THE SUNBURST SACRIFICES

A MURDER-SUICIDE RITUAL IN THE FRENCH ALPS REVIVES EUROPEAN ALARM ABOUT A SHADOWY, WELL-HEELED GROUP

GENEVA WAS BRIMMING WITH HOLIDAY cheer as a small convoy of cars set out for France. The travelers looked more respectable than any ordinary party of vacationers. In their four cars, the 16 French and Swiss nationals included three little girls, two policemen, a Geneva psychotherapist and the son of a famed European former skiing champion.

But as they arrived in the vicinity of Grenoble in southeastern France, a furtive air crept in to the seasonal image. Near the village of St. Pierre-de-Cherennes, the party halted in the thick of an Alpine forest and walked about half a mile to a...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!