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

[bmacmillan1]

The only scenario I can come up with making it a murder suicide, is if Dawn discovered he was involved in criminal activities and threatened to expose him -
He could have murdered her in a rage and then hung himself.
Otherwise I just cannot see it as being murder suicide.

 

[Sarahlou]

The only scenario I can come up with making it a murder suicide, is if Dawn discovered he was involved in criminal activities and threatened to expose him -
He could have murdered her in a rage and then hung himself.
Otherwise I just cannot see it as being murder suicide.

Or possibly she found out he had got them in big financial trouble and wanted to leave him. That's often a big trigger, when the woman tries/wants to leave.

 

[Kittypoo]

The point of my post was:

- Murder suicide is rare occurrence
and doesn't happen out of the blue without earlier worrying red flags in somebody's behaviour.
It is a long process of deteriorating MH.

- The man used to have a job (anti fraud specialist) which required being of sound mind and mental capacity.

- He was a banker,
meaning having qualities associated with:
adaptability, problem solving, organized personality, confidence, etc.

- And he was perceived as such a person by his friends/neighbours.

- There were no red flags, worrying signs in his behaviour.
Except recent panic.

- The couple was described as loving.

So ...
I have really a problem treating this case as murder suicide.
In fact,
I rarely hear about this kind of crime,
the last time I read about it was a schizophrenic who heard voices telling him to kill his family and himself
(that's what he said in telephone call before the crime).
Oh,
and a man in Costessey in the UK.
But he also had MH problems.

Did Andrew S. suffer from such issues?

Nothing was reported.
Nobody noticed anything worrying,
quite the opposite.

Was he wearing a "mask" all the time concealing some mental problems?

IDK but IMO such a "mask" often slips.

JMO

Just because he was a banker doesn’t necessarily mean his competence didn’t slip. I am slightly suspicious he plodded along in a role for 20+ years then was let go? Left Barclays at just 52 after 9 months. Seems odd for a supposed high flying man. Maybe he had a nervous breakdown.

I’m still not convinced of any of these scenario so far. So hopefully the phone records and toxicology etc will give some answers to the family. If they are not already aware of the issues.
JMO

 

[STLBlues]

Just because he was a banker doesn’t necessarily mean his competence didn’t slip. I am slightly suspicious he plodded along in a role for 20+ years then was let go? Left Barclays at just 52 after 9 months. Seems odd for a supposed high flying man. Maybe he had a nervous breakdown.

RS&BBM I agree completely. I have worked in banking/financial services for 35 years. You would be surprised at the number of people employed by banks, credit unions, and financial service companies that are horrible at managing their money and are in debt up to their necks.

 

[Skigh]

Or possibly she found out he had got them in big financial trouble and wanted to leave him. That's often a big trigger, when the woman tries/wants to leave.

There could have been a number of reasons which might have caused them to have a huge argument and for him to lose his temper. I feel that it very possibly could have been because of financial difficulties.

 

[Dotta]

Or possibly she found out he had got them in big financial trouble and wanted to leave him. That's often a big trigger, when the woman tries/wants to leave.

I'm not sure the wife would be so oblivious.

He was arguing with someone on the phone while they were walking the dogs together.
So she was aware of what was going on.

Besides,
nowadays the couples usually have separation of finances.
She had her career and income
and IMO wasn't dependent on him financially.
She travelled a lot to exotic places which is expensive.

JMO

 

[Maat99]

I am slightly suspicious he plodded along in a role for 20+ years then was let go?

I don’t think he was let go. I think he quit..? I was wondering if he stepped into something he wanted no part of.

Discredit history: 10 years of Barclays scandals

The bank, whose CEO Jes Staley has just resigned over his relations with Jeffrey Epstein, has lurched from controversy to controversy since 2012

www.theguardian.com

 

[heartandsoul]

I mean what murderer forces someone to put a rope around their neck and sit on the floor, lean forward and kill themselves (for example) without the victim fighting back?

Enough people here think it a possibility, perhaps AS did too. And maybe it was? We simply don't know yet.

 

[Sarahlou]

I'm not sure the wife would be so oblivious.
He was arguing with someone on the phone while they were walking the dogs together.
So she was aware of what was going on.

Besides,
nowadays the couples usually have separation of finances.
She had her career and income and IMO wasn't dependent on him financially.
She travelled a lot.

JMO

We don't know what the argument on the phone was about though, it could have been many things.
It's all just guesses as we have very little to go on.

 

[bringmeacupoft]

I don’t think he was let go. I think he quit..? I was wondering if he stepped into something he wanted no part of.

Discredit history: 10 years of Barclays scandals

The bank, whose CEO Jes Staley has just resigned over his relations with Jeffrey Epstein, has lurched from controversy to controversy since 2012

www.theguardian.com

I don’t think he was perhaps as high flying as suggested. He was manager, similar roles are advertised at £70k, he was probably very experienced, but I doubt very much he was in the thick of anything untoward.

