Officials investigating the deaths of a British couple in rural southwest France are treating it as a murder-suicide.
The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle were discovered on 6 February at their home in the hamlet of Les Pesquies.
Mrs Searle’s body was found outside the property with a significant head injury, while Mr Searle’s body was discovered hanging inside and “did not show any visible defensive injuries”, a statement issued by French prosecutors said at the time.
Prosecutor Fabrice Belargent has now said that “the analysis carried out does not so far show any evidence that a third party was involved”.
Mr and Mrs Searle, who previously lived in Musselburgh in East Lothian, had been living in the Aveyron region for five years.
They lived in Les Pesquies and were married in 2023 in the nearby town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
Neighbours described them as a happy couple, who had fully integrated into rural French life and held an annual party for villagers.
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Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, the mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue who conducted the couple’s wedding, told Sky News they were “very happy, very friendly and didn’t seem to have any problems”.
Mrs Searle, 56, grew up in Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, while Mr Searle, 62, was originally from England.
According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Searle retired in 2015 after previously working in financial crime prevention at companies including Standard Life and Barclays.
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Following the deaths, investigators were said to be following several lines of inquiry – including whether the couple were killed during a burglary or potential links to Mr Searle’s previous work in the UK.
Mrs Searle’s son, country musician and former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr, issued a statement on Instagram at the time of the deaths.
Mr Kerr, who walked his mum down the aisle when she married Mr Searle, said in the post that both he and his sister Amanda Kerr were “grieving the loss of their mother”.
He added that Mr Searle’s two children, Tom and Ella Searle, were “mourning the loss of their father” as he requested the family’s privacy be respected during this “difficult period”.
