Ex-army sniper suspected of French Alps killings had seven-year relationship with victim’s sister
Menegaldo shot himself after questioning as we reveal first images
AN ex-paratrooper suspected of killing a British family and a French cyclist in the Alps had a long-term affair with one victim’s sister.
Tourist Saad al-Hilli, wife Iqbal and mum-in-law Suhaila were shot dead near Annecy, France, along with local cyclist Sylvain Mollier.
Now Mollier’s sister Sylviane has told how she was in an on-off, seven-year relationship with ex-French army sniper Patrice Menegaldo, who later killed himself and remains the chief suspect for the 2012 killings.
She said: “We were together on and off between 2000 and 2007 but we never lived together.
“I wanted to love him but he couldn’t take that step.
“When the police questioned us about my brother’s death they asked who we knew with firearms. Patrice did and we mentioned this.
“We were friends so I didn’t mean to get him in trouble. The police started questioning him and it sounded harsh. Patrice found it hard to express himself.”
Menegaldo shot himself after questioning.
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Sylviane’s revelation will add fuel to the theory Menegaldo, 50, was targeting Mollier in the forest layby and the al-Hilli holidaymakers, from Claygate, Surrey were simply in the wrong place.
Today The Sun on Sunday publishes the first pictures of Menegaldo, taken while with the Foreign Legion in Africa.
We can also reveal that French prosecutor Eric Maillaud has been taken off the case after failing to solve the four-year-old crime despite naming a number of different suspects, including initially Saad’s brother Zaid.
Zaid, who has always said Mollier was the killer’s true target, believes Sylviane’s revelation is “significant”.
He said: “They didn’t want to leave witnesses and that is why they shot my family. It’s not impossible for it to have been Patrice.
“I am sceptical about whether he committed suicide. It’s plausible someone could’ve bumped him off.”