Child who survived Alps killings returns to UK
A British girl who survived the execution-style killing of her father, mother and grandmother in a normally idyllic region of the Alps last week returned to Britain on Friday, authorities said, according to CNN.
Zainab al-Hilli, 7, left France in the morning and arrived in the UK, Surrey police said.
As the only survivor, she could be a key witness who saw who carried out the shooting, according to the French prosecutor leading the investigation.
She spent several days in a medically induced coma, and as of Wednesday, she remained too badly injured to be questioned, Eric Maillaud said.
She was beaten and shot in the attack, and rescued by a British cyclist who came upon the scene on September 5.
The cyclist, former Royal Air Force pilot Brett Martin, helped the injured girl and called for help.
In an interview with BBC News, he recounted the shocking scene he stumbled across as he went on a regular bike ride in a national park.
Martin said what he found in the parking lot -- three people shot dead in a car and a fourth on the ground nearby -- was like "a Hollywood scene."
His account came as French prosecutor Maillaud and investigating Judge Michel Mollin were in Britain seeking new leads in the case.
They met with Surrey Police, whose officers have been helping French investigators to search the home of two of the victims, Saad and Ikbal al-Hilli, in Claygate town, Surrey county.
Maillaud said it was "highly likely that the reasons and causes for (the crime) have their origin in this country."
"Our presence here does not mean that there are problems between the two jurisdictions," Maillaud said. "We wish to reinforce our cooperation and understanding with hope to reach a conclusion to these horrible murders."