'He was a controI freak, I wanted him wiped

out of my Iife': Astonishing Ietter shows IeveI

of animosity between French AIps murder
victim and his brother
ChiIdhood friend reveaIs note sent to her in row over father's assets
Did his secret work on sateIIite contract make him prime assassination
target?
French investigators to quiz work coIIeagues at Surrey firm
AII four victims were shot twice in the head and may have been foIIowed by
their kiIIers
Four-year-oId survivor of French assassination shown a photo of murdered
mother and excIaimed 'mummy'
PoIice say they are Iooking at whether murderer may have Iured famiIy to
kiIIing spot
By Stephen Wright and Nick Fagge
PUBLISHED: 12:32 GMT, 9 September 2012 | UPDATED: 00:17 GMT, 10 September 2012
An astonishing letter showing the degree of animosity between two brothers has been revealed today in
the baffling murder in France of Briton Saad al-Hilli.
As French detectives prepared to question his work colleagues, it emerged that there was a dispute
between him and his brother Zaid.
Mae Faisal El-Wailly, a childhood friend of the brothers, made available a letter written to her by Saad
who described his brother as a 'control freak.' He also said he wanted him 'wiped out' of his life.
ScroII down for video
The inquiry into the murder of Saad AI-HiIIi wiII now switch to Surrey SateIIites
TechnoIogy Limited (SSTL) near GuiIdford, pictured
Mr AI-HiIIi worked on map-making sateIIites, such as this one, poIice have discovered
that the engineer was working on a secret contract for one of Europe's biggest defence
companies
The letter, quoted in the Sunday ndependent, alludes to a dispute over their father's estate and was
dated 16 September 2011.
Saad wrote: 'Zaid and do not communicate any more as he is another control freak and tried a lot of
underhanded things even when my father was alive.
'He tried to take control of father's assets and demanded control. Anyway it is a long story and now
have just had to wipe him out of my life.
'Sad but need to concentrate now on my wife and two lovely girls...'
Zaid al-Hilli has yet to give his response to the letter, but on Friday he went to British police and told
them: ' have no conflict with my brother.' And a source close to the family insisted yesterday it was
nothing more than a 'minor squabble'.
Victim: A newIy reIeased picture of Saad AI-HiIIi who was gunned down in the French
AIps
French detectives will quiz Mr Al-Hilli's work colleagues after they discovered he was killed while on a
secret contract for one of Europe's biggest defence companies.
The inquiry's focus will switch to Surrey Satellites Technology Limited (SSTL) near Guildford this week
when gendarmes will question the workforce about whether Mr Al-Hilli's job may have made him a
target for assassination.
As fears grew that Mr Al-Hilli and his family were the victims of contract killers, it emerged that:
All four of the adults who died were shot twice in the head the hallmark of professionals.
Two mobile phones found within the Al-Hillis' car could provide vital clues for police.
Police are investigating a theory the killers 'shadowed' the al-Hillis as they travelled through
France.
British and French police yesterday conducted a forensic search of the family's 1.5million home in
Claygate, Surrey, as two members of the extended family arrived in France to comfort the orphaned
daughters, Zeena, four, and seven-year-old Zainab, who remains in an induced coma after suffering a
fractured skull during a suspected pistol-whipping.
raqi-born aerospace engineer Mr Al-Hilli, 50, his 47-year-old wife qbal, and his Swedish mother-in-law
were killed in a hail of about 25 bullets outside Chevaline in the French Alps on Wednesday. Local
cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, was also murdered after disturbing the killers.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Mr al-Hilli was part of a team involved in an undisclosed project
linked to European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) a pan-European defence giant which has
contracts with Russia, China and the Foreign Office.
A British poIice crime scene investigator examines the interior of a window inside the
Surrey home of Saad AI-HiIIi
This evening poIice remained a presence outside the AI-HiIIi home where forensic
officers have been searching for cIues to foIIowing the murder of aerospace engineer
Saad AI-HiIIi
SSTL, which was acquired by EADS in 2008, has raised security levels at its glass-fronted offices since
the murders last week, with grieving staff barred from speaking about the tragedy.
