A woman found dead alongside her husband at their idyllic French home is likely to have been dumped in the garden as part of a ‘staged’ burglary, detectives have said.
Andrew Searle, 65, and his wife Dawn, 56, who only married two years ago, were found dead earlier this month by a horrified neighbour who was worried he had not seen them out with their dogs.
They had started a new life at a villa in picturesque Les Pesquiès, north of Toulouse, after moving from Musselburgh in East Lothian ten years ago.
Mrs Searle was discovered in her pyjamas outside their house on February 6 with a head injury and jewellery scattered around her body.
Her husband, a former financial investigator, was found dead inside the house, hanging from a radiator.
It was initially believed Mrs Searle had tried to run away from an attacker before she was caught and battered to death.
There was also evidence of a frantic search inside the property, with drawers and cupboards left open and furniture upended.
But inquiry sources said that Mrs Searle ‘would have certainly been heard by near neighbours’ if she had been murdered in the garden.
One investigator said: ‘What is very likely is that the victim was killed inside the house, with doors and windows shut on a winter’s night, and then her body dumped in the garden.’
It is believed that the killing was a ‘staged burglary gone wrong’.
This fits the ‘murder-suicide’ theory in the investigation that apparently saw Mr Searle kill his wife before hanging himself.
Nicolas Rigot-Muller, the Rodez prosecutor leading the investigation, told The Sunday Post that ‘a marital crime followed by a suicide’ was probable.
He said that if a stranger had attacked the couple, it is likely they would have raised the alarm by shouting.
There have been no arrests in connection with the deaths, nor any public appeals for potential suspects to come forward.
Post-mortem examination results show there were no defensive wounds on Mr Searle, nor any forensic evidence suggesting persons unknown touched him or his wife.
Further examinations in the house and its garden have also failed to uncover evidence 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 ruled out ‘the intervention of a third party’ in the deaths and the investigation ‘remains open’.
The Searle home is a cordoned-off crime scene, with its swimming pool covered.
Jean-Sébastien Orcibal, the mayor of Les Pesquiès, said the couple ‘were extremely happy together’.
Mr Orcibal officiated at their wedding in the hamlet in 2023, when Mrs Searle was walked down the aisle by actor and country singer Callum Kerr, her son from a previous marriage.
Mr Kerr starred as PC George Kiss in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and has appeared in the romantic drama Virgin River on Netflix.
Mr Searle was originally from West Sussex, while his wife grew up in Eyemouth, Berwickshire.
It is understood that Mr Searle spent at least 20 years working with the police and Serious Fraud Office targeting organised crime groups involved in financial crimes such as money laundering.
CCTV footage appeared to show his last known movements, entering a tobacconist in Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
Less than 24 hours before he was found dead, he seemed happy and relaxed as he bought a chocolate bar and lotto tickets.