© Julian Simmonds
Police and forensics examine the BMW at the scene of the shooting in woods near Chevaline in the French Alps back in 2012
Police and forensics examine the BMW at the scene of the shooting in woods near Chevaline in the French Alps back in 2012
Iqbal Al-Hilli died along with her husband, Saad, and her mother Suhaila al-Allaf when a gunman opened fire on their car during a family holiday in September 2012.
A passing French cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, also died, but the couple's two daughters, aged four and seven, both survived the attack.
French police have been baffled by the murders and have explored a wide range of possible motives.
But it has now emerged that Mrs Al-Hilli had previously been married to an American oil worker called Jim Thompson, who lived in the town of Natchez in Mississippi.
In an extraordinary and sinister twist, Mr Thompson died on the very same day that the Al-Hilli family were gunned down.
According to his death certificate he died of a massive heart-attack, but members of his family have cast doubt on the cause of death, with one relative even suggesting he may have been killed with a poison dart.
Mr Thompson's daughter Joy Martinloch said her aunt had always suspected foul play and said there had been speculation that he had been poisoned.
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