The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who were in their 60s, were discovered on Thursday (Image: Facebook)
The Brit couple found dead in rural France were last seen running errands in the local town less than 24 hours before the tragedy.
Neighbours say Dawn Searle, 56 and her husband Andrew, 62, looked “normal” and “happy” as they visited a farm to buy beef and made a chimney sweep booking.
The couple’s lifeless bodies were discovered at their home in the hamlet of Les Pesquies, north of Toulouse, on Thursday.
One neighbour, who owns a farm 200 yards from the couple’s home, told how the pair visited at around 12 noon on Wednesday and purchased some meat. She said: “They both came and just looked normal. We talked about ordinary things. We’re farmers and they came to order meat. We’ve already told the police everything.”
The scene in Les Pesquiès near Villefranche-de-Rouergue in France ( Image: Phil Harris)
About four hours later Dawn visited a local business that maintains fireplaces to make appointments on behalf of residents in her community.
Its owner, Sylvie, who also lives in the hamlet, said: “We saw Dawn on Wednesday. She popped into my shop in the afternoon when my daughter was there.
“We do maintenance for wooden stoves and chimneys. She came to book many appointments for English friends of hers.”
Mrs Searle with head wounds in front of their dream home ( Image: Facebook)
A local says he saw Andrew Searle rowing on the phone a day before the tragedy.
The man, who did not want to be named, told how Mr Searle and his wife Dawn were walking on a lane in the hamlet of Les Pesquies when he overheard the heated call. He told us: “He [Andrew] kept saying mon pere mon pere.”
Officials initially believed the pair were killed in a burglary gone wrong but they have since said their “deaths were clearly a homicide.”
One line of inquiry is the couple could have been murdered by criminals from the UK because Mr Searle was a financial investigator specialising in crime and terrorism.
Police at the scene where the bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle were discovered ( Image: Phil Harris)
Local media reports claim Mrs Searle’s naked body was found outside the house with jewellery scattered around her – and that she had suffered head injuries.
Mr Searle was reportedly discovered hanged inside the house with a gag stuffed in his mouth. Last night a family friend said Mr Searle’s daughter Ella and son Tom were on their way to France.
Dawn’s son is Callum Kerr, best known for playing PC George Kiss in Hollyoaks. The 30-year-old, who is also a country singer based in Nashville with his fiance, walked his mother down the aisle when she married Andrew in September 2023.
Callum Kerr with his mother Dawn Searle ( Image: Instagram)
An investigating source said on Friday: “A criminal enquiry has been launched and the fear is that the couple were murdered. They were very fit, and very popular locally, but there is a theory that they were being pursued by criminals from the United Kingdom.
“This is currently the prioritised line of enquiry, because [the husband] was once involved in the fight against organised crime and terrorism.”
Mr Searle is said to have moved his family to France a decade ago after working as a financial investigator in the fight against organised crime and terrorism.
