'I've got nothing to do with it': Brother of Iraq-born businessman executed with wife and mother-in-law in front of daughters in French Alps denies there was family feud over 'financial matters'



Father named as Saad Al-Hilli, a Baghdad-born businessman who lived with his family in Claygate, Surrey

He was killed alongside his wife Ikbal and her mother during caravan holiday to Lake Annecy, in eastern France

The Al-Hilli's seven-year-old daughter, Zainab, is in a coma after suffering fractured skull and a bullet in the shoulder

Her sister, Zeena, four, escaped unscathed after hiding beneath her mother's legs for eight hours

Cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, a father-of-three, was shot dead after disturbing the multiple killings



British and French police are investigating whether murders were professional hit



Mr Al-Hilli's brother denies family feud suggestions and says he has nothing to do with the killings



Forensics officers examine 15 bullet casings to see if family was targeted by more than one assassin

Police searching for man in dark shirt driving 4x4 that witnesses saw speeding away from the area




The older brother of the British father murdered in the Alps will be questioned today by French police about a possible family feud over a will.

Zaid Al-Hilli was expected to be asked about an alleged ‘inheritance dispute’ and ongoing quarrel after four detectives flew in from France to find out what lay behind Wednesday’s bloodbath.

But the 53-year-old businessman is not under arrest, is being treated as a witness and has already denied any involvement in the slaughter of his family to officers in Britain.



Scroll down for video



Victim: Saad Al-Hilli, 50, was ambushed with his family on Wednesday during a family caravanning trip. A family friend (right) who knew Mr Al-Hilli from the age of 15 brings flowers to the family home in Claygate, Surrey, this afternoon



Devastated: Two women, who identified themselves as family friends cry as they stand at the front gate of the Al-Hilli home



He walked into a police station near his Surrey home to reject any suggestions of a feud with his brother, Saad. Today, three French detectives are expected to put their questions to Zaid Al-Hilli via Surrey police officers. They also plan to search his home, and his dead brother’s house. Public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said yesterday that there had been an ‘inheritance dispute’ over the estate of their late father Kadhim, who died about a year ago. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

1

Next Was there more than one hitman? Each of British victims was... Amid the quiet Alpine peaks, a perfect place for murder: The... Share this article Share Mr Maillaud said: ‘It seems that there was a dispute between the two brothers about money. This seems to be credible information coming from the British police. ‘The brother will have to be questioned at length. Every lead will be meticulously followed. What is important is for us to listen to this brother procedurally.’ He said Saad Al-Hilli’s life would be examined in detail. ‘His life, his job – I heard he was the owner of three companies – all of that is the sort of thing that we have to find out about in England,’ he said. Properties in France, Switzerland, Spain and Iraq were said to be at the heart of the ongoing quarrel between Saad Al-Hilli and his brother Zaid. The brothers used to run a technical design company called Shtech together, but two years ago Zaid was replaced as company secretary by Saad’s wife Iqbal. Around the same time, Zaid moved out of the £1million detached house in upmarket Claygate, Surrey, where his brother and family lived, according to neighbours. Zaid owns a £290,000 semi-detached house in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, but is believed to be living in Chessington, which is also near Claygate. At a press conference yesterday, Mr Maillaud said Zaid Al-Hilli had ‘spontaneously presented himself’ to Surrey police on Thursday seeking information after hearing about the killings on the news. He went back again yesterday morning after hearing about the brotherly ‘conflict’ on the news, said Mr Maillaud, adding: ‘He said no, there was no conflict, there was no dispute with his brother.’ He said Zaid was a ‘free man’ but would be interviewed as a ‘key witness’ as detectives try to solve the riddle of the murders. Other inquiries will focus on Saad Al-Hilli’s technical work and his links to Iraq, where his family fled Saddam Hussein’s regime in the 1970s. Mr Al-Hilli was known to the British intelligence services, who have taken a keen interest in the investigation. A finger points to a blood-spattered rock found by the murder scene today The shocking triple murder has made the headlines around the world

Secluded: A journalist looks at the spot where the Al-Hilli family car was found with three bodies, and a cowering four-year-old girl, inside Country lane: Reporters walk towards the tiny dirt lay-by where the massacre took place Taped-off: Detectives prepare to remove the family car from the murder scene scene yesterday

Tribute: A woman hands over flowers and a candle to police at the Al-Hilli family home in Claygate, Surrey, today Last night Zaid Al-Hilli’s brother-in-law, Damien O’Reilly, said: ‘There’s no way he is involved.’ Mr O’Reilly, 41, whose sister Geraldine was married to Zaid until her death from ovarian cancer, said: ‘Zaid is the last person who could be behind this. ‘He’s a very decent bloke. When my sister was dying from cancer he was hugely supportive and caring. He was devastated by her death and is still coming to terms with it.’ Zaid and Geraldine had one child, Sean O’Reilly-Hilli, 28, a plumber who lives in the Walton-on-Thames house. Mr Maillaud said up to three detectives would be arriving in London this morning, where they will liaise with Scotland Yard officers. One is arriving today to deal with any diplomatic problems which might arise.

Mr Maillaud said that each corpse was found with at least three bullets, and 'at least one bullet to the head'.

The prosecutor said he believed that more than one murderer was involved in the atrocity.

