THE cause of death of a Scottish couple found in their home in rural France has been confirmed by French prosecutors.
Andrew Searle and Dawn Kerr were discovered dead at their home in Les Pesquiés, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, around 12.35pm on Thursday by a neighbour.
The couple, both aged in their 60s, had lived in the area for around ten years and were reportedly “well integrated” into the community.
French police confirmed that following a post-mortem, Searle died from hanging and Kerr suffered “several blows to the skull using a blunt and sharp object”.
French prosecutors said in a statement published on Tuesday that police inquiries were ongoing to determine whether the couple died as a result of a murder-suicide, or if a third party was involved.
The prosecutor in charge of the case, Nicolas Rigot-Muller, told the PA news agency: “Investigators are not prioritising any lead between the theory of a domestic crime followed by a suicide, or that of a double homicide carried out by a third party, linked either to a financial motive or the deceased’s past.”
According to his LinkedIn page, Searle was a retired fraud investigator specialising in financial crime prevention who worked at companies including Standard Life and Barclays Bank.
A neighbour of the British couple found Kerr lying dead in front of her house, “partly undressed”, and called the emergency services at 12.27, prosecutors said.
As they entered, emergency services found the body of Searle hanged inside the house.
The prosecutors statement continued: “The two deceased persons, a man and a woman, were the owners of the house in which their bodies were discovered.
“They were British expatriates, retired, and had been living in Aveyron for five years.
“The first victim, Ms Kerr, has a significant head injury.
“A box containing jewellery was found near to her, but no item or weapon which could have caused the injuries were located.
“Mr Searle, who was found hanged… did not show any visible defensive injuries.”
The prosecutors said that post-mortem examinations carried out in Montpellier on Monday found that Kerr had died after having received “several blows to the head using a blunt or sharp object”.
No signs of sexual assault were found, and no weapons have been recovered.
Searle died as a result of hanging, the statement added.
The statement said other tests, including toxicology, are currently ongoing.
