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Alps Murders: Victim Fought With Brother

Alps Murders: Victim Fought With Brother

The brother of a British man shot dead in the French Alps with his family has revealed the pair had a violent row over a £1m inheritance, which led to the police being called.

But Zaid al Hilli again insisted he had no involvement in the murders, and claimed the killer's target had been a cyclist who was also gunned down in the deadly September 2012 attack.

The 56-year-old was arrested on suspicion of the murders in June 2013 but was later told he would face no further action due to lack of evidence.

No one has ever been charged over the fatal shootings.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Mr al Hilli, admitted he fought with his younger brother in October 2011 after months of arguments over a £1m property, which the family owned in Claygate, Surrey.

Saad believed he was entitled to sole ownership of the house following their parents' deaths, Mr al Hilli said.

Recounting the row, Mr al Hilli told the Mirror: "He's a much bigger guy than I am.

"He pinned me down on the bed and he calls his wife and says, 'He's hitting me, he's hitting me'.

"I was underneath!"

It was the last time he spoke to his brother, with all further contact made through a lawyer.

Engineer Saad al Hilli, his wife Ikbal, and her mother Suhaila al Allaf were shot dead on a forest road in Chevaline in September 2012.

The couple's daughter Zainab, who was seven at the time, recovered after being shot and pistol-whipped.

Her sister Zeena, four, was found unhurt, hiding beneath her mother's body inside the bullet-riddled BMW car.

Local cyclist Sylvain Mollier was also murdered.

Mr al Hilli told the newspaper: "Saad was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I think they twisted it around.

"It's not fair on the families and the victims this went on for such a long time with not a shred of evidence.

"There is a cover-up. I think they know who is behind it, who is the gunman and everything.

"It's absolute nonsense what they came out with.

"I think they know exactly who was the target, and it was Sylvain Mollier."

Earlier this year, a motorcyclist arrested over the murders was eliminated from police enquiries.