EADS lists bodies including NASA, the European Space Agency, and MoD defence contractor Thales as
clients. A key partner in the Eurofighter project, the company also designs and launches satellites for
clients who want an 'eye in the sky' for commercial, civil or security purposes.
The Mail on Sunday has discovered that in December Mr al-Hilli visited a sub-division of SSTL called
DMC nternational maging, which has recently signed a contract with the Chinese to help map the
country via satellite imagery. DMC also has a lucrative satellite-mapping deal with Russia and is working
with the Foreign Office in Afghanistan to monitor illicit opium poppy cultivation.
Mr al-Hilli, a civilian contractor, has worked as a mechanical design engineer at SSTL for the past two
years and was popular with colleagues. Several are listed as his friends on Facebook, but mysteriously
none posted any comments on a tribute page set up on the social networking site last week.
Now, as the murder inquiry broadens, French and British police are to probe his business dealings and
the possibility that the sensitive nature of his work may be linked to the shootings.
Investigation: French and British poIice arrive at the AI-HiIIis home in CIaygate, Surrey,
yesterday
One line of inquiry is that Mr Al-Hilli had access to information that would have been valuable to a
commercial competitor or that he had become a victim of blackmail.
Yesterday Claude Moniquet, director of the Brussels-based European Strategic ntelligence and
Security Centre (ESSC), said: 'Satellite technology, along with drone technology, is the new frontier of
science and a market which is worth billions of pounds.
'Competition in a corporate sense is intense, as there is the potential to make a lot of money with each
development ahead of your rivals.
'Mr al-Hilli's company was also a renowned leader in satellite mapping, and if it was secretly doing this
in countries which would not welcome such an intrusion, then we have a possible motive.'
Forensic officers searched the home of the AI-HiIIi famiIy yesterday. French
investigators are working with British coIIeagues to find the kiIIers
He said another area French police may explore is whether a Middle Eastern group may have been
involved. 'The ranians, for example, are desperate to acquire cutting-edge technology which they
cannot legally obtain. f somehow they were either getting it from Mr al-Hilli, or hoped to get it from him
and he refused, they would not think twice about killing him.
'Also bear in mind that the ranian intelligence service works in tandem with many private companies
and this is a very lucrative market.'
None of Mr al-Hilli's businesses appear to have been making much money, something which has raised
questions about how he financed his lifestyle.
Shtech, the aeronautical business he ran with his wife qbal and which had sub-contracted with SSTL,
registered profits of just 8,330 last year.
Grief: FamiIy friends outside the AI-HiIIi home in CIaygate, Surrey, yesterday
Mr al-Hilli's brother, who has a background in public relations, was the company secretary since its
formation but was abruptly removed in favour of qbal in January last year.
His Swindon-registered aerial survey company, AMS1087, generated just 2,118 in profits according to
its latest accounts.
RAF CYCLIST SAYS HE IS 'TERRIFIED OF BEING IDENTIFIED'
The RAF veteran with 'nerves of steel' who discovered the bloodbath is terrified of being identified,
French police revealed last night.
Colonel Bertrand Francois, head of the local gendarmerie, praised the English cyclist for the way he
acted after coming across the BMW with three dead bodies in it.
He not only put seven-year-old Zainab Al-Hilli in the recovery position, which could have saved her life,
he also turned off the car's engine and then called police.
But 'he has been unable to sleep' since, said Col Francois, who added: 'His private life is over for the
coming months. We are doing everything to protect his anonymity.'
There have been fears the killers might target witnesses.
Prosecutor Eric Maillaud also praised the cyclist, saying: 'His extraordinary conduct, testimony and
bravery should be saluted. He's someone with nerves of steel.'
Last night an SSTL spokesman pointedly refused to disclose the precise nature of Mr al-Hilli's work,
citing commercial confidentiality.
n a statement issued to the media, SSTL chief executive Matt Perkins paid tribute to his dead
colleague, saying his murder had left him deeply shocked and saddened.
'Saad's colleagues will remember him as an experienced and committed engineer who worked as part
of a tight-knit team,' he said. Yesterday, there was a strong security presence outside Mr al-Hilli's
workplace in Guildford.
