A metre-long bloodstain is visible outside the Dordogne holiday home of the British woman stabbed to death in a frenzied attack – as the wealthy businessman said to have been in a relationship with her is lying low as he recovers from the shock of finding her body.
Jean-François Guerrier was one of the last people to see mother-of-four Karen Carter, 65, alive after spending the evening with her at a wine-tasting.
He found her body later the same night outside her gîte in the pretty village of Trémolat in southwest France.
Monsieur Guerrier lives in a large, gated farmhouse two kilometres from the centre of the village, which is nestled in the stunning countryside east of Bordeaux.
A female relative, who spoke with an English accent, said: ‘He doesn’t want to say anything but he’s fine.’
The 74-year-old discovered Ms Carter’s body on Tuesday night after going to check on her when she failed to call him to confirm that she had returned home safely following a wine-tasting event.
He was initially questioned by detectives but later released without charge.
According to the local prosecutor’s office, Ms Carter had been in a relationship with Monsieur Guerrier, former managing director for Fujitsu Services, for ‘several weeks.’
Ms Carter, a dual British and South African national, was still married to husband, Alan Carter, who has remained at the family home in East London, South Africa.
She was found sprawled on the ground with eight stab wounds over her chest, groin, arm and leg outside her guest house that she rented to visitors.
An autopsy revealed that she most likely ‘tried to defend herself from a frenzied attack’.
Evidence of the brutal murder remained visible yesterday in the form of the crimson stain close to the veranda of her gîte, or holiday home, that she owned with her husband and which was cordoned off by police tape.
Sylvie Martins-Guedes, the prosecutor in Bergerac leading the investigation, said the wounds were made with a sharp object and that the ferocity of the stabbing revealed a ‘desire to kill’.
A 69-year-old woman, known to Ms Carter and her husband and a respected member of the community, was arrested and her property in the village searched but she was released without charge on Friday evening.
Police, who have yet to find a murder weapon, were yesterday scouring woodland near to Ms Carter’s converted farmhouse and barn, which is located along a quiet road nicknamed ‘Boulevard des Anglais’ due to the large number of Britons who have holiday homes there.
Their investigation is concentrating on those who knew the victim, amid suspicions that she was killed by someone who held a ‘grudge’ against her or the fact she was in a relationship.
A close-friend of Ms Carter, who declined to give her name, said: ‘She was the loveliest person you could meet. She didn’t have any enemies, as far as I’m aware, there was no feud with anyone.
‘Nothing was stolen so it couldn’t have been a robbery. Nobody knows why she was killed, everyone who knew her is in complete shock at what has happened. She was fantastic.’
The friend also hit back at suggestions that Ms Carter was in a relationship with Monsieur Guerrier adding: ‘They were just friends, that is all. The idea that they were in some kind of relationship is nonsense. Everyone is friends with Jean-Francois in this village.’
However, other neighbours claimed the killing was indeed a ‘crime of passion’.
A Belgian lady who lives nearby and only gave her name as Martine said: ‘There is no crime here, it’s unheard of.
‘It’s a tragedy for her. A love story, it’s a crime of passion. Two women and a man, she had a new boyfriend, there it is.’
Martine said British ex-pats tended to ‘stick together’ and not mix too much with French-speaking families.
But she said that Britons were well liked in Trémolat, adding: ‘They buy up and renovate some of the old farmhouses here and keep the village thriving. There is no animosity from locals at all.’
Ms Carter was said to divide her time between France and South Africa. She and her husband have owned their property, called Les Chouettes (The Owls), for the last 15-years.
The farmhouse and barn sleeps 14 in total and is a popular holiday rental. The couple owned two other properties near Trémolat.
On Tuesday Ms Carter had trained with her local football team made up of women aged between 50 and 70-years-old called Reines du Foot or Queens of Football.
Later that evening she attended a wine-tasting soirée at Cafe Village, a cafe and bar which acts as the community hub for Trémolat and where she herself sometimes volunteered to help serve drinks.
Just before she left, Monsieur Guerrier asked her to call him when she got home so he knew she was safe.
However, when no such call was made he locked up and drove to her home and found her body lying close to her car.
A fellow British ex-pat, Adrian Carter, of no relation, told : ‘I knew Karen a little bit.
‘The Cafe Village is a cafe and bar and a sort of village hub and she worked there as one of the local volunteers.
‘Jean-Francois is the president of the village’s General Assembly which is based at the cafe.
‘On Tuesday, Karen had been at football training. She plays for a team of local women aged between 50 and 70-years-old.
‘Later that evening there was an event at the cafe, and from what I understand Karen went along. I’ve heard it described as a wine-tasting event but I didn’t go myself so cannot be certain.
‘But just before Karen left, Jean-Francois apparently called over to her and said “make sure you call me when you get back home so I know you’re ok”.
‘She agreed and left but she never made that call. Jean-Francois is usually the man who locks up and he went to check on her and found her body. It must have been an awful sight.
‘The cafe has remained closed since and won’t open again until next week. I haven’t spoken to Jean-Francois since but the village is in complete shock that something like this could happen here.’
Monsieur Guerrier is understood to have called police and medics and made attempts himself to revive her.
An ambulance arrived at 10.17pm to find Ms Carter ‘in cardio-respiratory arrest’.
Despite the best efforts of medics, she died at the scene from severe blood loss.
Speaking to The Times on Friday, Ms Carter’s husband said he had been informed of the murder the following day by a cousin of his who lives in Trémolat.
He said: ’I don’t know the details, but I understand the attack was vicious and deliberate, and not like it was by an interrupted intruder.
‘It is likely to have been someone Karen knew and had an issue with her. But she was a kind and friendly person and got on with people.’
He told The Times that he was ‘disturbed’ to read that his wife had ‘started a relationship’ with another man, as presented by the state prosecutor, insisting Monsieur Guerrier was ‘just a friend of hers’.
Meanwhile, Queens of Football, which in early April completed a tour of South Africa, yesterday paid an emotional tribute ahead of their match against a team called Hendaye in the Basque Country.
Alongside some cherished images of Ms Carter on the team’s Instagram page was the message: ‘Today we play for you.’