Brit woman killed alongside husband at French home is mum of Hollyoaks & Virgin River star as cops probe gangster link

THE son of the British mother who was murdered in her home alongside her husband in south west France is former Hollyoaks actor Callum Kerr. Dawn Searle, 56, and her husband Andrew, 62, were found dead on Thursday at their holiday property in the hamlet of Les Pesquiès, near Villefranche-de-Rouergue. Officials first believed they were killed in a burglary gone wrong but officials have since said their "deaths were clearly a homicide.".

Callum who has also starred in Netflix's Virgin River has not publicly spoken about the tragedy. The Scottish actor is best known for playing PC George Kiss in the Channel 4 soap between 2020 and 2021. In the most recent series of Virgin River he played young Everett, Mel's father. The 30-year-old who is also a country singer based in Nashville with his fiance had walked his mother down the aisle when she married Andrew in September 2023.

He posted a picture on Instagram of the beautiful day wishing them a "tremendous life together.". The mother and son were pictured beaming as they walked down the aisle with Kerr in a traditional Scottish kilt. He wrote: "Not many people can say they walked their own mother down the aisle. What a pleasure!! I love you mum. "Congrats to Dawn and Andy on their wonderful wedding day and here's to a tremendous life together for the happy couple.".

On Friday, new information from the investigation into the couple's deaths revealed that they may have been targeted by hitmen with Andrew being a former organised crime investigator. The retired grandad played a key role in cracking down on money laundering crimelords and enforcing sanctions busters linked to rogue states like Russia. He also probed terrorist money trails before moving to France from Scotland a decade ago following his retirement.

Andrew had a long career of "fighting against organised crime and terrorism," a French investigating source revealed. They added: "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. "It may well be that gangsters with a score to settle are behind these killings.".

Shocking new reports claim that he may have been tortured before his death. Dawn had suffered a head wound and was found near the front door surrounded by scattered jewellery. No weapons were found at the scene and no bullet or knife wounds were found in an initial examination of the bodies, a source close to the investigation told La Depeche du Midi. The autopsies are expected to take place on Monday as the couple's home continues to be searched for clues.