British couple, Andrew and Dawn Searle, found deceased in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue 6th February 2025

[Marysmith]

Wasn't expecting this.

 

[Marie A]

Key mobile phone clue found after ‘violent’ deaths of British couple in France

Andrew and Dawn Searle moved to France from Scotland around ten years ago - mystery surrounds the circumstances of their deaths

www.the-independent.com

Sounding more and more like a double murder. Will be very interested in what the French police detectives come up with.
It almost sounds like they murdered the wife and then the husband returned home and they held a gun/ guns to his head and they stuffed the gag in his mouth and hung him.
As to why there wasn’t a struggle for him- why no defensive wounds- they may have threatened his children or grandchildren- no telling.
Absolutely harkens back to Barry & Honey though - very bizarre circumstances.
Just speculation and all imho

 

[LadyL]

I live in rural France and there are very few cctv cameras, the law says you cant face a private camera towards a public route, and there are very few 'official' ones in the countryside

oh really but in this article ...

But – 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 devices belonging to neighbours of the Searles who often leave their properties empty.

'It would be absolutely impossible to get in or out without being filmed,' an investigating source said on Saturday.
'The likelihood is that a car was used, but even if someone managed to get across the countryside on foot, they were definitely caught on camera at some point.'

Specialist officers appointed by prosecutors 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,' said the source.

'We're not dealing with open countryside - Villefranche-de-Rouergue is a well policed municipality and cameras play a huge part in the fight against crime.'

Killer who murdered British couple in France 'caught on camera'

The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who were both in their 60s, were discovered on Thursday afternoon by a dog walker in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[asmi106082]

Wouldn't that be more on things like sports/horse racing betting? Chasing those "sure win" bets where it never quite pans out.

People play the lottery out of pure hope than expectation. Maybe they win £20 back from there couple of pounds ticket to pay for a few more plays. Perhaps they might get really lucky and hit a few numbers for a few hundred or thousand back. But no one really expects a jackpot or even higher value win.

I dated a guy who would spend his last dime to bet on sports and that was before it was even legal in the state. MOO

I never understood it but saw it firsthand. Very sad.

 

[bringmeacupoft]

oh really but in this article ...

But – 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 devices belonging to neighbours of the Searles who often leave their properties empty.

'It would be absolutely impossible to get in or out without being filmed,' an investigating source said on Saturday.
'The likelihood is that a car was used, but even if someone managed to get across the countryside on foot, they were definitely caught on camera at some point.'

Specialist officers appointed by prosecutors 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,' said the source.

'We're not dealing with open countryside - Villefranche-de-Rouergue is a well policed municipality and cameras play a huge part in the fight against crime.'

Killer who murdered British couple in France 'caught on camera'

The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who were both in their 60s, were discovered on Thursday afternoon by a dog walker in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I think this is partly why I’m thinking murder-suicide. Release cctv of AS, but not of any potential witnesses or people they’d like to speak to. Seems a real lack of urgency in finding the perpetrator, which to me feels like they already know who it was.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Does France keep investigations close to the vest like LE does here in Canada?

Canadian LE very rarely let media or public know if there is a suspect or if they are looking for one even via surveillance, especially if known to the victims.

Murder-suicide seems very likely but what throws me off is media has said they died "violent deaths"... I find that an odd word for suicide even know we know DS suffered a lot of violence.

No defensive wounds on DS but was it confirmed he didn't suffer any type of head injury? His COD is hanging, but could he have been incapacitated to not fight back and got beaten or head injury but actually died from the hanging.

Hoping for more answers for the friends and family, very mysterious and heartbreaking.

 

[VioletLilac]

Hmm it is disconcerting not to have found the murder weapon for Dawn, as you’d expect that to be nearby in a murder suicide. JMO

He could have disposed of it after killing DS and before killing himself, if that's what it was.

 

[catgreen]

oh really but in this article ...

But – 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 devices belonging to neighbours of the Searles who often leave their properties empty.

'It would be absolutely impossible to get in or out without being filmed,' an investigating source said on Saturday.
'The likelihood is that a car was used, but even if someone managed to get across the countryside on foot, they were definitely caught on camera at some point.'

Specialist officers appointed by prosecutors 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,' said the source.

'We're not dealing with open countryside - Villefranche-de-Rouergue is a well policed municipality and cameras play a huge part in the fight against crime.'

Killer who murdered British couple in France 'caught on camera'

The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who were both in their 60s, were discovered on Thursday afternoon by a dog walker in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Yes I know, I read that and was shocked - where I live (a small town in Correze) a friend was attacked by a neighbour and there was no cctv anywhere around and that was in a town. If there was cctv here wouldnt they be able to say if they were looking for someone in connection to the 'murders' by now?

 

[Sarahlou]

Does France keep investigations close to the vest like LE does here in Canada?

Canadian LE very rarely let media or public know if there is a suspect or if they are looking for one even via surveillance, especially if known to the victims.

