Horrific new details have emerged in the case of a British couple found dead at their home in France, with detectives fearing they may have been murdered by criminals (Image: Facebook)
have released a significant update regarding the violent deaths of couple, Both were found dead in their home in the quaint hamlet of Les Pesquies, near Toulouse, last week, in circumstances that shocked both nations.
Autopsies have now been conducted on the couple, as announced by public prosecutors. In an official statement issued this afternoon, prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller revealed that emergency services were summoned to in Les Pesquies, north of Toulouse, following a neighbour’s alert.
Upon arrival, they “found the body of Mrs Searle, partially undressed, in front of her home” before discovering Mr Searle’s body hanging from a radiator inside the property. The statement further disclosed that Mrs Searle “had a significant wound on her skull” and a box of jewellery was discovered nearby – however, “no capable of inflicting the injuries were found.”
The statement continued: “Mr Searle was found hanging by a rope tied to a radiator [and] showed no visible defence injuries. [But] “the house appeared to have been roughly searched; cash was found in the couple’s bedroom.”
Police at the scene where the bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle were discovered on Thursday afternoon (Image: Phil Harris)
The investigation is ongoing as officers are still determining whether the couple died in a murder-suicide or if a third party was involved. Police handling the case have so far declined to comment on whether any suspects have been identified.
Yesterday’s autopsy reports have revealed that Mrs Searle was the victim of multiple skull fractures caused by both blunt and sharp forces, though evidence of sexual assault was absent, the reports.
The statement added: “Further examinations (anatomical-pathological, toxicological) are ongoing to determine the precise circumstances of the deaths. Investigations are continuing, notably to determine whether the tragedy resulted from a marital crime followed by a suicide or from the intervention of a third party.”
The twist in this grim tale comes as relatives flew into France to aid investigators with their insights following the couple’s harrowing find. The discovery of the Searles came about when Andrew did not turn up for his routine dog walk.
Andrew Searle moved his family to France 10 years ago (Image: Linkedin)
Prosecutor Rigot-Muller had previously labelled the couple’s end as “violent”. As conjecture has swirled over the past week regarding the couple’s fate—a pair described as happily married—initial lines of inquiry ranged from a botched robbery to an act of vengeance tied to Andrew’s work combatting financial crime, with murder-suicide also under consideration.
Two British couples, close friends of the Searles, have vehemently dismissed the notion of a murder-suicide involving their friends. Speaking to the Mirror, the expats, who are in their late 60s and reside in a neighbouring village, insisted: “Us Brits, who knew Dawn and Andy very well, are certain this is not a murder-suicide. We saw them last at Christmas, they were absolutely normal.
“Life was good, why would they want to kill themselves?”
Meanwhile, questions about the couple’s financial circumstances have been raised, after it was revealed that Andrew took over a year to pay off a bill of several thousand euros and appeared distressed in December due to problems with his UK pension.
The house where the bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle were discovered (Image: Phil Harris)
However, the British friends, who had attended the couple’s wedding, refuted any insinuation of financial hardship, stating: “They weren’t flashy by any means, but they were definitely comfortable and had it good out here. ” They continued to describe the Searles’ active lifestyle: “They were always travelling – they recently went to a family wedding in Goa, they went to South America for their honeymoon.
“Dawn’s son Callum… had a baby and Dawn went over there for that and [she] had just come back from Scotland because her dad’s funeral was at the end of January. They were still working – Dawn was a project manager and Andy still did some freelance work.
“[And] they have a gite [holiday home] connected to the main house which they rented out and it was occupied most of the time which gave them a good income on the side.”
In 2023, the couple tied the knot, with Dawn’s son Callum, previously seen on Hollyoaks, proudly escorting her down the aisle. It is understood that Andrew had relocated his family to France ten years earlier. A representative for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed: “We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the local authorities.