Police and security staff, as well as two senior executives, were stopping all visitors entering the
headquarters. Staff declined to answer questions about Mr al-Hilli and it was not until late on Friday that
they finally confirmed his link to the company.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Mr al-Hilli subscribed to the Google Circles social networking
website, where he recorded his own movements.This showed that on December 14 and 15 last year he
had been working at DMC maging, a subsidiary of SSTL.
On December 16 he left the Brittany Ferries dock in Portsmouth Harbour on a business visit to France.
Senior security sources said last night that the murders in France had no link to Britain's national
security, but declined to speculate on whether Mr al-Hilli may have been caught up in industrial
espionage.
French investigators have said they would look at all aspects of his work. But Surrey Police, who
confirmed that they are working with a team of French police, declined to say when officers would be
speaking to Mr al-Hilli's work colleagues.
Two mobile phones found in bullet-riddled BMW in which the three family members were shot may hold
'crucial clues to the murder.
Detectives hope details of the victims' last calls and text messages along with phone network records
showing their movements will help explain why they were targeted on a remote forest road.
A French police source said: 'The phones are crucial to the enquiry. They are now being analysed by
specialist officers.'
t may also help build a better picture of exactly which route the family took on their 600-mile, 12-hour
drive through France. f the family were not the victims of a random shooting, it is possible their killer or
killers followed them.
PoIice tape seaIs the caravan and tent used by Saad aI-HiIIi and his famiIy whiIe on
hoIiday at the Le SoIitaire du Lac campsite on Lake Annecy in the Haute-Savoie region
of south-eastern France
DeIayed reaction: SeveraI hours after poIice arrived on scene, Mr AI-HiIIi's four-year-oId
daughter Zeena was found aIive huddIing under her mother's Iegs inside the car
n Claygate yesterday, a procession of Surrey Police officers in scene-of-crime suits was seen entering
and leaving the al-Hillis' home.
French prosecutor Eric Maillaud said there was still a great deal of suspicion about the relationship
between 50-year-old Saad and his brother Zaid, 53.
Mr Maillaud said: 'We have raised the conflict between the two brothers as we try to find as much as
possible about the companies that he [Saad] worked for and the assets he owned to see if there was
any conflict between the two.
'Everyone talks of a dispute, but we have to try to establish that this is true.'
But acquaintances of Saad in Mijas, Southern Spain, where his father Kadhim owned a small 40,000
flat above an expat bar, yesterday played down reports of a family feud over money.
Saad put a block on his late father's will after he died in Spain in August last year, halting his brother
Zaid's claim to any inheritance.
Zaid has denied any feud after going to a police station near his home in Kingston, Surrey, to speak to
detectives.
Ali Al-Hilli, cousin of Zaid and Saad, said Zaid was distraught following the death of his brother and
cannot understand why his brother would be targetted by gunmen.
He told The Sunday Telegraph: 'When spoke to him he was clearly devastated. he kept saying, 'why,
why, why? How did this happen?'
Police are also looking into the possibility that the Al-Hilli family may have been lured into an ambush by
the murderers.
Asked whether an ambush was a possible scenario, prosecutor Eric Maillaud said: 'Yes. t is something
we would like to look at of course.'
LittIe Zeena sees picture and cries 'Mummy!'
The four-year-old survivor of the French assassinations has been shown a photograph of her
murdered mother, and immediately exclaimed: 'Mummy!'
Police psychologists used the picture to gently prompt Zeena Al-Hilli's memory without bringing back
the full trauma of the killings.
Meanwhile, two relatives have arrived in France with a British social worker to visit Zeena and her
seven-year-old sister Zainab, who is in a medically induced coma at the CHU hospital in Grenoble.
PoIice guard: Armed officers outside the chiIdren's hospitaI where Zainab aI-HiIIi
remains in a coma
Treatment: The CHU hospitaI in GrenobIe where Zainab aI-HiIIi is being cared for after
the shooting of her famiIy
VigiIance: French poIice keep guard at the hospitaI where the sisters are being treated
Public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said the relatives would not be named for 'security reasons'. Two female
gendarmes trained in child psychology are coaxing evidence out of Zeena. They have already spoken
to her via an interpreter in a room decorated in bright colours designed to make her feel as
comfortable as possible.
