Post-mortem results reveal fatal injuries of British couple found dead at home in France

Investigation looking into whether deaths were murder-suicide or had third party involvement. French police have revealed how a British couple died, days after their bodies were found at their home in a rural village in France. Andrew Searle, 62 and his 56-year-old wife, Dawn Kerr, were found at 12:20 pm on Thursday at their home in the quiet southern French hamlet of Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue.

Results of a post-mortem carried out on Monday revealed that Ms Kerr died after having received “several blows to the head using a blunt or sharp object”, whilst Mr Searle died as a result of hanging. Ms Kerr’s body showed no signs of sexual assault and Mr Searl “did not show any visible defensive injuries”. French prosecutors said in a statement that police inquiries were ongoing to determine whether the couple died as a result of a murder-suicide, or if a third party was involved.

The statement said other tests, including toxicology, are currently ongoing. A neighbour of the British couple found Ms Kerr lying dead in front of her house, “partly undressed”, and called the emergency services at 12.27, prosecutors said. As they entered, emergency services found the body of Mr Searle hanged inside the house. Investigators have not ruled out that the retired couple were murdered for “financial motives”.

The prosecutor in charge of the case, Nicolas Rigot-Muller, said: “Investigators are not prioritising any lead between the theory of a domestic crime followed by a suicide, or that of a double homicide carried out by a third party, linked either to a financial motive or the deceased’s past.”. Mr Searle was a former fraud investigator and detectives are reportedly looking into whether gangsters with a “score to settle” may have been behind the killings.

According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Searle specialised in financial crime prevention who worked at companies including Standard Life and Barclays Bank. Mr Searle took an early retirement in 2015, after which he is believed to have run into financial troubles when his rental business was forced into liquidation in 2023. A jewellery box was found near Ms Kerr’s body, but no item or weapon which could have caused the injuries was located. Cash was also found in the couple’s bedroom.

The couple had previously lived in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh before moving to France around 10 years ago. Mr Searle is originally from Sussex, England, while Dawn Searle, a project manager, grew up in Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders. Mrs Searle is the mother of actor and country musician Callum Kerr. Mr and Mrs Searle were well-liked in the local area, with one neighbour Dominique telling French press: “We knew them, we walked our dogs together. They were very much appreciated locally.

“When they arrived they made contact with the neighbours and in September, they would often have a meal with everyone at their house.”. Mr Searle was pictured entering a tobacconist in the nearby town of Villefranche de Rouergue on the Wednesday evening before his death. CCTV images obtained by Mail Online show Mr Searle entering the shop at just before 6pm as the shop was closing. He is seen buying a chocolate bar and two 3-euro lottery tickets. He then thanked the shopkeeper and walked back to his car where his wife Dawn was reportedly waiting.