A former policeman has been arrested in connection with the brutal murders of three members of a British-Iraqi family and a French cyclist near Lake Annecy in the Alps nearly a year and a half ago, a source close to the inquiry said Tuesday, reports FRANCE 24.
The Annecy prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Eric Maillaud, said the 48-year-old suspect is from the Haute-Savoie region of the French Alps.
The man was described as a quiet "mountain man" and a gun enthusiast.
Mayor Antoine de Menthon of the town of Menthon-Saint-Bernard told AFP that the suspect had been "dismissed in June last year" but did not specify the misdemeanor for which he was let go. He said the man had been forced to quit his quarters after the sacking.
Prosecutor Maillaud said there was no apparent "direct link" between the man and the victims, and sources close to the case expressed caution, saying the arrest may only be for questioning.
A source close to the investigation said police searched the man's home, in the village of Lathuile near the scene of the crime, in the presence of his girlfriend.
The arrest comes nearly three months after the authorities released an identikit image of a mysterious motorcyclist seen at the scene of the crime.
"This arrest, which may not be the only one, was the result of witness statements" that emerged after the image was released in November, Maillaud said.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.