The mainstream media for the most part has moved on. But there are a few more gleanings to be had, of perhaps the most interesting comes from the Daily Mirror, which labels al-Hilli an extremist on the grounds that he was against the war in Iraq, disapproved of the behaviour of Israel and had doubts over 9/11 – which makes a great deal of the population “extremist”. But the Mirror has the only mainstream mention I can find of the possibility that Mossad carried out the killings. Given Mr al-Hilli’s profession, the fact he is a Shia, the fact he had visited Iran, and the fact that Israel heas been assassinating scientists connected to Iran’s nuclear programme, this has to be a possibility. There are of course other possibilities, but to ignore that one is ludicrous.
Which leads me to the argument of Daily Mail crime reporter, Stephen Wright, that the French police should concentrate on the idea that this was a killing by a random Alpine madman or racist bigot. Perfectly possible, of course, and the anti-Muslim killings in Marseille might be as much a precedent as Mossad killings of scientists. But why the lone madman idea should be the preferred investigation, Mr Wright does not explain. What I did find interesting from a man who has visited many crime scenes are his repeated insinuations that the French authorities are not really trying very hard to find who the killers were, for example:
the crime scene would have been sealed off for a minimum of seven to ten days, to allow detailed forensic searches for DNA, fibres, tyre marks and shoe prints to take place.
Nearby bushes and vegetation would have been searched for any discarded food and cigarette butts left by the killer, not to mention the murder weapon.
But from what I saw at the end of last week, no such searches had taken place and potentially vital evidence could have been missed. House to house inquiries in the local area had yet to be completed and police had not made specific public appeals for information about the crime. No reward had been put up for information about the shootings.
Behind the scenes, what other short cuts have been taken? Have police seized data identifying all mobile phones being used in the vicinity of the murders that day?
The idea that the French authorities – who are quite as capable as any other of solving cases – are not really trying very hard is an interesting one.
Which leads me to this part of a remarkable article from the Daily Telegraph, which if true points us back towards a hit squad and discounts the ides that there was only one gun:
Claims that only one gun was used to kill everybody is likely to be disproved by full ballistics test results which are out in October.
While the 25 spent bullet cartridges found at the scene are all of the same kind, they could in fact have come from a number of weapons of the same make.
This throws up the possibility of a well-equipped, highly-trained gang circling the car and then opening fire.
Both children were left alive by the killers, who had clinically pumped bullets into everybody else, including five into Mr Mollier.
Zainab was found staggering around outside the car by Brett Martin, a British former RAF serviceman who cycled by moments after the attack, but he saw nobody except the schoolgirl.
Her sister, Zeena, was found unscathed and hiding in the car eight hours later.
Both sisters are now back in Britain, and are believed to have been reunited at a secret location near London.
There are of course a number of hit squad options, both governmental and private, which might well involve iraqi or Iranian interests – on both of which the mainstream media have been very happy to speculate while almost unanimously ignoring Israel.
But what interests me is why the Daily Telegraph choose, in the face of all the evidence, to minimise the horrific nature of the attack by stating that “Both children were left alive by the killers”? Zainab was not left alive by design, she was shot in the chest and her skull was stove in, which presumably was a pretty serious attempt to kill a seven year-old child. The other girl might very well have succeeded in hiding from the killers under her mother’s skirts, as she hid from the first rescuers, and then for eight hours from the police.
The Telegraph article claims to be informed by sources close to the investigation. So they believe it was a group of people, and feel motivated to absolve those people from child-killing. Now what could the Daily Telegraph be thinking?
Tim (@10:00pm) – I think you could be right (the more I think about it the more my brain hurts!). If so, I find that interesting.
Tim – thanks for the info about the joint press conference. It will be interested to hear what Surrey police have to say. At least there won’t be the “lost in translation” excuse available for anything they say that get reported in the English speaking media.
It would be nice to think some of the press might actually ask some awkward questions, but I’m not holding my breath.
So after a full year, a rehash of old story lines, a repeat of internal inconsistencies and contradictions, a failure to challenge or question or demand answers from governments.
It also introduces new puzzles. He says:
“At that point, Sylvain Mollier, 45, a local man, came up the hill on his €5,000 top-of-the-range racing bicycle. He had passed Brett Martin, also cycling, at the foot of the road to the lay-by at 3.15pm. It would take a good cyclist around 15 to 20 minutes to climb the steep and pitted road up to Le Martinet.”
So by this account SM would have arrived at 3.30 or 3.35. Is he suggesting he arrived before the Al Hillis then or that the Al Hillis passed him, arriving virtually at the same time and immediately meeting one another, got shot? And as I said above, no explanation as to why WBM made no mention of the Al Hillis passing.