A source said: 'The aim is to create a fluid dialogue to get the child talking of her own accord.'
Mr Maillaud, one of the leaders of the inquiry, said of Zeena: 'The little girl was terrorised. She rushed
under her mother's legs.
She heard, but she didn't see anything.' He said Zainab's injuries a fractured skull and a bullet in the
shoulder were still 'extremely serious', adding police were hoping she would talk 'at length' when she
is finally able to speak.
't's awful for a little girl to be a key witness, because she will have to talk about her own suffering,' he
said. 'But she's seven and seven is the age of reason sometimes. She can tell the colour of skin, the
colour of clothes and other information we need.'
VIDEO: Forensics officers search house of Saad AI-HiIIi and fIoraI tributes are Ieft
by friends and reIatives

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Comments (20)
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ts a pity there couldn't have been a media blckout for a while to stop this crazy sensationalising of it all. This does no-one
any good. There are a lot of questions to be answered. Comments about finding the daughter under her mother's skirt
have been stupid and crass too - "8 hours? would have taken 8 days to find her if it had been our Police" - absolutely
stupid things to say. t will all come out one day soon. No use to those poor kids though.
- jacey26 , Surrey England, 09/9/2012 17:43
Click to rate Rating 385
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Will someone explain to me what the relevance of the value of his house is? And also, notice it's gone from the original
750,000, to 1 million on Saturday, to 1.5 million today!
- UpTheMightyPool , barmouth, United Kingdom, 09/9/2012 17:22
Click to rate Rating 428
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Wow! With friends like that who needs enemies? t always astounds me that people will sell their souls (& private
exchanges) to cash in on a tragedy like murder. No matter what there relationship was like this man has lost his brother &
sister in law. Awful just doesn't cover it
- Elizaa , Do, 09/9/2012 17:14
Click to rate Rating 185
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Tried to post my comment earlier without success and page has been updated since post. SSTL, which was acquired by
EADS in 2008, has raised security levels at its glass-fronted offices since the murders last week, with grieving staff
BARRED from speaking about the tragedy. .....but MYSTEROUSLY none posted any comments on a tribute page set up
on the social networking site last week. DM - 'll say again - there's a clue why no tributes paid. if employees are BARRED
from speaking, surely this fact prohibits them from paying tributes on social networking site also, nothing mysterious about
it!!
- Peterlor , UK, 09/9/2012 17:10
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He said he had had to wipe him out of his life. Meaning he wanted nothing to do with him. This is completely different to
wanting him wiped out. You don't half like to stir it up!!
- sittingonmysoapbox , lancs, 09/9/2012 17:09
Click to rate Rating 542
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Why would any of his work colleagues want to leave a message on a facebook tribute site? Most of these pages are set
up by non entities wanting their moment of glory. Probably not known to the family or victim, there are a number set up
with any death of notoriety by people who start squealing that they were the first and revel in being a 'admin'.
- Neil Waterhouse , Basingstoke, 09/9/2012 17:08
Click to rate Rating 128
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Theres something fishy about these events. Time will tell!
- Shelley , Littlebough, lancashire, 09/9/2012 16:59
Click to rate Rating 89
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Some years ago worked for a British company who did a lot of Govt work, some defence related. They even had people
at GCHQ. All required security clearance of varying levels. One employee who had been born in raq was basically told
forget it, you'll never get the high clearance required to do some of the jobs. Doubt Al-Hilli would have been allowed to do
anything really top secret and companies risk being thrown off lucrative projects if they don't do proper vetting.
- Sadwoman , Roadtonowhere, United Kingdom, 09/9/2012 16:39
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And the vultures begin to circle!
- Miss CeCe , Derbyshire, 09/9/2012 16:36
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t's all speculation, but of course we don't know what the police know, just the little that's released to the public. This really
is a case of 'time will tell', assuming of course the crime is ever solved. Maybe it never will be.
- seult , Cambridge, 09/9/2012 16:30
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