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

[bmacmillan1]

French officials investigating the deaths of a British couple in their home in south-west France have said it was murder followed by suicide.
The prosecutor in charge of the case has told the BBC there is no evidence that another person was involved in their deaths.

Death of British couple in France treated as murder-suicide

The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who previously lived in East Lothian, were found at their home near Toulouse.

www.bbc.com

RIP Dawn.

I'm shocked, even though I knew it was a possibility.

 

[Cryptic]

This seems a bit staged though? Or more personal then what you would expect if it was related to his work?

I wonder if he had ever testified against members of a Mafia group or drug cartel? If so, such groups could develop a personal animosity towards him.

 

[VioletLilac]

It's a shame he couldn't have only killed himself, not Dawn too. I guess he did it because he wanted people to think they'd both been killed by someone else, not him.

 

[Cedars]

I'm shocked, even though I knew it was a possibility.

I'm not. Unfortunately it happens, I know of it from local and other cases - which rarely get national news coverage. In this case, it was perhaps picked up because her son is well known, the initial apparent mystery, and their glamorous lifestyle. To some, death is preferable to the shame of financial failure.

JMO

 

[Dpdan]

I think it was clear after the statement that the children were each mourning their own parent rather than "We are all".

 

[ScalableHeights]

French officials investigating the deaths of a British couple in their home in south-west France have said it was murder followed by suicide.
The prosecutor in charge of the case has told the BBC there is no evidence that another person was involved in their deaths.

Death of British couple in France treated as murder-suicide

The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who previously lived in East Lothian, were found at their home near Toulouse.

www.bbc.com

RIP Dawn.

I don’t think it should be a complete surprise that this is the verdict the police have reached, and based on the information they’ve made public I think it’s probably the correct one. And for me personally a lack of defensive wounds on Mr Searle may suggest suicide, but it doesn’t prove it (as the article implies).

Anyway my thoughts are with Dawn and the families of both deceased. I hope they’re able to find some kind of closure from this verdict.

 

[Officer Dibble]

French officials investigating the deaths of a British couple in their home in south-west France have said it was murder followed by suicide.
The prosecutor in charge of the case has told the BBC there is no evidence that another person was involved in their deaths.

Death of British couple in France treated as murder-suicide

The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who previously lived in East Lothian, were found at their home near Toulouse.

www.bbc.com

RIP Dawn.

How terrible. Why did he do that?!

 

[Officer Dibble]

It's a shame he couldn't have only killed himself, not Dawn too. I guess he did it because he wanted people to think they'd both been killed by someone else, not him.

I'm guessing rage at her (for who knows what ) then decided the next best move was to end it all for himself. What a nightmare. I still wonder about their finances.

 

[Cedars]

I'm guessing rage at her (for who knows what ) then decided the next best move was to end it all for himself. What a nightmare. I still wonder about their finances.

We don't know but I tend to believe it is the reverse - first the suicidal decision, then not wanting the spouse to survive him. Because his financial problems were apparently looming over him, rather than their relationship going bad.

JMO

 

[Charlot123]

I do not think he needed to have been doing anything such as gambling or dealing in bitcoin or dodgy shares.

I think they might have under estimated how much living in France would cost,taxes are very high. I think they probably enjoyed a certain way of living and if each month they slightly over spent things could all have began to add up. At first it might have been a case of juggling payments using credit cards or delaying paying bills ,then it became harder when credit limits were reached and interest payments difficult to afford and so on until things became unmanageable. He might have been hiding the truth from her or he might have asked her to cut down on spending which she found hard to do. Perhaps he had received a bill (s) which he knew he could not pay.

I agree. Plus, he used to have a good job, with a decent salary and if he were not too thrifty, he might have been used to spending the money easily.

People plan to retire. They have a certain nest egg. But maybe, they simply can't downsize their expences. Parties for 100 people; recent marriage. It all adds up. To add to it, inflation. If he retired 10 years ago, the world, financially, was a more stable place at that time.

I think he was happy in a store because he hoped the lottery ticket would be a winning one.

I think had he won, even a little, the tragedy would have happened not that very night, but later.

One wonders if Andrew killed Dawn because he could not bear to tell her the bitter truth, that they were broke. Sometimes people overidentify themselves with heroic providers. "I know the news will kill her." (They wouldn't have, and the choice was not his to make).

Who knows. RIP and very sorry for both families.