He goes on:
“Saad Al-Hilli, Mollier and Zainab are believed to have been standing close together when a gunman appeared on foot from around the gentle bend beyond the lay-by. How the lone gunman came to be there is one of the great unresolved mysteries of the case. Had he followed the Al-Hillis on the large motorcycle which was seen on the tracks banned to the public beyond Le Martinet later that afternoon?”
How does he know the “gunman appeared on foot from around the “gentle” bend beyond the layby”? On what (forensic?) evidence does he base this assertion – he doesn’t say. After a year of research you might expect more. And “gentle bend”? I thought it would better be described as a “sharp hairpin”, but then I haven’t had the benefit of having visited the site, as has Mr Lichfield.
He replicates the view that “Saad Al-Hilli parked the BMW in the lay-by with its front bumper towards the steep bank” and then adds “Saad Al-Hilli fled to his car, trying to drag Zainab with him. As he got into the driver’s seat, he was shot in his lower back. He reversed the BMW in a half-circle, accidentally dragging Sylvain Mollier under his wheels. In his panic, Saad reversed too far and jammed his rear wheels into the soft earth of the forest side.”
So he perpetuates a quite implausible explanation of events – as I think we have conclusively proved on this thread. It appears to be merely a slavish duplication of the French line.
He continues: “The gunman opened fire rather wildly at first. Zainab was wounded in the shoulder. Mollier was also wounded and fell to the ground.” How could he possibly know this? If the car is parked at the top of the car park and the gunman approaches from the top “firing wildly” there would have to be bullet casings scattered there. Yet we were told they were all around, under and inside the car at the BOTTOM of the car park. So even on this simple level, his description cannot be accurate leaving aside the latest police report that “all 21 bullets found their target”. How could the shooting be described as “wild” in these circumstances?
Then he says: “The gunman shot the three adult occupants of the car through the front wind-screen, carefully placing two bullets in each head.” How can Lichfield be so plainly WRONG? OK maybe in an initial report but a YEAR after the event? Even a rooky journalist would not have made such a blunder. The photographs show at least three DOOR windows damaged by bullets presumably but the windscreen quite intact though bearing indications of bullet marks.
He states “The murders are believed to have occurred at about 3.35pm to 3.40pm.” Then he says ” Brett Martin reached the scene at around 3.40pm.” Well he could hardly have arrived before without being implicated could he? Even so the timing is so fine, yet this experienced journalist raises no questions as to how the killer could escape without seeing him/her, or indeed how he could avoid hearing shots or screams or how within eight minutes of his arrival the first call could be made by people he met coming up the Combe. Of course he skates over completely all changes of name and account to make this latest version possible. This is amazingly lazy reporting.
He apparently accepts the weapon and the need for at least two re-loadings without questioning the issues this would raise about timing and logistics. He says: “The behaviour of the gunman was equally odd: a mixture of clinical cynicism and muddled panic.” Where does he get his evidence of “muddled panic” from? He doesn’t say. Instead he uses this assertion to explain why the French suggested the now abandoned “lone nut” theory.
He suggests ” “low-price” assassin from the Balkans”. Again why “low-price” pray, or is this just idle speculation on his or the police’s part?
He sees no contradiction in saying that the calls to five numbers in Rumania from Zaid’s phone apparently, were cause for his arrest despite EM “playing down the importance of them” nor the strange fact that the French have been prevented from interviewing him nor why he was arrested and bailed when as he reports, “The investigators admit that they do not have enough evidence to charge him.”
He makes only passing reference to a “large” motorbike (where did large come from?) but completely ignores the claimed 4×4 or other vehicles. This is clearly the French line he propagating that wishes to expunge all reference to a 4×4.
At the start of the article the newspaper claims Mr Lichfield “separates fact from fiction”. Sadly nothing could be further from the truth. He has failed in his stated objective completely. It is merely a repetition of the official French storyline, much of which has been totally discredited, without an ounce of background research or critical analysis. If this is the best that the “Independent” can do, God help the British free press.
Bleb
1 Sep, 2013 – 11:40 pm – doesnt it mean that MZT was refering to it BEFORE it actually appeared here????? Sorry if I’ve got it all wrong.
*referring
The Independent? – well it is owned by Alexander Lebedev so I wouldn’t expect too much.
Tim (@12:51am) – yes. That is what I originally thought may have happened (before I confused myself with the time zones!) and why I went to look over there. I’ll say no more but I thought it worth noting.
Magic bullets
Spot the difference .
