet parking
            15:17:00 – SM passes the old mill going up
            15:19:00 – WBM passes the old mill going up
            15:19:00 – LMC passes the old mill going down, exiting the combe
            15:20:00 – ONF2 pass the old mill going down, exiting the combe
            15:20:30 – TBR passes the old mill going up
            15:21:30 – SAH passes the old mill going up
            15:28:00 – ONF1 start descent from Martinet parking
            15:28:30 – ONF1 spots the TBR just below Le Martinet
            15:29:00 – ONF1 crosses SAH (the 4×4 seen by Zainab)
            15:29:30 – ONF1 crosses SM
            15:30:30 – ONF1 crosses WBM (the 4×4 seen by WBM)
            15:31:30 – SAH arrival at Le Martinet – TBR passes through unseen
            15:32:nn – SM phone call
            15:33:30 – WBM crosses TBR
            15:34:00 – ONF1 passes the old mill going down, exiting the combe
            15:34:30 – TBR rides up side track
            15:34:35 – shootist comes out of le foret ‘from above’
            15:35:00 – SM arrival at Le Martinet – shooting starts
            15:36:00 – ONF1 passes PB after exiting the combe
            15:39:00 – WBM arrival at Le Martinet
            15:42:30 – WBM departs heading down
            15:44:59 – First emergency call by PB at WBM behest
            15:47:nn – Return to Le Martinet with PB
            15:48:nn – Second emergency call by PB
            16:03:00 – Emergency services pass old mill
            16:10:00 – Emergency services arrive at Le Martinet

            LMC did not see any dead bodies.

            LMC heard no shooting.

            Whether or not LMC saw and remembered WBM is moot, because WBM saw and remembered him. Remember the MC and 4×4 he crossed as he entered the combe?

            Les gendarmes traced LMC through mobile phone logs and surveillance video both of which implicitly link a location with a timestamp. We last discussed this here :-

            https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2012/09/not-forgetting-the-al-hillis-continued/comment-page-204/#comment-585497

  • Pink

    Will just add on that BM has been cleared so I am not includng him has X his story seems to work for most people the only niggle I keep hold of is the did he or did he not get overtaken by SM I am not a total convert on that, early reports say he was overtaken by SM later ones say SM was ahead of him ,concensus seems to be that SM was ahead at the edge of Chevaline I don’t know how to resolve it unless we know what BM was doing for the rest of the time before he got to Chevaline .

    • michael norton

      Maybe Theresa May, may be the person to ask, after all, she was Home Secretary for six glorious years before she took the job from Call Me Dave.
      So, she undoubtably knows the score.

  • intp1

    @ Pink
    “BM has been cleared” – by who? 🙂
    Martin sticks out a mile as being an involved and connected in high places person. Why?
    The biggest clue is that he was allowed to leave the country within 48 hours when: He was found at the scene, which he had massively interfered with, within minutes of the crime. Forensic info could not be back in for the French, yet they cheerfully waved him goodbye. Even if he had not been involved in the crime, they didn’t know that and in any other situation. In any sane investigation he would be a serious suspect until eliminated, so why on earth would you invite him to leave the country?

    Answer. because you either know he wasn’t involved because you already know what happened or you know his involvement and must maintain a conspiracy of hiding his role.

    Add to that: his strained BBC interview, his altering of his story (including with regard to vehicles), his odd financial connections to UK based security organizations, his immediate, in unison media coverage as an ex RAF hero who bravely assisted with the tragedy when he hadn’t been in the RAF for years, he did nothing particularly brave and he moved bodies, smashed car windows and was in the car with his hands.

    Bill Martin was involved in some way, either he was a (failed) minder, he was surveillance or, I still don’t totally rule him out as a shooter.
    If you accept that, and I don’t see how you can’t at least accept the possibilities, then you have no idea what is truth and what is deception regarding his story which is the heart of the information dilemma . WBM essentially defines the timeline and much of the vehicle information but what part of it is true? Its tough for the sleuths amongst us because if key clues are fake then how can you even begin to solve it, but it is patently obvious they don’t want it solved and they are very experienced in muddying waters. Therefore you must accept you don’t have key info plus you are being provided with duff info. And that is admittedly not as much fun for us all.