 

[Dotta]

You would be surprised at the number of people employed by banks, credit unions, and financial service companies that are horrible at managing their money and are in debt up to their necks.

I'm not sure that such employees would be chosen as anti fraud specialists.
(Quote:
"horrible at managing their money and are in debt up to their necks.")

"Anti fraud" are selected ones IMO,
- with integrity,
- coping with challenges and high stress situations,
- well educated with analytical skills.

Certainly not disorganized and drowning in debts.

Debts disqualify at once
as such employees cannot be trusted and might be prone to corruption.

JMO

 

[Bigditch]

Me too. If he attacked her he would undoubtedly have her blood on him. Maybe the weapon was the radiator, that can be sharp

Or DNA evidence found on the rope, such as, clothing fibers, skin tissue, and likely traces of Dawn's blood, that might point LE to the killer.

Gloves?
Radiator?

Rope (newly purchased? Or, lying around in the garage)
Was there direct access from the garage to the house?
Gag (dirty rag, clean sock?)
Blunt object (no knife, no gun)
Cell phones info (not disclosed)

It is my understanding that Andrew entered the shop just before closing 6pm ish. And that the murders happened 12:30am later that night.

Jmo

 

[Dotta]

I don’t think he was let go. I think he quit..? I was wondering if he stepped into something he wanted no part of.

Discredit history: 10 years of Barclays scandals

The bank, whose CEO Jes Staley has just resigned over his relations with Jeffrey Epstein, has lurched from controversy to controversy since 2012

www.theguardian.com

Wow!
Another strange coincidence.

 

[Officer Dibble]

Especially,
as their house seems isolated and the man was gagged.

The neighbour checked on them only in the morning next day.

JMO

I wonder if there could have been a tussle over the jewellery box but at that point Dawn was attacked by intruder/s?

 

[ch_13]

Wow!
Another strange coincidence.

I don't know if I'd go that far. You could come up with a similar list for pretty much every investment bank. I worked for a bunch of them when I was in financial services IT, and they've all had their share of scandals. In fact, the last place I worked basically collapsed due to poor management five years after I left. Nothing to do with me of course, but if I was murdered tomorrow, someone might draw spurious conclusions between the bank's downfall and my death.

Also, keep in mind that AS was only at Barclay's for nine months in what seems to have been a fairly mundane role. (His LinkedIn CV shows a senior position at Standard Life, but he was just a contractor at Barclays.) All of the scandals on that list happened either before AS arrived at the bank, after he left, or did not have anything to do with AML auditing, which is the area he was working in.

 

[Officer Dibble]

Or DNA evidence found on the rope, such as, clothing fibers, skin tissue, and likely traces of Dawn's blood, that might point LE to the killer.

Gloves?
Radiator?

Rope (newly purchased? Or, lying around in the garage)
Was there direct access from the garage to the house?
Gag (dirty rag, clean sock?)
Blunt object (no knife, no gun)
Cell phones info (not disclosed)

It is my understanding that Andrew entered the shop just before closing 6pm ish. And that the murders happened 12:30am later that night.

Jmo

I haven't yet seen a time for the murders in MSM. Do you have a source please?

 

[Tricia]

Tomorrow, Friday, Feb 14th, we will be upgrading our server and will be offline temporarily. Hopefully, it won't be for long. If you can't log in, please don't worry; keep trying. Click here for more info

 

[Officer Dibble]

Tomorrow, Friday, Feb 14th, we will be upgrading our server and will be offline temporarily. Hopefully, it won't be for long. If you can't log in, please don't worry; keep trying. Click here for more info

Is that USA time quoted in the link?

 

[Dotta]

I don't know if I'd go that far. You could come up with a similar list for pretty much every investment bank. I worked for a bunch of them when I was in financial services IT, and they've all had their share of scandals. In fact, the last place I worked basically collapsed due to poor management five years after I left. Nothing to do with me of course, but if I was murdered tomorrow, someone might draw spurious conclusions between the bank's downfall and my death.

Also, keep in mind that AS was only at Barclay's for nine months in what seems to have been a fairly mundane role. (His LinkedIn CV shows a senior position at Standard Life, but he was just a contractor at Barclays.) All of the scandals on that list happened either before AS arrived at the bank, after he left, or did not have anything to do with AML auditing, which is the area he was working in.

Well,
whatever happened
only the wife and husband know.
And they took this secret to the grave.

I wish their families strength.
My sincerest condolences to them.

Dawn and Andrew Rest in Peace.

 

[Sarahlou]

Is that USA time quoted in the link?

Yes. It's about 6pm UK time

Edit - You're in the UK aren't you? Sorry if I'm wrong.