SUNDAY 01 SEPTEMBER 2013
“The gunman shot the three adult occupants of the car through the front wind-screen, carefully placing two bullets in each head. He failed to see little Zeena hiding under her mother’s knees.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/a-year-on-at-annecy-the-unsolved-mystery-of-the-alhilli-layby-murders-8793467.html
LATEST UPDATE: 07/09/2012
“17.45 Press conference – Prosecutor says each victim was hit by a number of bullets – one in the head and at least two others in other parts of the body. A minimum of three per person. Autopsies began at 2pm local time and are due to be completed later tonight.”
http://www.france24.com/en/20120907-live-France-alps-chevaline-annecy-police-hunt-killer-behind-murder-guns-live-updates
This for me is the only news:
The United States has refused to order the release of Saad Al-Hilli’s computer files
What?
Intp1, indeed very odd.[I just Googled the article and search for that sentence on the page]
Lets repeat that:
The United States has refused to order the release of Saad Al-Hilli’s computer files
This is the first time we here the The United States should be involved. Supposing this isn’t a typing error, which should have read “The French police” or “The British police”, it certainly speaks about hitherto unknown involvement on the highest level, implying that Saad was involved in something that “The United States” regards as a security threat.
But I still caution this, because normally you would refer to some agency and not a country, the US, as such.
What do the others think?
I’ve saved the page in order to compare it to a new, revised version where this sentence is taken out. It should be interesting to see what it is replaced with. Any of you with access to a library where you can find a print copy of the article would perhaps see something else, because its my experience that online (free) articles are sometimes regarded as drafts, and the real emphasis is laid on the buying consumers, and not on us who just hoover it up online.
Although this did not catch much attention, i have seen another coincidence today.
http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe
The house of Brice Mollier’s parents/family in ski resort Notre Dame de Bellecombe is about 5 minutes from Grignon, which is the next bigger village next to Notre Dame de Bellecombe.
Do you still remember about who lives and works in Grignon?
Watch the map in the link above.
Beat me if Brice Mollier’s family isnt closely connected with Sylvain’s family. My strong guess is a cousin – cousin relationship.
Another coincidence:
Roger Mollier is from Notre Dame de Bellecombe.
Roger André MOLLIER
Parents:
Joseph François MOLLIER 1894-1936/
Hortense Marie Louise OUVRIER BUFFET 1897-1986
Sylvain’s grandfather seems to have been a victim of WW2.
Thanks to that guy i found a Mollier ancestry. Unfortunately for no apparent reason, none of the current generation is listed there. It just stops with the previous generations. Pity!
This guy should know it because he created that ancestry:
http://m.geneanet.org/?action=recherche&name=MOLLIER&country=FRA&subregion=F73&place=Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe&ressource=arbre&page=1
Overview links:
http://m.geneanet.org/?action=contact&sourcename=herisson&type=type-arbre&mode_acces=gratuit&ressource=arbre&name=MOLLIER&place=Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe%2C73590®ion=ral&country=fra&subregion=f73&placerech=Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe&namerech=MOLLIER
http://gw.geneanet.org/herisson
Bleb
“I think perhaps you should have more of a beef with the French and British authorities than with this blog.”
I do. What makes you think I don’t? Just because I am not ranting and raving and expending all my energy into hating the authorities doesn’t mean I am not critical of their behaviour. The French police especially, I am angry with. But what does it achieve? My friends are dead. 🙁
Anyway thank you for the polite responses everyone. I felt very fragile upon discovering this blog post’s comments and was readying myself for something negative.
I am here if you have any questions, please email me. No more baseless assumptions.
Re my post above
(Correction): should read:
“Pre-victim of WW2” since WW2 started in 1938 and his grandfather died in 1936. Coincidentally about the same age when Sylvain had died.
BB re all the Molliers cropping up here and there near Chevaline, have you seen this link? http://www.avis-de-deces.net/index.php?offset=25&lettre=&method=1&gdepnum=73&gregname=&root=15&name_search=MOLLIER&prenom_search=prenom&annee=2011
I’m sorry if it is old hat!
Re “The United States has refused to order the release of Saad Al-Hilli’s computer files.”
they may be talking about not releasing his e-mail records. Not really the same as his computer files, which were presumably all in the UK.
Jennywren
Yes. This is an old and huge family from the county of ugine, with their historical centre being Notre Dame de Bellecombe (thanks to the great genealogy analyses of francoise herisson garin for the mollier family).
There is no doubt that they know each other, whether or not they are brothers, cousins, nephews or grand cousins.
The likelyhood that Sylvain Mollier did not know Brice Mollier is probably less than 0.0000001%. The more that the house of Brice Mollier’s parents is in the same small village (ski resort) where there is also the house of Roger Mollier’s parents.
