French police say they may have found DNA from the killer of a British family gunned down in the Alps, reports The Daily Telegraph.
The vital breakthrough comes more than seven months after members of the Al-Hilli family were gunned down in an isolated beauty spot close to Lake Annecy.
It is being analysed at two laboratories in France and will enable detectives to step up their international manhunt for the murderer.
Saad Al-Hilli, 50, died alongside his wife Ikbal, 47, and his mother-in-law Suhalia Al-Allaf, 74, in their BMW car on September 5th.
Sylvain Mollier, a 45-year-old French cyclist was also killed in the bloodbath, which is believed to have been carried out by at least one gunman brandishing a pistol.
Now Annecy prosecutor Eric Maillaud has confirmed that "unidentified DNA" was found on "elements at the scene".
Now Mr Maillaud has asked for saliva samples of all the police and medics who dealt with the early investigation.
This is to ensure that the scene was not contaminated with their DNA – something which the authorities made every effort to avoid.
Read more of this report from The Daily Telegraph.