    • Trowbridge H. Ford

      How about BM being backup for the assassin in case he needed help in completing his mission against the al-Hillis et al., only for William Hershkovitz going postal when he feared that he too was being setup by the operation?

      Little wonder that BM made as fast and confused escape as he could, given the surprising mayhem.

      And on the other thread about dreams, why no mention of Hershkovitz’s nightmares about what he had done to those unknown people around Lake Annecy, resulting in his pounding on the walls when he woke up, and threatening to kill more people who didn’t understand, and commiserate with him about what he was going through?

  • michael norton

    Chevaline: 10,000 euro fine required, appeal against BFMTV
    Justice The managing editor of the chain and journalist Dominique Rizet are accused of
    “violation of concealment of the secrecy of the investigation.”
    http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/grand-geneve/chevaline-10-000-euros-damende-requis-appel-bfmtv/story/28211340

    The general prosecution requested Wednesday the confirmation of the sentence to 10 000 euros fine each, imposed on the editor of BFMTV and its journalist Dominique Rizet for publishing pictures of the killing of Chevaline.

    The Court of Appeal of Chambéry has reserved its decision to 10 February at 14:00.

    At the hearing on Wednesday, the Advocate General considered that the editorial director of BFM TV, Hervé Beroud and Dominique Rizet were guilty of “breach of concealment of the secrecy of the investigation.”

    She also called for the reversal of their acquittal in the first instance, for “unlawful reproduction of a crime scene.”

    The offending images showed, for a British al-Hilli family full before the shooting she was a victim; and for the other two crime scenes Chevaline (Haute-Savoie). It showed the BMW family and the body of a French cyclist, another victim lying on the ground, killed by several bullets.

    The journalist Dominique Rizet presented and commented on the photos, broadcast exclusively by BFM TV, the antenna. The defendants pleaded freedom of information.

    On 29 May, the Criminal Court sentenced Mr Annecy. Beroud Rizet and 10 000 euros fine each for helping to violate the confidentiality of investigations. But he was acquitted of the crimes of infringing on the integrity of a corpse and unlawful reproduction of a crime scene.

    The defendants and the prosecutor had appealed the sentence.

    On 5 September 2012, Saad al-Hilli, 50, a British engineer of Iraqi origin, his wife of 47 years, and his stepmother of 74 years, were killed by several bullets in their car, on a small forest road near Chevaline.

    Sylvain Mollier, probable collateral victim, was also killed. One of the girls of the al-Hilli couple had been seriously injured while the second, hidden under the legs of his mother, was miraculously unscathed.

    (TDG)
    (Created: 1/21/2016, 3:10 p.m.)

    • michael norton

      Chevaline: BFMTV acquitted on appeal for broadcasting pictures of the killing

      Grenoble (AFP) – The Court of Appeal of Chambéry acquitted Wednesday editorial director of BFMTV and journalist Dominique Rizet, for broadcasting pictures of the killing of Chevaline, in September 2012, their lawyer.

      “The great message of the appeal court is to remember that a journalist should be judged in the context of rules governing freedom of expression and not getting lost in the search for common crimes resounding “he told AFP me Pierre Dufau Randolph, hailing a decision” courageous, innovative and rigorous law. ”

      In its deliberations, the court reversed the judgment of the Criminal Court of Annecy on May 29, 2015, which condemned the editorial director of BFM TV, Hervé Beroud and journalist Dominique Rizet 10,000 euro fine each for ” concealment of breach of confidentiality of the investigation. ”

      The judgment at the time had however acquitted of the offenses of “threatening the integrity of a corpse and unlawful reproduction of a crime scene.”

      The defendants and the prosecution had then appealed the conviction.

      On January 20 last hearing, the Advocate General considered that MM. Beroud Rizet and were guilty of “violation of concealment of the secrecy of the investigation” and called for the reversal of their acquittal in the first instance, for “unlawful reproduction of a crime scene.”

      The offending images showed, for a British al-Hilli family full before the shooting she was a victim; and for the other two crime scenes Chevaline ( Haute-Savoie ). It showed the BMW family and the body of a French cyclist, another victim lying on the ground, killed by several bullets.

      The journalist Dominique Rizet presented and commented on the photos, broadcast exclusively by BFM TV , the antenna. The defendants pleaded freedom of information.

