COPS believe the killer of a British couple found dead at their home in rural France were caught on camera before the murder.
The bodies of Andrew, 62, and Dawn Searle, 56, were discovered in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, on Thursday.
Former financial investigator Andrew was engaged in combating organized crime, which has raised concerns that criminals may have orchestrated a professional hit under the cover of darkness and evaded detection.
Despite its rural location, the hamlet is surrounded by police and road video surveillance cameras that operate 24 hours a day.
There are also private security cameras belonging to neighbours of the Searles who often leave their properties empty.
An investigating source said: “It would be absolutely impossible to get in or out without being filmed.
It is believed that a vehicle may have been utilized in the incident; however, even if an individual attempted to traverse the rural area on foot, they would have inevitably been captured on camera at some stage.
Specialist officers have already started examining days of footage in a radius of at least five-miles around the suspected murder scene.
Gendarmes are also making house-to-house enquiries and collecting all footage available.
“Criminals can take all kind of precautions to disguise their activities, but cameras are everywhere,” the source said.
The environment where the event took place is not remote wilderness—the municipality of Villefranche-de-Rouergue is heavily monitored by law enforcement, with surveillance cameras playing a crucial role in combatting criminal activities.
Initial examinations of the bodies showed no knife or bullet wounds – and no weapons were found at the scene.
But Dawn – whose son is former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr – is said to have been found with a head injury surrounded by scattered jewellery.
Callum, who currently lives in Nashville with his fiance, is best known for playing PC George Kiss in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks between 2020 and 2021.
He also starred in Netflix’s Virgin River – appearing in the latest series.
And the 30-year-old actor-turned-singer released his latest single on Friday, according to his Instagram.
He had previously shared a joyous photo from his mother’s wedding to Andrew in September 2023.
In the post, Callum 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.”
He has not spoken publicly about the couple’s deaths.
On Saturday, the Searles’ home remained sealed off by investigators – with detectives seen combing the outdoor pool.
Jean-Sébastien Orcibal, the mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, said the “deaths were clearly a homicide” and not a “burglary gone wrong,” as had been speculated earlier.
He said a neighbour had found the bodies at around 12.20pm on Thursday after they didn’t arrive for a dog walk as planned.
Shocking details emerged about the couple’s deaths in French media – with reports claiming that Mr Searle could have been tortured.
Nicolas Rigot-Muller, the Rodez prosecutor, is in charge of the investigation, with judicial police and gendarmes supporting him.
Rigot-Muller said: “Both died a violent death – all leads are being examined.”
A forensic doctor working for the judicial authorities in Montpellier arrived at the site by helicopter on Thursday – and is likely to release autopsy results on Monday.
Dawn and Andrew had moved to France from Scotland a decade ago after Andrew retired.
They both loved the countryside, and were very happily settled. They were very proud of their house, which is situated well away from other buildings in the hamlet
Neighbour
Andrew had spent his working career involved in the “fight against organised crime and terrorism”, according to a French investigating source.
They said: “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.”
Andrew’s LinkedIn professional profile said he was: “Responsible for all Anti-Financial Crime matters in the UK & Europe function – providing an investigation service for the Group.”
This included taking on major money-laundering syndicates in countries where sanctions have been imposed, such as Russia.
The retired grandad, originally from West Sussex, worked in the financial crime assurance arm of Barclay’s Bank in Edinburgh, and at Standard Life, which is also based in the Scottish capital.
After living together in Scotland, he and Dawn moved to France where they renovated the run-down property that became their beloved home and holiday let.
There is a swimming pool outside, and then thick woods which put the house in an isolated position, away from the centre of the hamlet, where around 100 people live.
Advertised on the official Aveyron tourist website under the headline “At Andrew and Dawn’s”, the online ad read: “2 bedroom apartment (6-8 people) fully furnished and equipped with swimming pool offering plenty of privacy.
“A beautiful apartment in the beautiful countryside, offering privacy and tranquility.”
Villefranche-de-Rouergue is in the Aveyron department – the French version of a county.
It is full of British expats, and holiday home owners from the UK.
A local source said the couple “had numerous friends locally and further afield including in Britain, and often organised dinner parties”.
He added: “They both loved the countryside, and were very happily settled.
“They were very proud of their house, which is situated well away from other buildings in the hamlet.”
No arrests have been made in connection with their deaths.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the Local Authorities.”
