Jean-Luc Boujon, edited by Juliette Moreau Alvarez
Ten years ago to the day the Chevaline massacre took place, near Annecy, in Haute-Savoie. A British family of Iraqi origin and a French cyclist were found dead in a parking lot near a forest road, each killed by several bullets. An unexplained tragedy that still remains today in the minds of the inhabitants of the village.
The Chevaline massacre still marks memories. Ten years to the day after the tragedy, the inhabitants of this town near Annecy in Haute-Savoie have not forgotten. The quadruple murder committed in the woods near a logging road remains unexplained to this day. The investigation is therefore still ongoing, and the killing remains in people’s minds, especially in Ginette’s: “It was a tragedy, everyone searched, searched. And we found nothing. How? Why? “, she asks herself the question again.
“Every time I pass here, I think about it”
Bernard also has no answer. This cyclist often takes the Combe d’Ire hiking trail, a stone’s throw from the car park where the bodies of the British family of Iraqi origin, and a French cyclist were found. “Every time I pass here, I think about it. There were still these little girls, I think about that. This path, it’s nice to walk there. But now, we have that in the head.” Bernard also regrets that this drama has become the history of his commune. “It weighs a little on the village. The name of Chevaline, it reminds us of this sinister event all the same.”
Ten years later, the Chevalinois continue to build hypotheses, like Brigitte. “We think with the neighbors that they had an appointment with someone,” she explains. “Because riding five in a car, dressed in street clothes without going for a ride, it doesn’t fit in at all with the area.”
Lately, the investigation would have reoriented towards the local track. Difficult to envisage it for Michèle Domenge-Chenal, mayor of Chevaline. “Between us, we all know each other. And really, I can’t believe it could be someone from us. It’s not possible. There is no spirit of suspicion in any case in the village.” In Chevaline, many moreover remain convinced that the truth about the killing will never be known.