from an earlier post "... however one thing stays the same in all stories, the plan for a cottage."
These two people weren't in step regarding their future. After years of living separately on different continents it's apparent something changed in that couple's 'dynamic.' Notably on Karen's side (?)
Hypothesis here. Love or money? Friendship with J-F seemed to be that -friendship.
Money. Recent interest in cottage purchase. Was Karen hoping money from anticipated divorce would fund the cottage purchase ?
I am trying to be mindful of the fact that in the first article interviewing Alan, he said only the best about Karen. It is only after the newspapers poured out a lot of different versions of Karen’s life, his tone somewhat changed.
It is unpleasant when the media is savoring the relationship between your wife and another man. I have no idea how much Alan used to know. What we are reading now is a widower responding to a windfall of unproven gossipy bits.
One does feel sorry for him and for the kids. The family coming to retrieve the body of their slain wife and mother can’t even grieve properly. First, Karen was murdered and no arrest has been made. Second, every article provides own version of the events, essentially, “did they or didn’t they?”
I suspect that Alan is not totally naive about life. He does an important thing; he takes the role of the spokesman for the family. He protects the kids; at least they don’t need to give interviews.
Personally, I don’t think he was in any way involved in the tragedy.
To remind, statistics says that “Globally, approximately 60% of all female homicides are committed by intimate partners or family members”. I assume that French police can check all arrivals from South Africa fo France… And mainly, there is another person living much closer to KC, the first one to see her body. The French police let him go. Most likely, he is not involved either. However, he had way more “means” to commit the crime. We are looking for the reason, but the absence of “means” tells me AC is merely a grieving husband under public scrutiny. JMO.
One does feel sorry for J-F as well. However, he is not off-limits. And since the killer is more likely connected to either KC or J-FG, he can be discussed, IMHO.
Karen and Alan could be slowly drifting apart. Perhaps what was keeping them married was complex logistics of international divorce and separation of assets.
It would be interesting to know the one-bedroom cottage location. One wonders if Karen felt unsafe staying in the barn any longer, for some reason? If the cottage was in the village or even on the opposite side of it, it could be telling something about her fears and intentions.
About the divorce papers. Karen was living in a tiny commune where some locals, including the realtor, might tend to blur boundaries. What could Karen answer if she wasn’t willing to overshare? “I have started the process, but my husband is dragging his feet”.
True or not? MOO x 2, it is an extra polite substitution for, “none of your business.” As the result, we have two opposing stories, one from Karen’s husband, the other one from her friend. I think there will be a lot of discordant versions coming out. The locals described Karen as “polished” or “refined”. Refined people know ways of keeping people at a distance while making you feel as if they were pouring their hearts out to you.
The real indication of Karen’s plans could be her opening a separate account and that cottage. The cottage could be a form of “trial separation”.
Sorry for the long post. I was trying to explain to myself what this “information patchwork” might really mean.
