The Chevaline murders – a targeted killing?
Surely nowhere could be much less likely for such an occurrence of pre-meditated “savagery” – the police word today.
In the late afternoon sun you make your way through Chevaline at the pace of cows. The jingling cowbells are the only sound as they’re driven along for milking in this tiny mountain village in Haute Savoie.
Nothing disturbs the tranquillity. Alpine cropped meadow gives out to pine forests and towering white-walled mountain faces.
Paragliders hang over head drifting slowly down. The odd yacht and speedboat out in the unreal blue waters of Lake Annecy.
And then, a mile or so along the single-track lane from Chevaline – the cordon and the knowledge of what happened a couple of miles on yesterday afternoon in that car park.
The sheer incongruity of a child, seven, severely beaten as well as shot three times.
The precision – Sylvain Mollier tragically cycling the wrong route at the wrong time – shot in the head.
So too Saad al-Hilli at the driver’s wheel, engine still running in the lonely forest carpark. And the older woman as well.
Who knew they were there? Isolated and alone, save for Sylvain’s appearance. Were they followed? Or ambushed? Wisely the police stick strictly to what they know, and that’s precious little.
An automatic pistol, 15 spent casings and precision injuries. The killer or killers did not spray the vehicle indiscriminately. The victims were targeted.
Tonight French media reports say not one “balle perdue” intact round, has been recovered.
If confirmed, it indicates a coldly professional approach.
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There are 9 comments on this post
Would a pro hit not be aware of both children? Would a pro hit not simply kill single target – possably an element of vengence in killing whole family – perhaps?
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Depends on the motive.
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Alex,
I have seen many of your reports from many very dangerous areas.
I have never seen you so shaken as in your report of these terrible murders.
It has all the hallmarks of political assassination.
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Looks like a contract style hit rather than a random one. Logically there can only be a limited amount of people who knew where the family was at that time. The assasins knew what car to stop and where, which suggests at least two involved, one as a lookout and the second to stop the car. If it was a hit, it doesn’t sound an amateurish job so must have cost a bit of money.
Feel dreadful for the wee lassies.
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Such a tragic and chilling killing. Three things make me suspect there could me more to this than meets the eye:
- father was an Iraqi born engineer living in the UK, rumours on net that he had worked on nuclear projects.
- killing looks like a planned professional hit with victims shot in the head through car windows while engine still running. No missed bullets found at scene and potential French cyclist witness also shot clean dead. The 8 year old is the oddity as she was out of the car, which has been reported to have been locked, and alive albeit beaten and shot. Big question is how she came to be outside of the locked car. I guess they could have stopped for a loo stop for her and were being followed and parents locked car when they saw gunmen. 4 year old found alive under bodies can be explained as parents covered and hid her when they realised what was happening.
- first witness on scene was a lone British ex-RAF officer. What are the chances of that happening in a remote area in France? Possibly special forces / secret service and not there by chance.
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What a crisp, professional comment (as always) from Alex Thomson on this gruesome tragedy. No good us speculating; remember how previous rumours in other cases were proved false when the facts became known.
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Chevaline is a project relating to British nuclear warheads during the Cold war. I only found out because I stumbled upon it on Google when looking for an update on this tragedy. Is it not an extraordinary coincidence that there are allegations of an East European weapon being used, a victim who worked in the defense industry and a crime which took place in a village called Chevaline? Symbolic to say the least.
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and a link with the RAF with the cyclist who discovered the bodies ….google Chevaline – thats a lot of coincidences
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I´ve read lots of speculations and here is mine. Although the RAF cyclist owned a house in that area, that does not mean he was not part of the rendezvous, exacly an excellent alibi, arriving with the french cyclist (previouly arranged for some especific reason to meet with the victim) who was shot by the RAF man at the arrival. That shooting need to be done by two hitmen, one alone would´t be fast enough to cover all the people and be that precise. Following the kilings, the RAF man could have covered up for the other hitman to fled the scene with two weapons, his and RAF´s.
We need a motive which could involve a plot of stealing key information of a project, like the one Mannion mentions above, and betrayal… or they were paid by the victim´s brother (very unlikely) or… (speculations are in the air!)
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