A four-year-old girl who hid under the corpse of her dead mother following a gun attack in the French Alps has returned to Britain, Sky News has reported.
Zaina al-Hilli lay undiscovered for eight hours after the attack. Her aunt and uncle are thought to have accompanied her back to Britain, after travelling to the area in the wake of the shootings, reported AFP.
Saad al-Hilli from Surrey was killed in his car alongside his dentist wife, named by neighbours as Iqbal, on Wednesday.
Her seven-year-old sister Zainab remains in a medically induced coma after being shot and beaten. Police plan to look at aspects of Mr al-Hilli's life to try to find a motive for the murders and also speak with his brother, named in reports as Zaid Hilli. It is reported the two had been rowing over money.
However investigators said Mr al-Hilli's sibling approached UK police to deny any feud with his sibling over money.
An older Swedish woman travelling in the car also died in the shooting, along with Sylvain Mollier, 45, a French cyclist who apparently stumbled across the attack in Chevaline.
It is also believed detectives will look into Mr al-Hilli's profession, with reports emerging that he was working as a contractor for a satellites technology company in Surrey.
The al-Hilli family home in Surrey: police are continuing to search the house on Sunday
Some media reports have suggested that Mr al-Hilli, an engineer who left Saddam Hussein's Iraq several years ago, was known to the security services and was put under surveillance by Metropolitan Police Special Branch during the second Gulf war.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said they could not comment. But it is understood there is no link between the deaths and any national security issues.
The campsite where the family was holidaying before the tragedy
Zeena has spoken to police and confirmed that two of the victims were her parents, but said she did not know the Swedish woman very well.
Mr Maillaud said they were working with Swedish authorities as they try to confirm the woman's relationship to the family.
French authorities have also asked their Italian and Swiss counterparts to help them in their hunt for the killer or killers.
Witnesses have said they saw a green four-wheel-drive vehicle in the area at the time of the killings, and possibly a motorbike.
Investigators have found 25 spent bullet cartridges at the scene on the outskirts of a forest near Lake Annecy, while two mobile phones found in the al-Hilli's bullet-ridden BMW are being analysed by police.
Post-mortem examinations revealed each of the victims killed in the attack had been shot a number of times, including two hits to the head, Mr Maillaud said.
The prosecutor revealed the family had visited France a number of times before and it was not the first time they had been to Le Solitaire du Lac campsite.
One theory is that shots could have been fired during a bungled armed robbery, with Mr Mollier being a witness to the crime.
But speculation about other possible motives, including a pre-planned attack by professional hitmen, remained rife.
Two Surrey police officers carrying Tasers and side firearms spent around 10 minutes in the house before leaving.
A Surrey Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the two officers who entered the house were firearms officers.
"Firearms officers are routinely deployed on searches."
She was unable to give a reason for their visit.
SEE ALSO:
- French Alps Shooting: Dead Father, Saad Al-Hilli, 'Known' To Security Services (PICTURES)
- Francois Hollande Says Police Will Do Their 'Utmost' To Find Family's Killer
- British Al-Hilli Family Named, Father Saad, Mother Iqbal Killed, Daughters Zainab And Zeena Survive
- Killed Cyclist Named As Sylvain Mollier