ALPS BRITS DEATH LINK TO MADDIE

Fears over string of killings

A SUSPECTED serial killer charged with snatching a “French Maddie” is being linked to the chilling murder of a Brit family in the Alps.

Police believe Nordahl Lelandais abducted nine-year-old Maelys de Araujo from a wedding in the village of Pont-de-Beauvoisin in August.

Her disappearance bears a remarkable similarity to that of Madeleine McCann, who vanished in Portugal in 2007.

And fears are growing that Lelandais has been responsible for a string of killings in the mountainous region.

Police are re-examining the roadside massacre of Surrey engineer Saad Al-Hilli, his wife Iqbal, and her mother, ® Suhaila Al-Allaf. The trio were shot dead in a layby near Annecy in 2012.

Sylvain Mollier, a French cyclist who was passing by, was also killed in the bloodbath. The Al-Hilli’s two daughters, Zainab, and Zeena, both survived.

Chambéry prosecutor Thierry Dran said Lelandais could be responsible, adding: “We’re going to look at all disturbing disappearances that have taken place.”

Ex-soldier Lelandais is also accused of murdering off-duty corporal Arthur Noyer, who vanished while hitchhiking in Chambéry in April.

Lelandais was arrested in September and was this week charged with abducting Maelys, who is still missing.