MURDER IN THE ALPS. CH4 9pm sun mon Tue. No spoilers

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Based on a true story.

a true crime tale of the killing of a British family al-Hilli

saad and Iqbal a married couple from Surrey and her mum suhaila were killed in a violent attack

their two daughters zainab 7 and seems 4 survived

a French cyclist sylvain was also at the scene and shot

they were shot dead whole holidaying in the French alps

ten years later their murder is still unsolved

weirdly enough the wife iqbel was once known as Kelly and was married to a man called James Thompson

he died the same day miles away. His sister judy think he was poisoned ………

was it a crime of passion , political assassination or homicidal family feud

Thank you

didn't the Father have links/work for the Iraqi government, I remember reading that when it happened?

Even 10yrs on I am suprised that no one knows the man from photo fit

and said omg. That looks like xxx

Fascinating so far.

I can't find Episode 3, is it available yet?

In the confusion he might have thought she got back in the car.

I know this is an unlikely scenario (and I don't think it's what happened) but what if neither party was the intended target? What if the killer just decided to murder a group of random people for fun? I've always remembered a murder that happened in this country years ago, by a man who wanted to kill somebody for the thrill of it. So the best way to commit the 'perfect murder' was to kill a stranger, who he couldn't be linked to. He meticulously planned it all out, and travelled to a very quiet and secluded train station. He then called a local taxi firm to pick him up and shot the taxi driver in the head.

But anyway, I'm definitely more inclined to side with the British police (about Sylvain Mollier being the target) over the French. The French investigation seemed really inept. Like how they discovered Zaid was repeatedly calling a Romanian number in the days leading up to the murders... only to then realise they were mixed up and it was actually Saad making the calls! My jaw did drop however when I heard that Iqbal's ex-husband died on the exact same day as the murders. That's one hell of a coincidence.

Lots of interesting information from Jim Thompson's family in this Daily Mail article from 2014. It was a marriage of convenience arranged to help Iqbal obtain a Green Card, apparently:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2689398/Was-Alps-massacre-wife-REAL-target-This-week-emerged-secret-husband-died-SAME-DAY-murdered-Now-Mails-uncovered-drastic-new-evidence.html

I've read quite a bit about this case and this is my conclusion too. Or a local nutbag. I just can't quite make a professional hitman fit, or if so it is the most un-professional hitman ever. The death of the ex-husband is just a weird co-incidence I think, there is absolutely no evidence he was murdered.

Thank you @LAHallucinations for the link.

Thanks for link @LAHallucinations

interesting

I found the voice over on this documentary really distracting- it sounded they got some 15 year old student to read a script for it.

The program said they did eventually identify the motorcyclist, but found no evidence he was involved in the murders.

Totally agree with this, it needed someone more serious.

Wow, the French police in this case make the Irish police in the Sophie Tuscan du Plantier case look competent ... and that's saying something (cos' they weren't)

@MisterMist the Irish police are doing a cold case review of Sophie's murder.
I do so hope her family and friends get answers.

Hi@LadyEloise1
I had read that.
Unfortunately for the poor family, I think the chance of a conviction now is remote.

As well as a lot of things mentioned above, the thing that got me most was Maillaud scoffing that he might have given some credence to Zaid’s theory (that Sylvain was the target) if he’d been a police officer and not a golf club employee.

Missing the child and the passports? Inconceivable. Likewise the Romanian calls being wrongly attributed. But constantly saying they’d investigated the Mollier leads and come up with nowt? The same nowt for the Al-Hilli family then? Apart from the Mr Tickle reach stories.

I daresay Zaid might have made a better fist of it…

A cover up? Who knows? But something somewhere reeks.

And they know it.

And that poor family will be unlikely to ever get justice. And nor will Sylvain.

I can't add any more regarding the incompetence from the outset of the French police.

The investigation was doomed from the minute it was known that the Al-Hilli's were from Iraq because every cliche and stereotype came to the fore... Saddam Hussein, espionage, Islam, Swiss bank account, etc., anything about Mollier seemed insignificant by comparison. How could anyone possibly want a French man dead!

It's a total mystery but I don't think Zaid had anything to do with it; and the death of Iqbal's first husband on the same day was just an extraordinary coincidence, despite his family seemingly wanting it to be more than that.

I would have liked to have learned more about Silvain Mollier.

It is possible that neither party were specifically the target.
It could have just been some local nutter choosing a target at random.

Oh I missed that @CosmopolitanPlease

The age and type of gun makes that a possibility - would a hired hitman have used such a weapon? Even street gangs in London have more up to date weapons.

If either of them where the intended target, out of the two I'd say it was supposed to be Mollier. It makes more sense, given he was local to the area and known to cycle round there. And it was know people had grievances with him too. Because no one could have known that the Al-Hilli's we're going to stop at that particular layby, in order to be laying in wait for them. Especially if the brother had ordered the hit. The gunman would have known there were two children he needed to shoot, and not wasted all his bullets on the cyclist. It appeared the gunman wasn't even aware there was a second child in the car. If the motive was to claim all the inheritance than surely making sure there were no survivors would be key.

It wasn't a great documentary, it felt slot like the Al-Hilli's we're on trial, and Mollier was little more than a foot note. At the end of the day there are two little girls, well young women now who lost their family in the most horrific and brutal way and don't feel they have got any kind of justice.

@LadyTwinkle
I agree with you - there are two young girls who suffered enormously both emotionally and physically, I do so hope that they have been given the chance of happy lives despite the suffering they endured following the Annecy attack.
I also felt the local link was glossed over but perhaps laws on slander are particularly tricky in France ?

Would anyone have a link to the news of a break in at Suhaila al Allaf's home please ?
Did Iqbal have siblings ?

I think it was likely either a random attack or that Mollier was the intended target.
Unless the Al Hillis had planned to stop there but only the gunman knew that. But then why leave the children? Doesn’t really add up, in particular the older girl could have been a witness.
Awful case, I wish it could be cleared up for the victims and their families.

I have just finally watched this and have changed my mind througout but I definitely think the cyclist was the main target. There was lots of incompetence from the police, and alot of digging in to the families past suggesting they were spies. But there is definitely suspicions relating to Mollier and the secrecy from the family. Even the photo of him is an old black and white photo.