Retired couple Dawn and Andrew Searle seemingly lived an idyllic life together in a small French hamlet.
Former criminal investigator Andrew, 62, and his wife Dawn, the mother of ex-Hollyoaks actor Callum Kerr, were killed in tragic circumstances last week. The couple had previously lived in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh, before moving to France a decade ago. Neighbours have described them as “lovely” and “very nice” people, and friends have said they were “absolutely normal”.
The couple were devastatingly found dead at their home in Les Pesquies, around 50 miles from Toulouse, on Thursday, February 7, with local authorities stating that it was “clearly a homicide”. Almost a week after their deaths, prosecutors have confirmed how the pair were tragically found and revealed “the house appeared to have been roughly searched” with cash found in their bedroom.
In an official statement released today, prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said emergency services were called to the couple’s property after being alerted by a neighbour. There, they “found the body of Mrs Searle, partially undressed, in front of her home”, near a box of jewellery, before discovering Mr Searle’s body hanging from a radiator inside.
The Searles relocated to France permanently 10 years ago and are said to have been very integrated with the local community. Andrew, who retired in 2015, said he was “enjoying life in rural France” in a LinkedIn post. One neighbour told Sky News: “They would enjoy life, they would travel and sometimes go home as well.”
Dawn had two children, country musician Callum and his sister Amanda Kerr. Andrew also had two children, Tom and Ella Searle. The four children shared a public statement after their parents’ deaths that read: “We kindly request that their privacy be respected during this difficult period. We will provide updates as appropriate.”
Locals described Andrew and Dawn as “good neighbours” who would often be seen walking their two dogs. One woman who lived nearby said: “Each year in September they would do this big dinner with all the village and invite everyone. They were very nice people.” Another said they “always had a smile on their face”.
Andrew and Dawn tied the knot in September 2023, just 18 months before they were killed, and Netflix star Callum, 30, walked his mother down the aisle. Callum donned a tartan kilt for the occasion and Dawn, 56, was seen beaming in a long, white dress as she clutched a posy of flowers.
He took to Instagram to pay tribute after the wedding, writing: “Not many people can say they walked their own mother down the aisle. What a pleasure!!! I love you mum. Congrats to Dawn and Andy on their wonderful wedding day and here’s to a tremendous life together for the happy couple.” The comments section was filled with messages of congratulations for Callum and his family.
Andrew, who was originally from West Sussex, spent more than 20 years working with police and the Serious Fraud Office. This included work in the field of “sanctions screening” – the process of checking individuals and groups who may be banned from dealing in the UK on account of their links with rogue nations, terrorist groups and drug traffickers.
It’s thought this would have brought Andrew to the attention of networks operating across the globe. A source previously said: “A criminal enquiry has been launched, and the fear is that the couple were murdered. They were very fit, and very popular locally, but there is a theory that they were being pursued by criminals from the United Kingdom.”
The source continued: “This is currently the prioritised line of enquiry, because Mr Searle was once involved in the fight against organised crime and terrorism. It may well be that gangsters with a score to settle are behind these killings.”
However, a former colleague based in the UK has refuted claims of a revenge hit. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the colleague – who asked to remain anonymous – said: “There is no way he could have been the target of a gangland hit. He was senior but not hierarchical. The bad guys just see the organisations declining them and try new routes or try to learn how to circumnavigate.
“Criminals just see the organisation, not the individuals in the teams or running the teams. They’d have a full-time job following through on vendettas.” He added that everyone who knew Andrew was stunned after his death, adding that he was a “really nice guy”.
One of Andrew’s former colleagues has described the couple as ‘beautiful people’. Keith Falconer, who worked with Andrew at insurance firm Standard Life, wrote on LinkedIn: “Really struggling to process the tragic and horrific story about my former colleague Andrew Searle. My thoughts are with his family.”
David Williams, a chief financial officer, added: “Devastating news, can’t believe this has happened to two such beautiful people.” It came after Andrew’s father, Fred Searle, 88, expressed his grief following his son’s tragic death. He said: “We’ve got thousands of questions and very few answers.”
Another theory that has emerged is the possibility of a murder-suicide. However, two British couples, close friends of the Searles, have shut this down. The Brit expats, who are in their late 60s and live in a nearby village, told the Mirror: “Us Brits, who knew Dawn and Andy very well, are certain this is not a murder-suicide. We saw them last at Christmas, they were absolutely normal. Life was good, why would they want to kill themselves?”
Questions about the couple’s possible financial difficulties have also emerged. Local sources have said it took Andrew over a year to settle a bill of several thousand euros, and claimed he was spotted looking tearful in December amid issues with his UK pension. But the British couples, who were great friends with the pair and attended their wedding, dismissed suggestions they were hard up. They added: “They weren’t flashy by any means, but they were definitely comfortable and had it good out here.
“They were always travelling – they recently went to a family wedding in Goa, they went to South America for their honeymoon. Dawn’s son Callum… had a baby and Dawn went over there for that and [she] had just come back from Scotland because her dad’s funeral was at the end of January, They said. “They were still working – Dawn was a project manager and Andy still did some freelance work. [And] they have a gite [holiday home] connected to the main house which they rented out and it was occupied most of the time which gave them a good income on the side.”
Two neighbours have said they saw Andrew having a heated phone call before his death. Antoine Da Silva, a retired council worker and neighbour of Andrew and Dawn, shared how he saw the dad-of-two hurrying through the village making an “agitated” call in the days before he died. He said Andrew looked “very worried” while chatting to someone.
Another neighbour, who asked to not be named, also said he saw the Searles acting unusually. He said: “I saw them the day before they were found – they were walking the dogs and Andrew was on the phone. Andrew was very agitated, and he was arguing violently in English, he just waved at me and then carried on.”
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