French prosecutors have revealed how a British couple died in violent circumstances days after they were found dead at their home in rural France.
Andrew and Dawn Searle, in their sixties, were found by a neighbour at their property in Les Pesquies on Thursday. The mayor told French television the deaths were ‘clearly a homicide’.
Pathologists working with judges in Montpellier carried out post-mortem examinations yesterday, confirming that Ms Searle had ‘severe wound to the skull caused by several blows caused by a sharp instrument’ that has not been found.
Nicolas Rigot-Muller, the Rodez public prosecutor, said jewellery and cash was found scattered around her partially clothed body outside the house.
‘For his part, the body of Andrew Searle was found hanged, without any trace of defensive wounds,’ said Mr Rigot-Muller.
Investigators have remained tight-lipped about a possible murder suspect, with the regional prosecutor refusing to say whether police are looking for anyone in connection with the deaths.
CCTV footage is providing vital clues to solving the mystery, with detectives confident that any potential killer will have been picked up at some point by one of the scores of police, traffic and private cameras in the area.
Mr Searle, originally from England, was seen in surveillance footage in a tobacconist in Villefranche-de-Rouergue just hours before he died, buying lottery tickets and chocolate.
He had experienced financial problems and had to liquidate his holiday letting business, it emerged.
A criminal enquiry has now been opened for murder, ‘in particular to determine whether the tragedy is the result of a domestic crime followed by suicide, or is the result of the intervention of a third party,’ said Mr Rigot-Muller.
The analysis at the Montpellier forensic institute have made it possible to reject any trace of sexual assault on Dawn Kerr, said the prosecutor.
The investigation is now trying to establish the precise chronology of events and the responsibilities of each party.
Police technicians have meanwhile been examining all devices belonging to the couple, and leads are being followed up.
Jean-Sébastien Orcibal, the local mayor who married the couple just two years ago, said he was convinced they had been murdered, while dismissing the theory of ‘a burglarly gone wrong’.
Mr Searle was a former financial investigator who was involved in the fight against organised crime, sparking suggestions that the couple may have been targeted by hitmen – a theory which French investigators are now moving away from.
The couple moved to France ten years ago after Mr Searle took an early retirement in 2015.
He went on to experience financial troubles, mainly with his pension, and had taken months to pay a bill of several thousand euros, according to reports.
He had been seen crying in the nearby town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue in December after settling the debt, The Telegraph reports.
Publicly available financial documents in France also show that a rental business he set up in Les Pesquies folded in December 2023 with no accounts filed.
Witnesses have told MailOnline they saw Mr Searle arguing on his mobile in the days leading up to his death and he was seen buying lottery tickets on consecutive days.
Officials refused to comment on claims about Mr Searle’s financial woes.
Prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller is expected to give an update in the case today once autopsies have been carried out at Montpellier Hospital.
He told MailOnline: ‘Nothing has been ruled in or out. I will give more details on Tuesday when I also have the initial findings from the autopsies.’
A neighbour, who asked not to be named said: ‘The whole village is shocked by what happened. No one can believe it.
‘They were such a friendly couple and had a barbeque every year at the end of the summer and everyone was invited.
‘I saw them the day before they were found, they were walking the dogs and Andrew was on the phone.
‘He was very agitated, and he was arguing violently in English, he just waved at me and then carried on. I don’t know, maybe it’s relevant but I can’t see burglary as a motive.
Police are said to be seriously considering the possibility that the deaths were a murder-suicide, with a source telling MailOnline: ‘We have to look at everything in cases like this and nothing is left unchecked.
‘Most murders are carried out by someone who knew the victim and that is the theory we are pursuing in this case, with the perpetrator committing suicide.
‘It will take a few days to work out the finer details but the suggestion it was a break-in gone wrong is losing ground.
‘Yes, his background as a financial investigator could be a motive but it’s been a decade since he stopped doing this sort of work.
‘That’s why the murder-suicide theory is gaining more probability, but we will have to wait for the investigation to conclude before we are 100 per cent certain.’
But friends of the couple have rejected the theory.
A British couple in their 60s, who did not wish to be identified, told The Telegraph: ‘Us Brits, who knew Dawn and Andy very well, are certain this is not a murder-suicide because of financial difficulties or anything like that.
‘They weren’t flashy by any means, but they were definitely comfortable and had it good out here.
‘They were always travelling. They recently went to a family wedding in Goa, they went to South America for their honeymoon.’
Another British couple who knew the Searles, said: ‘Life was good, why would they want to kill themselves?’
Meanwhile former colleagues have reacted sceptically to the suggestion that Mr Searle could have been targeted due to his fraud investigation work.
A financial source who was aware of Mr Searle’s previous work said: ‘Big banks and financial institutions have scores of people working in this field.
‘A lot of people do these sorts of checks at scale all day, every day and it’s not individuals going against individuals, it’s an anonymous process.
‘What he was doing wasn’t particularly unusual and it was all a long time ago.’
The couple’s four children from previous marriages are expected to have a meeting with prosecutors in the next few days after flying in from the UK, India, Portugal and the US.
Also with them is Mr Searle’s father Fred, 88, a retired British army major, from Littlehampton, West Sussex, who said before he left: ‘We have thousands of questions but no answers.’
The couple had moved to the hamlet of Les Pesquies in 2015 and on Saturday Dawn’s son, Hollyoaks and Netflix star Callum Kerr, issued a statement on the grief-stricken family’s behalf.
He said: ‘At this time, Callum Kerr and Amanda Kerr are grieving the loss of their mother, Dawn Searle (nee Kerr), while Tom Searle and Ella Searle are mourning the loss of their father, Andrew Searle.’
Callum – who lives in Nashville, Tennessee – ended the brief statement, which he posted on his Instagram, by asking for the family’s privacy to be respected during this ‘difficult time’.
The couple attended Tom’s wedding in Goa, India, last November while Ella lives in Portugal and Amanda is in Edinburgh – but they are all believed to be now in France.
A spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the local authorities.’
