A woman who was found dead next to her husband in their idyllic French house will probably have been dumped in the garden as part of a 'staged' burglary, investigators have said.
Andrew Searle, 65, and his wife Dawn, 56, who only got married two years ago, were found dead earlier this month by a horrible neighbor who was worried that he had not seen them with their dogs.
They had started a new life in a villa in picturesque Les Pesquiès, north of Toulouse, after moving from Musselburgh in Oost -Lothian ten years ago.
Mrs. Searle was discovered on 6 February in her pajamas outside their house with a main injury and jewelry spread over her body.
Her husband, a former financial researcher, was found dead in the house and hung on a radiator.
It was initially assumed that Mrs. Searle had tried to run away from an attacker before she was caught and was damaged.
There were also indications for a hectic search in the building, with drawers and cupboards opened and furniture on the furniture.
But research sources said that Mrs. Searle 'would certainly have been heard by the nearby neighbors' if she was murdered in the garden.
Andrew Searle, 65, and his wife Dawn, 56 were found dead earlier this month in their French house
Mr. Searle was last depicted on CCTV shopping at his local newspaper shops in Villefranche-de-Rouergue
A researcher said: “What is very likely is that the victim was killed in the house, with doors and windows close to a winter night, and then dumps her body in the garden.”
It is believed that killing a “staged burglary was wrong”.
This fits in with the 'murder suicide theory' in the research that apparently saw Mr Searle kill his wife before he hangs himself.
Nicolas Rigot-Muller, the public prosecutor of Rodez who led the investigation, told the Sunday Post that 'a marital crime followed by a suicide' was probably.
He said that if a stranger had attacked the couple, it is likely that they would have raised the alarm by screaming.
There have been no arrests in connection with the deaths, nor public calls for potential suspects to come forward.
Post-Mortem exam results show that there were no defensive wounds on Mr Searle, nor forensic proof that the unknown persons have touched him or his wife.
Further exams in the house and the garden did not succeed in discovering proof of a third party.
Les Pesquiès and the wider Villefranche-de-Rouergue area are well covered by CCTV in the form of police, traffic and private cameras.
Mr. Rigot-Muller has not completely excluded 'the intervention of a third party' in the dead and the investigation 'remains open'.
The Searle house is a deposited crime scene, covered with the swimming pool.
Jean-Sébastien Orcibal, the mayor of Les Pesquiès, said that the couple 'was extremely happy together'.
Mr Orcibal officer at their marriage in the hamlet in 2023, when Mrs. Searle was walked through the aisle by actor and rural singer Callum Kerr, her son from an earlier marriage.
Mr. Kerr played as PC George Kiss in Channel 4 Soap Hollyoaks and was released in the romantic drama Virgin River on Netflix.
The police still have to make arrests in connection with the deaths or public calls for potential suspects to come forward
Police tape about the gate of the house was the Lord and Mrs. Searle were found. It is believed that the murder was a 'staged burglary wrong'
Mr. Searle was originally from West Sussex, while his wife grew up in Eyemouth, Berwickshire.
It is, however, understood that Mr Searle worked with the police for at least 20 years and a serious fraud office aimed at organized crime groups involved in financial crimes such as money laundering.
CCTV images seemed to show his recently known movements and entered a tobacco conerist in Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
Less than 24 hours before he was found dead, he seemed happy and relaxed when he bought a chocolate bar and Lotto tickets.
