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EIGHT questions have been left unanswered after the deaths of a British couple living in France.
Andrew Searle, 62, and his wife Dawn, 56, were found dead last Thursday with cops now probing murder as a possible cause.
Andrew and Dawn Searle’s home where their bodies were found last Thursday
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The pair were tragically found at their holiday home in the idyllic hamlet of Les Pesquiès, near Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
The couple was well-liked in the local area, with a neighbour telling a French newspaper: “We knew them, we walked our dogs together. They were very much appreciated locally.”
Speaking from the room in which he married Andrew and Dawn in September 2023, Mayor Jean-Sébastien Orcibal added: “I knew them as well because we were neighbours as I live in Pesquies as well.
“We got to socialize. They were very well integrated in the area.”
Their deaths were first thought to be a burglary – but prosecutors now think something more sinister could be at play.
Mystery over the timeline of their deaths
It remains unclear when exactly the pair died.
They were found by neighbours around 12.30pm on Thursday – with Andrew’s body discovered hanging and Dawn lying outside the front door.
A post-mortem found Dawn died from a significant head wound but it is not yet clear how long she received that before the grisly discovery.
CCTV footage from Wednesday is the last sighting of Andrew, who was seen buying two lottery tickets and a chocolate bar shortly before 6pm.
Missing murder weapon
Tragically, Andrew was found hanged from a radiator while Dawn suffered “multiple blows to the head with a blunt and sharp-edged object”.
Dawn was found with a “severe head wound” and “no visible defensive wounds”.
No weapons were found at the scene and no bullet or knife wounds were found in an initial examination of the bodies, a source close to the investigation told La Depeche du Midi.
But prosecutors in Rodez haven’t revealed the causes of death – which could be key in explaining why they died.
Can’t rule out murder
Prosecutors have an open murder investigation into the deaths and have not ruled out they were killed for “financial motives”.
Detectives are even reportedly looking into whether gangsters “with a score” to settle could carry out the deaths.
Andrew was last seen on CCTV at a tobacconist
Cops at the home near Villefranche-de-RouergueNicolas Rigot-Muller, the Rodez prosecutor, said: “Both died violent deaths, but I cannot yet firmly establish homicide.”
Friends dispute murder-suicide
Pals of the couple have rejected the theory that Andrew killed Dawn and then himself in a murder-suicide.
They say the couple’s relationship was harmonious.
A couple, in their 60s, said: “Us Brits, who knew Dawn and Andy very well, are certain this is not a murder-suicide because of financial difficulties or anything like that.
“They weren’t flashy by any means, but they were definitely comfortable and had it good out here.
The couple had their holiday home in the south of France
Les Pesquiès, FranceAnother Brit who knew the pair said: “Life was good, why would they want to kill themselves?
“There was never any suggestion whatsoever of financial or material difficulties – as local business people they always paid us on time.”
Money woes
Andrew took an early retirement in 2015 and is believed to have run into money troubles.
His 21-year career at British banks Standard Life and Barclays included spotting accounting irregularities linked to organised crime groups.
But he started his own business before it was put into liquidation in 2023.
But one pal said they had recently been travelling.
The friend said: “They were always travelling. They recently went to a family wedding in Goa, they went to South America for their honeymoon.”
Past job-hunting criminals
Fears have been raised of the deaths being a targeted assassination carried out by a “hitman” after Andrew’s sensitive financial work.
Instagram
InstagramHis LinkedIn profile revealed the fluent English, French and German speaker was responsible for “sanctions screening” to stop money flowing to states like Russia.
His sensitive work also involved “Intelligence and anti-bribery and Corruption” plus responsibility for all Anti-Financial Crime matters in the UK & Europe.”
This would have brought Andrew to the notice of criminal networks working across the globe.
Earlier in his career, he worked as a Group Financial Crime Manager following 14 years as an investigations manager “responsible for the Investigation of internal and external fraud.”
The motive behind their death is unclear with the cause yet not confirmed.
Cash was found in the couple’s bedroom and their home appeared to have been “roughly searched” despite no jewellery being stolen.
Dawn was found only dressed but had not been the victim of a sexual assault.
Mystery tearful phone call
Andrew was seen crying in the nearby town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue in December after he had settled a bill, local sources told The Telegraph.
AFP
AFPIt had reportedly taken him over a year to pay a bill of several thousand Euros after he had problems with his UK pension.
In another phone call just days before he died, Andrew appeared “very agitated” and had been “violently arguing in English” while walking through the town.
Antoine Da Silva, 63, a retired council worker, told the news site: “Then last Tuesday, I saw him on the phone. He looked very worried.
“He said: ‘I can’t speak with you, I’m on the phone’ and looked very worried and walked on immediately. I knew him very well.
“He was someone calm and quiet and nice. But the last two times I saw him, he was very different.”
Phones being probed
Detectives have been searching mobile phones belonging to the couple and uncovering “vital clues” about the couple’s final hours.
Andrew’s mobile device is proving “particularly helpful”, according to one detective, after he was spotted making animated calls in previous days.
An investigating source said: “There is a mine of information and recent calls made by Mr Searle which are providing vital clues.”
The pair with pals on holiday
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