Iqbal al-Hilli

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Gendarmerie Nationale France Surrey Police (UK)

Offense Location:

Chevaline, France

Summary:

Iqbal al-Hilli, 47, was shot dead on September 5, 2012 in the French Alps, along with her husband Saad al-Hilli, 50, and her mother. A French cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, was also killed. The background to the crime is still unclear, and the killer or killers have not been identified.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

The attack took place at approximately 15:45 CEST on September 5, 2012 near Chevaline, Haute-Savoie, France, near the southern end of Lake Annecy. The Route Forestière Domaniale de la Combe d'Ire was the location, described as a remote mountain rest area. Iqbal al-Hilli, along with her husband Saad and elderly mother Suhaila al-Allaf, were shot execution-style while sitting in their BMW in a secluded parking spot in the woods surrounding Chevaline. Twenty-five shots were fired in total. The al-Hilli's seven-year-old daughter, Zainab al-Hilli, was shot in the shoulder and beaten around the head, while her sister, Zeena al-Hilli, four, escaped by hiding in the back of the family's BMW car. The younger daughter, aged 4, was hidden under the legs of her dead mother in the rear footwell for eight hours even while the Gendarmerie were on the scene; she was only discovered by specialist forensic investigators. A Luger PO6, Parabellum 7.65, was used to carry out the murders after pieces of the vintage Swiss Army weapon were found on the ground.

Additional Details:

Iqbal al-Hilli was 47 when she died and had previously worked in the United States as a dentist. She had a marriage of convenience with an American for a Green Card to stay in the US, which she kept secret from her family, and they divorced the following year. Iqbal had lived in the United States between February 1999 and December 2000, during which time she was briefly married to an American 13 years older than her. The oil worker, identified by British media sources as Jim Thompson, died in Natchez, Mississippi on September 5, 2012, the same day as the Alps killing. The cause of death of Jim Thompson was officially registered as a heart attack. Police investigated al-Hilli's past in Iraq as an engineer on sensitive topics, as well as his work at the time of his death, as a potential motive for the attack. Police stated that he could have been targeted over a contract he was working on for EADS. Connections to al-Hilli's previous work at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory had also been investigated. There were considerations as to whether there was a family financial feud that may have led to a contract killing. In January 2014, it was announced that there was insufficient evidence to bring a charge against Zaid al-Hilli (Saad's brother) and his bail was lifted. Surrey Police said there was not enough evidence to charge Zaid al-Hilli, though French Police stated Mr al-Hilli was still their main suspect. In January 2022, an arrest was made in connection to the case, but no one has been formally charged. French investigators believe the shooter behind the 2012 Alps murders is an ex-Swiss special forces agent who 'lost the plot' after undergoing training in the use of 'high-precision', close-range gun techniques. In 2017, the daughters requested a payout from the French criminal injuries compensation authority, but officials blocked the payout insisting 'a crime could not be established' because no killer had been traced.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 27, 2026