Brit couple's mysterious life before 'violent' deaths from 'money woes to unusual activity'

Retired mates Dawn and Andrew Searle seemingly lived an idyllic beingness unneurotic successful a small French hamlet.

Former transgression researcher Andrew, 62, and his woman Dawn, the parent of ex-Hollyoaks histrion Callum Kerr, were killed successful tragic circumstances past week. The mates had antecedently lived successful Musselburgh, adjacent Edinburgh, earlier moving to France a decennary ago. Neighbours person described them arsenic "lovely" and "very nice" people, and friends person said they were "absolutely normal".

The mates were devastatingly recovered dormant astatine their home successful Les Pesquies, astir 50 miles from Toulouse, connected Thursday, February 7, with section authorities stating that it was "clearly a homicide". Almost a week aft their deaths, prosecutors person confirmed however the brace were tragically recovered and revealed "the location appeared to person been astir searched" with currency recovered successful their bedroom.

In an authoritative connection released today, authoritative Nicolas Rigot-Muller said exigency services were called to the couple's spot aft being alerted by a neighbour. There, they "found the assemblage of Mrs Searle, partially undressed, successful beforehand of her home", adjacent a container of jewellery, earlier discovering Mr Searle's assemblage hanging from a radiator inside.

Tranquil household life

The Searles relocated to France permanently 10 years agone and are said to person been precise integrated with the section community. Andrew, who retired successful 2015, said helium was "enjoying beingness successful agrarian France" successful a LinkedIn post. One neighbour told Sky News: "They would bask life, they would question and sometimes spell location arsenic well."

Dawn had 2 children, state instrumentalist Callum and his sister Amanda Kerr. Andrew besides had 2 children, Tom and Ella Searle. The 4 children shared a nationalist connection aft their parents' deaths that read: "We kindly petition that their privateness beryllium respected during this hard period. We volition supply updates arsenic appropriate."

Locals described Andrew and Dawn arsenic "good neighbours" who would often beryllium seen walking their 2 dogs. One pistillate who lived adjacent said: "Each twelvemonth successful September they would bash this large meal with each the colony and invitation everyone. They were precise bully people." Another said they "always had a grin connected their face".

Son's wedding tribute

Andrew and Dawn tied the knot successful September 2023, conscionable 18 months earlier they were killed, and Netflix prima Callum, 30, walked his parent down the aisle. Callum donned a tartan kilt for the juncture and Dawn, 56, was seen beaming successful a long, achromatic formal arsenic she clutched a posy of flowers.

He took to Instagram to wage tribute aft the wedding, writing: "Not galore radical tin accidental they walked their ain parent down the aisle. What a pleasure!!! I emotion you mum. Congrats to Dawn and Andy connected their fantastic wedding time and here's to a tremendous beingness unneurotic for the blessed couple." The comments conception was filled with messages of congratulations for Callum and his family.

Husband's elder job

Andrew, who was primitively from West Sussex, spent much than 20 years moving with constabulary and the Serious Fraud Office. This included enactment successful the tract of "sanctions screening" - the process of checking individuals and groups who whitethorn beryllium banned from dealing successful the UK connected relationship of their links with rogue nations, violent groups and cause traffickers.

It's thought this would person brought Andrew to the attraction of networks operating crossed the globe. A root antecedently said: "A transgression enquiry has been launched, and the fearfulness is that the mates were murdered. They were precise fit, and precise fashionable locally, but determination is simply a mentation that they were being pursued by criminals from the United Kingdom."

The root continued: "This is presently the prioritised enactment of enquiry, due to the fact that Mr Searle was erstwhile progressive successful the combat against organised transgression and terrorism. It whitethorn good beryllium that gangsters with a people to settee are down these killings."

However, a erstwhile workfellow based successful the UK has refuted claims of a revenge hit. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the workfellow - who asked to stay anonymous - said: "There is nary mode helium could person been the people of a gangland hit. He was elder but not hierarchical. The atrocious guys conscionable spot the organisations declining them and effort caller routes oregon effort to larn however to circumnavigate.

"Criminals conscionable spot the organisation, not the individuals successful the teams oregon moving the teams. They'd person a full-time occupation pursuing done connected vendettas." He added that everyone who knew Andrew was stunned aft his death, adding that helium was a "really bully guy".

'Beautiful people'

One of Andrew's erstwhile colleagues has described the mates arsenic 'beautiful people'. Keith Falconer, who worked with Andrew astatine security steadfast Standard Life, wrote connected LinkedIn: "Really struggling to process the tragic and horrific communicative astir my erstwhile workfellow Andrew Searle. My thoughts are with his family."

David Williams, a main fiscal officer, added: "Devastating news, can't judge this has happened to 2 specified beauteous people." It came aft Andrew's father, Fred Searle, 88, expressed his grief pursuing his son's tragic death. He said: "We've got thousands of questions and precise fewer answers."

Rumoured wealth woes

Another mentation that has emerged is the anticipation of a murder-suicide. However, 2 British couples, adjacent friends of the Searles, person unopen this down. The Brit expats, who are successful their precocious 60s and unrecorded successful a adjacent village, told the Mirror: "Us Brits, who knew Dawn and Andy precise well, are definite this is not a murder-suicide. We saw them past astatine Christmas, they were perfectly normal. Life was good, wherefore would they privation to termination themselves?"

Questions astir the couple's imaginable fiscal difficulties person besides emerged. Local sources person said it took Andrew implicit a twelvemonth to settee a measure of respective 1000 euros, and claimed helium was spotted looking tearful successful December amid issues with his UK pension. But the British couples, who were large friends with the brace and attended their wedding, dismissed suggestions they were hard up. They added: "They weren't flashy by immoderate means, but they were decidedly comfy and had it bully retired here.

"They were ever travelling - they precocious went to a household wedding successful Goa, they went to South America for their honeymoon. Dawn's lad Callum... had a babe and Dawn went implicit determination for that and [she] had conscionable travel backmost from Scotland due to the fact that her dad's ceremonial was astatine the extremity of January, They said. "They were inactive moving - Dawn was a task manager and Andy inactive did immoderate freelance work. [And] they person a gite [holiday home] connected to the main location which they rented retired and it was occupied astir of the clip which gave them a bully income connected the side."

Unusual activity

Two neighbours person said they saw Andrew having a heated telephone telephone earlier his death. Antoine Da Silva, a retired assembly idiosyncratic and neighbour of Andrew and Dawn, shared however helium saw the dad-of-two hurrying done the colony making an "agitated" telephone successful the days earlier helium died. He said Andrew looked "very worried" portion chatting to someone.

Another neighbour, who asked to not beryllium named, besides said helium saw the Searles acting unusually. He said: "I saw them the time earlier they were recovered – they were walking the dogs and Andrew was connected the phone. Andrew was precise agitated, and helium was arguing violently successful English, helium conscionable waved astatine maine and past carried on."