      On 5 September 2012, Saad al-Hilli, 50, a British engineer of Iraqi origin, his wife of 47 years, and his stepmother of 74 years, were killed by several bullets in their car, on a small forest road near Chevaline .

      Sylvain Mollier, probable collateral victim, was also killed. One of the girls of the al-Hilli couple had been seriously injured while the second, hidden under the legs of his mother, was miraculously unscathed.

      http://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/sante/20160210.AFP6188/chevaline-bfmtv-relaxee-en-appel-pour-la-diffusion-de-photos-de-la-tuerie.html

      • michael norton

        So the most recent update on “the case” that I remember are the court cases in The Court of Appeal of Chambéry,
        earlier this year – 2016.
        We do learn that On January 20 last hearing, the Advocate General considered that MM. Beroud Rizet and were guilty of “violation of concealment of the secrecy of the investigation” and called for the reversal of their acquittal in the first instance, for “unlawful reproduction of a crime scene.”

        No, I do not know who the Advocate General is, but it seems to me a desperate attempt by the FRENCH STATE to keep a lid on journalisim – on this case.

        Also you will note in February 2016 they were still reporting:
        Sylvain Mollier, probable collateral victim, was also killed.

        If Sylvain was shot first, shot the most times and he was the only local shot,

        why do they persist in saying he was also shot.

        If he was one of the main targets, why was he also shot?

  • Pink

    Intp1 I do accept that and I am under no illusion that I am going to come with any answers, if you are right and BM is involved it would seem unlikely he would follow a car on a bike which would lead me to think he was on the tail of SM or already there watching, not beyond the realms of possibility as we don’t know where he was from the time he left home ,never the less he has been cleared and we are working with what we have .
    The current state of play is GIP’s timeline if you have any views on that as I am not able to add anything and the position of the bike which if he was travelling uphill TO ME looks like he almost got past the layby ,but the official story says he was dragged by the car which means the bike is a long way from where he was ,others speculated he threw it at X ,as he was shot in the back I didn’t think that sounded likely I am in my own slow way still working on whether he was travelling uphill or downhill not trying to prove anyone else right or wrong you may be a supersleuth and have it all worked out sadly I am not.

    Intp1 said
    “Therefore you must accept you don’t have key info plus you are being provided with duff info.”

      • Good In Parts

        michael norton

        No, not unless he had been sampling horse tranquillisers.

        But he could throw the bicycle pump that far.

        These days I wonder whether he used a trick that I could manage in my younger, and more limber, days viz. to swing one leg over then kick myself backwards off my bike. The result being that, the then riderless bike, continued its way onward still upright.

        This would be difficult to do if SM had those fancy twist and lock pedals and shoes however the BMFTV photos seem not to show them.

        • Peter

          It is impossible to tell from the BFMTV photos whether or nor SM used clip-in pedals, but I would estimate the likelihood that he did to be around 99.99%. Why would someone shell out on a decent racing bicycle but forgo the additional 15% power that these pedals provide, plus the smoother, rounder pedalling motion?

          Insofar as throwing the bike is concerned, the minimum weight for road-racing bikes of 6.8 kg as prescribed by the UCI is an anachronism. Nowadays, strong, stiff wheels and frames have become so lightweight that building durable everyday bikes < 5 kg is no big deal – particularly if, like SM did, you have mates at a place such as TIMET. Replacing every nut and bolt on his bike with titanium ones would have shaved at least a kilo off its weight.

          • Good In Parts

            Peter

            I agree with your estimate that the likelihood that he would have done so would have been around 99.99% for the reasons you gave.

            But when I checked the BMFTV pictures (specifically the low angle shot of SM next to the BMW with the soles of his shoes visible) things were not as I would have expected.

            If you have checked out that photo, then I defer to you because your knowledge is certainly better and more recent than mine !

          • Peter

            Yes, I did check that BFMTV low-angle shot of SM next to the BMW with the soles of his shoes visible, but I still cannot tell whether nor not he was wearing clip-in pedals. I can only surmise.