Speaking before a press briefing in Annecy, Mr Maillaud said the 'case looks more and more like an ambush' and that more than one gunman was likely to have been involved. Mr Maillaud said: 'It seems humanly difficult that so many shots could be fired by one man. Instinct tells us there was more than one suspect.'

He confirmed that a green 4x4 and a motorbike were the only two vehicles seen by the unnamed British cyclist who reported the murders. The prosecutor also revealed that Mr Al-Hilli's four-year-old daughter Zeena, who survived by hiding under her mother, had spoken to police about the attack, describing what Mr Maillaud said was the 'fury' and 'terror' of a massacre during which 25 bullets were fired at the victims. Iraqi-born Mr Al-Hilli, 50, was gunned down in his car alongside his dentist wife Iqbal, and her 77-year-old mother. Mr Al-Hilli and one of the women were shot in the head along with a French cyclist who apparently stumbled across the attack. The couple's children, Zeena and her sister Zainab, seven, are apparently the only witnesses to the shootings on an isolated road and are now under police protection. Julian Stedman, Mr Al-Hilli's accountant, today said that his client had removed his brother Zaid from the company they set up But Zeena had told police she was with her mother and father when the attack happened but she did not see anything because she 'dived under her mother's legs' when the shooting began. Her elder sister is in a medically induced coma to aid her recovery as painlessly as possible and give her body time to heal.

Mr Maillaud said the nearest CCTV cameras to the scene of the crime were 30kms away. Instructing judges Michel Mollin and Christine de Curraize are now leading the enquiry into the crime. The chief executive of a company Mr Al-Hilli worked for paid tribute to him this afternoon.

Dr Matt Perkins, from Surrey Satellite Technology in Guildford, said he was deeply shocked and saddened at the death of the mechanical design engineer, who had worked as a contractor for the company since November 2010.

He said: 'Saad's colleagues will remember him as an experienced and committed engineer who worked as part of a tightly knit team. 'He was a personal friend to many of our staff here. Saad will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this very difficult and traumatic time. 'We are a close family at SSTL and our staff are understandably very upset by this event.' Eric Maillaud, the prosecutor leading the investigation into the bloodbath, had earlier said that 'evidence from Britain' pointed towards the brothers being involved in 'financial problems'. 'It seems that there was a dispute between the two brothers about money,' said Mr Maillaud. Saad Al-Hilli's accountant Julian Stedman also revealed that Zaid had been replaced as secretary of Saad's company SH Tech roughly two years ago by his brother's wife Ikbal, who was also executed. Zaid was replaced around February last year, around the same time that friends claim that he moved out of the families £1million family home in Claygate, Surrey. Mr Stedman said: 'Through Stedman and Co we have been acting for Saad since 2004. 'His brother was company secretary which is a purely nominal role and Ikbal replaced him as company secretary, it must have been a couple of years ago. 'He never mentioned anything about a family feud.'

Neighbourhood in shock: Police officers stand guard outside the Al-Hilli family home in Claygate today Zaid Al-Hilli's home in Kingston, Surrey. He visited his nearest police station and 'presented himself spontaneously' to officers 'as a matter of course' after learning of his brother's murder

Bullet-ridden: Police gather evidence from the BMW estate where Mr Al-Hilli and his family were massacred Delayed reaction: Several hours after police arrived on scene, Mr Al-Hilli's four-year-old daughter Zeena was found alive huddling under her mother's legs inside the car Property in France, Switzerland, Spain and Iraq were said to be at the centre of an alleged on-going quarrel between Mr Al-Hilli and his brother, who lives with his family in Kingston-upon-Thames. Sylvie Lecoeur said that she witnessed a speeding car near the French Alpine murder scene It came as French police today said they are looking for a 'man in a black shirt' driving a Peugeot 4x4 seen speeding away from the scene of the massacre.

The unidentified British cyclist who discovered the dead bodies on the edge of the village of Chevaline shortly before 4pm has told detectives he saw a 'green 4x4' and motorbike speeding towards the murder scene before his arrival. A detective told French channel M6: 'He has a keen sense of observation. This could help us greatly.' This is the first time that the possibility of an assassin using a motorbike has been raised. A young woman who was also in the area has told police that she saw a 'white Peugeot 206 or 306' a few minutes later, along the same road and heading towards the village of Horses. She said it was being driven extremely fast by 'a man in a black shirt' who had to swerve suddenly to avoid hitting her own car. Peugeot makes 4x4s in both the 206 and 306 range, leading to the possibility that both witnesses saw the same car, despite the difference in colour. More details have emerged suggesting that the Al-Hillis may have been targeted by more than one professional assassin. Detectives revealed that three of the four murder victims were hit by two bullets each - while a cyclist who is thought to have stumbled across the scene of the carnage was hit five times. The fact that intense gunfire was heard for less than 30 seconds - and it was so brutally effective - strengthens the theory of experienced hit men being responsible. Mr Al-Hilli, 50, was initially shot once in the forehead as he sat at the wheel of the BMW estate car he had used to drive his family to a caravan holiday to Lake Annecy, in eastern France. On the move: French police escort the car in which the British family was murdered away from the area



Sealed off: A cyclist speaks to police blocking access to the road to La Combe d'Ire in Chevaline today



Hunt for clues: French police inspect a drain under the road to the murder scene at Cheverlaine near Annecy

