Hollyoaks actor Callum Kerr has urged friends of his late mother not to attend his stepfather’s funeral after the pair are believed to have been killed in a murder-suicide.
Andrew Searle, 65, and his 56-year-old wife Dawn were found dead at their home in Les Pequies, south west France, by a horrified neighbour on February 6 this year.
Mrs Searle was discovered in her pyjamas outside their house 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.
Post-mortem examination results showed there were no defensive wounds on Mr Searle, nor did any forensic evidence suggest persons unknown had touched him or his wife.
Earlier this year, a prosecutor in charge of the case concluded there was no evidence anyone else was involved in their deaths – meaning one of the spouses murdered the other before dying by suicide.
Mr Kerr has now urged friends of his mother not to attend Mr Searle’s funeral, saying it would be ‘inappropriate’ for her memory to be associated with the man ‘who may have been responsible for her death’.
He this afternoon said in a statement on social media: ‘In the absence of any evidence suggesting third-party involvement in the tragic death of our mother, Dawn Kerr, the prevailing hypothesis remains that of a murder-suicide.
‘Our mother was killed by multiple blows to the head, and Andrew was found deceased by hanging. His injuries are consistent with self-hanging, and no defensive wounds were found on his body. There is also no evidence whatsoever of any third party’s involvement at this stage.
‘While the official investigation is still ongoing, we cannot ignore the circumstances as they stand,’ the statement continued.
‘For this reason, we must respectfully but firmly request that our mother not be included in any way in the funeral arrangements being made for Andrew. Please do not share photographs of them together.
‘Please do not attend Andrew’s service if you were a friend of our mother. It would be inappropriate for her memory to be associated with a service honouring the man who, based on all available evidence, may have been responsible for her death.
‘We ask for understanding, privacy and respect as we continue to grieve and seek justice for our mum.’
Actor and country singer Mr Kerr attended the couple’s wedding and walked his mother down the aisle during the ceremony in France in 2023.
Mr Kerr starred as PC George Kiss in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and has appeared in the romantic drama Virgin River on Netflix.
Mr Kerr, who now lives in the southern US state of Tennessee, released a statement on behalf of the Searles’ grief-stricken children following their parents’ deaths earlier this year.
He wrote: ‘At this time, Callum Kerr and Amanda Kerr are grieving the loss of their mother, Dawn Searle, while Tom Searle and Ella Searle are mourning the loss of their father, Andrew Searle.’
Back in February, investigators reportedly believed that a marital crime followed by a suicide was probable, after examinations in the house and garden failed to uncover evidence of a third party.
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.
The couple had started a new life at a villa in picturesque Les Pesquiès, north of Toulouse, after moving from Musselburgh in East Lothian, Scotland, ten years ago.
Less than 24 hours before he was found dead, CCTV footage appeared to show Mr Searle entering a tobacconist in Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
It is understood that he 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.
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