            Sure, the soles of his cycling shoes looked black all over, but then Look cleats (the brand favoured by most racers) are also available in black, and it makes good sense to use black-galvanized steel bolts in this very rust-prone spot. If I were one day to be found lying dead in some parking lot, the soles of my cycling shoes would look exactly the same as his, even though I use black-galvanized Shimano SPD cleats and bolts.

            If SM was as committed a cyclist as he has been portrayed to be, he would have spent a large part of the year cycling along salted, slush-covered roads, and probably used his previous racer or indeed any old clunker during those months. As cycling during winter/spring causes an incredible amount of wear and tear on the material, and hence is a very expensive proposition overall, I don’t think that SM would have owned multiple sets of cycling shoes, just the one (reasonably) rust-proof pair.

  • Good In Parts

    Let’s not forget that there was at least one motorcycle on the mountain that day that remains unidentified. The one that Janin claims to have seen. The one that has not been traced.

    Ostensibly the rider could not have been the shootist however there is a way. A variant of my ‘One down, One up’ theory would have an accomplice riding the MC to meet the killer at the top of the zig-zags above Martinet parking then handing over the MC plus one-piece and helmet. The killer then rides slowly over the col, to all appearances the same rider simply turning back and returning the way he came. Pour avoiding zee questions, as they say in france.

    The accomplice then becomes a ‘hiker’ and walks out. Another option could be to collect a pre-stashed mountain bike, become ‘just another cyclist’, and openly ride down. Even if he were stopped, he would be forensically clean.

    When you think about, his unhurried ride over to Haute Savoie seems like someone ‘tuning’ their journey time.

  • Good In Parts

    So, question for everyone, what single(ish) most effective action would you ask the new proc to take to reinvigorate the investigation?

  • Pink

    I don’t know the answer the that question GIP I tend to assume they know very well what they are doing ,I suppose a new team could take over and come at it afresh ,does that happen anyway when crimes are unsolved ?

    • Good In Parts

      Pink

      That was my first thought.

      Bringing outsiders in does seem to pose particular difficulties because of the Police/Gendarmerie split not to mention the Headquarters/Hayseeds split.

      Losing accumulated knowledge on particular pistes would also be an issue however certain lines of inquiry could benefit in my humble view.

      We are long past the point where a simple review of the investigation would suffice. How many reviews have there been so far ?

  • Pink

    GIP I think your idea of the bike continuing on its journey is a good one I could see that happening ,did they ever say where the pump and I think sunglasses were found ,there were two things personal to SM I seem to remember it might help pin it down .
    Also I don’t remember them saying they had SM’s phone which we know he had to get a call from LR.
    It was also said SM was searched somewhere along the line I never knew if that was fact .

  • Pink

    MN I think GIP was meaning if he jumped off not fell off, the bike could continue quite a way before it fell.
    If someone took a pot shot then instinct might be to get to a hiding place i.e the car ,meanwhile SAH does the same and hits reverse .
    GIP the janin MC was my favoured suspect in the early days I got lost in the timings and who saw who when and gave up ,whatever he was doing he didnt mind being seen ,till this day I cannot see why any of the MC’s were up there other than the boy racer,to go to the barrier and back down fine ,go for a look and go back down but why go higher ?
    I don’t grasp the layout as well as some of you, from what I have gathered the logical thing would be to follow boy racer’s way down if you go up higher, Janins MC sounded to struggle with potholes so I would think that would be harder for him than driving on the road and I guess a higher chance of being noticed than a kid on a scramble, I am lost in the detail though so cannot make any real judgment about any of it .

  • Good In Parts

    michael norton

    Pink is indeed correct, deliberately ‘jumping’ off to the back and/or side is what I had in mind. The goal being to use the velo, if not as a weapon to injure or disable but to distract and impede to enable an escape.

    At this point I was going to do some hand waving and mention gyroscopic effects however teh internet reveals that they are not strictly necessary.

    http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/sports/a6602/physics-of-a-riderless-bike/

  • Pink

    It never ceases to amaze me what people find on the net good find ,what I like about your idea is that it looks right I could see it happening ,it would indicate to me if true that SM was not anticipating trouble or stopping to chat just passing through ,Z could get blood spots after the event would still need to explain how SM’s blood got onto SAH in a fast reaction situation like that.

    This made me smile .
    “At this point I was going to do some hand waving and mention gyroscopic effects”

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