Murder-suicide seems very likely but what throws me off is media has said they died "violent deaths"... I find that an odd word for suicide even know we know DS suffered a lot of violence.

No defensive wounds on DS but was it confirmed he didn't suffer any type of head injury? His COD is hanging, but could he have been incapacitated to not fight back and got beaten or head injury but actually died from the hanging.

Hoping for more answers for the friends and family, very mysterious and heartbreaking.

They would have said if he had wounds like DS. I would consider hanging quite a violent death.

 

[tree1]

He could have disposed of it after killing DS and before killing himself, if that's what it was.

Would you care though if you weren’t going to be around? I must say my initial thoughts were a staged break in and robbery. His suicide an after thought when the enormity of his actions sunk in. However I really am keeping an open mind on this. Whatever happened, it must be unbearable for their families, I include dogs in family too as heart breaks for them too

 

[Sarahlou]

Would you care though if you weren’t going to be around? I must say my initial thoughts were a staged break in and robbery. His suicide an after thought when the enormity of his actions sunk in. However I really am keeping an open mind on this. Whatever happened, it must be unbearable for their families, I include dogs in family too as heart breaks for them too

IF he staged it to look like it wasn't murder suicide so that he's not remembered for that, then yes he'd care about them finding the weapon and knowing it was him who used it.

 

[tree1]

IF he staged it to look like it wasn't murder suicide so that he's not remembered for that, then yes he'd care about them finding the weapon and knowing it was him who used it.

My initial thoughts were that he hadn’t planned on killing himself and prepared the scene to look like intruder killed his wife.

 

[Kemug]

So there seem to be 3 alternate scenarios, don't there. Something from Andrew's financial past, a random burglar or a murder-suicide. Anything else? I really can't see a random burglar hanging someone he didn't even know, needing a rope and a lot of strength. Putting a lot more effort into killing people than he put into searching the house (while ignoring the money in the bedroom.) We can cross off the burglar, IMO.

Poor Dawn. I can picture her running in terror down the stairs, desperately trying to open the front door before her killer caught up with her, but knowing that he would. I don't believe now that she was carrying the jewellery box, I think that was staged.

A figure from Andrew's past seeking revenge? Maybe. But if that was the case, surely they would have brought a proper weapon with them? Not trust that they would be able to find something suitable when the time came. Very slapdash.

For me, there is only one likely conclusion.

 

[Kemug]

Another possibility has just occurred to me. That perhaps there were no financial problems, but Andrew believed there were. Perhaps his mental health had been deteriorating for a while, and that night was the culmination. In which case, there may be some anecdotal and medical evidence.

 

[detective.moon]

Are you wondering if she was seeing someone else? Someone local? JMO MOO

honestly i wasn’t thinking that far! it just stood out to me that in the scenario of a murder suicide staged in a way to save his own face, he would leave his own wife half naked, outside. it just seems so careless towards her. but then, maybe it doesn’t make sense to expect better from someone who kills his wife so i’m not sure it my line of thought is making much sense.

 

[19thcenturynovel]

Poor Dawn. I can picture her running in terror down the stairs, desperately trying to open the front door before her killer caught up with her, but knowing that he would. I don't believe now that she was carrying the jewellery box, I think that was staged.

Yes, that's a terrible thought. All four children from their previous marriages are over along with Andrew's Dad. Any joint meetings with LE must make for an uncomfortable atmosphere to say the least.

 

[tree1]

honestly i wasn’t thinking that far! it just stood out to me that in the scenario of a murder suicide staged in a way to save his own face, he would leave his own wife half naked, outside. it just seems so careless towards her. but then, maybe it doesn’t make sense to expect better from someone who kills his wife so i’m not sure it my line of thought is making much sense.

I wondered if she was killed in the house and moved outside to add strength to the intruder theory, so staged. There would though be evidence of that that hasn’t been shared. The jewellery box nearby very odd detail to me. Also I can’t offer any real explanation as to why he would move her other than so he could say she tried to escape to raise the alarm.

 

[tree1]

Poor Dawn. I can picture her running in terror down the stairs, desperately trying to open the front door before her killer caught up with her, but knowing that he would. I don't believe now that she was carrying the jewellery box, I think that was staged.

Yes, that's a terrible thought. All four children from their previous marriages are over along with Andrew's Dad. Any joint meetings with LE must make for an uncomfortable atmosphere to say the least.

I really hope if murder suicide, there would be compassion towards AS’s children as they would be equally horrified I am sure. Plus grieving for their Father who must have had serious issues to murder his wife.

 

[ImmyR]

A possible explanation for the jewellery box is that he wanted to sell some jewellery, she refused, a fight started and she tried to get away taking the jewellery with her to keep it from him. He lost his temper, hit her, realised she was dead and then killed himself.

 

[bringmeacupoft]

A thought as well, the lack of "defensive injuries" to AS I note that people have suggested this could be that DS didn't fight back. I think this also suggests that AS didn't defend himself against an attack against him, again could be evidence that he carried out he act of hanging himself, therefore no-one to defend himself against.