This CCTV footage is the last sighting of a British man who was found dead with his wife at their home in France just hours later.
The bodies of Andrew, 62, and Dawn Searle, 56, were found in the rural village of Les Pesquies, north of Toulouse, on Thursday. Footage showed Andrew buying a bar of chocolate and two Euro Lottery tickets from a tobacconist on Wednesday, shortly before 6pm.
The shopkeeper, Isabelle Palazy, shared details about her interaction with the Brit. The 58-year-old said: “I just couldn’t believe it when I heard the news. He and Dawn were regular customers.
“He would come in every day and buy Fortuna Blue cigarettes. That day he came in just before I was closing and he seemed perfectly happy, he was relaxed and he chatted and bought some chocolate and two lottery tickets.
“Thinking that they were to die less than 24 hours later makes me go cold, I just can’t believe it. They were a lovely couple, always happy and chatting and they spoke reasonably good French.
“He was working on his house, and he would come and buy chocolate bars here, KitKat and Kinder were his favourite.” It comes as a neighbour reported seeing Andrew – a former financial investigator who worked against organised crime – appear distressed while on a dog walk the day before he died.
They said: “I saw them the day before they were found, they were walking the dogs and Andrew was on the phone. He was very agitated, and he was arguing in English, he just waved at me and then carried on.
Family friend, Odile Marian, speaking with husband Christophe, recalled Andrew being frustrated about his garage door being left ajar. She added: “He had seen the door of his garage was open, although he was sure he had closed it.
“So he was looking for who opened his garage. And he didn’t find who did it. We don’t know if it’s connected/ maybe it was him who left it open, but he was sure he had closed it?”
Last night Andrew’s father Fred Searle, 88, from Littlehampton, West Sussex, expressed his grief following his son’s tragic death. He said: “We’ve got thousands of questions and very few answers.”
It comes as police have raised several theories about the newlywed’s death. Cops initially believed Andrew, originally from West Sussex, and Dawn, from Scotland, were killed during a burglary gone wrong at their remote home.
New information then suggested they may have been targeted by hitmen, with Andrew being a former organised crime investigator. Reports also emerged claiming that Andrew may have been tortured before his tragic death.
Dawn had suffered a head wound and was found near the front door in her pyjamas surrounded by scattered jewellery. Investigators have said they are considering “all leads”.
Prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said both had died a “violent death”.
He added: “All leads remain under serious consideration.” When asked if this could be a murder-suicide case Rigot-Muller said: “It’s being considered.”
Investigators also revealed 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.
The autopsies are expected to take place on Monday as the couple’s home continues to be searched for clues. Mr Searle is said to have moved his family to France a decade ago.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the local authorities.”
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