I woupd not put too much into Brice Mollier if he wouldnt be a diplomat working for the french foreign ministry in the french embassy in romania.
Intp1
2 Sep, 2013 – 8:21 am & KS
That is not news, I posted the same info sometime back. It’s the US servers who won’t release the files or whatever it is they have.
Confirmation of all Snowden told us about the NSA.
Shreen,
I hope you are feeling less fragile now.
I do have one question and I hope you won’t mind.
Did you discover this blog for yourself? Or did someone contact you (and I’m not asking who) and point you to it?
Care to expand on that one, Katie?. Cause its certainly news to me and a great deal others, if the US will not deliver…..oh, I see. Does it have something to do with the US constitution which protects (or was meant to, I think we should say these days) information on its citizens (or any who has used US-based communication tools) against being exposed to outside parties?
http://img.snowplaza.co.uk/content/WinterPanos/2500/11210.jpg
The village of Cohennoz is connected with the Notre Dame de Bellcombe ski area.
In fact you can ski from one village to another. Cohennoz is a neighbouring ski village connected with Notre Dame de Bellecombe (See map).
Remember, Cohennoz is the village where the Mollier boys are living today together with their mother and her boyfriend.
That is the final evidence that the mollier’s family center was Notre Dame de Bellecombe.
So then we can be sure that this is exactly the village of roots for “our” Mollier family. And Brice Mollier (our current target) comes directly from …. Notre Dame de Bellecombe and he went to school first in Flumes/St.Nicolas de la Chapelle and later in Ugine.
Hortense Marie Louise OUVRIER BUFFET, Sylvain’s grandmother, comes from Flumes/St. Nicolas de la Chapelle, which is the other neighbouring village of Notre Dame de Bellecombe (see image).
http://copainsdavant.linternaute.com/liste_personne/ville/24617/1/notre-dame-de-bellecombe/
There is a list of some of the molliers living in Notre Dame de Bellecombe, including brice mollier.l and pierre mollier is listed on page 2.
http://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crest-Voland
Lionel Mollier is the mayor of the village of Crest-Voland, another village next to Notre Dame de Bellecombe that is part of that same ski arena.
The Molliers are a prominent family there – Much more than just a “usual family “next door”.
Due to Brice Mollier’s fb page i could find two things:
1) He is in fact related to both the Mollier’s as well as the Ouvrier-Buffet family.
The latter means that he is related with Roger Mollier’s family.
2) He is a strong supporter of the UMP party (Sarkozy/Morange).
I came across this by chance. http://the-tap.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/were-lake-annecy-killings-linked-to.html
Has anyone mentioned this on CM before? Just another theory to add to the rest.
Kenneth Sorensen
2 Sep, 2013 – 1:19 pm
I can’t remember where my original link was from , but have found this for you.
“A French prosecutor probing the massacre of a British family in the Alps says a ‘culture clash’ with American officials is delaying his probe into unsolved six-month-old murders.
Annecy chief prosecutor Eric Maillaud believes clues into the shooting of the al-Hilli family in September last year could lie in computer data stored on US internet servers.
But American judges will not hand over potentially crucial information for ‘privacy reasons’, Mr Maillaud said.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/al-hilli-family-french-alps-murder-1736660
I hate to remind everyone that I figured this crime was done to protect Obama , which is why I picked up on this with holding of information by the states.
Haven’t posted here for quite a while. Just looked in today prompted by Independent’s round-up, one year on. Remarkably little progress, it would seem, despite the supposedly best efforts of the French and UK police.
In particular I have seen no report which explains how the authorities were able to rule out Mr Martin’s involvement so quickly – especially since it was 8 hours before the forensics team was on site and, presumably, some further time before the results of their tests were processed.
I note Shreen Ayob’s contribution above and offer my condolences. If she could contribute anything from the perspective of the British expat Iraqi community that might be useful.
Katie
2 Sep, 2013 – 3:55 pm
It is remarkable, given what we now know about the revolving rubber stamp authorization of requests to technology companies, that a US judge would ask for proof before allowing a look at material evidence from a dead man in a quadruple murder investigation which is obviously looking for proof. I have heard that even local councils can get a look at your e-mail, if you are in arrears or have the wrong number of bedrooms.
The Americans could be protecting themselves or just reciprocating closed ranks for their poodle intelligence agencies in Europe.
Hi Intp1,
I agree, it’s mystifying , either the French are being economical with the truth , they haven’t made the application in the correct manner……which knowing French sloppiness is quite possible or yes the US has something to hide.
As nothing seems to have moved forward are we to believe this matter is unchanged ?
I still feel such a huge crime is state sanctioned murder.