One of the last people to see Dawn Searle alive says she was “smiley” and positive – hours before being bludgeoned to death.
The mum-of-two’s lifeless body was found along with husband Andrew at their rural home in the small village of Les Pesquies, north of Toulouse, a week ago. Detectives probing the couple’s deaths said they have not ruled out foul play by a third party.
Last night a local who works at a nearby fireplace shop said Dawn visited to book chimney sweep appointments for herself and villagers around 18 hours before the couple met their “violent deaths.” She told how Dawn, a project manager, was in good spirits despite feeling unwell with the flu, adding: “Her mood was very good, [and she was] smiley.”
The shopkeeper, who knew the couple well, said Dawn, 56, and Andrew, 62, were a “very generous and united couple” who gave up their Sundays to teach their French neighbours to speak English free of charge. Another local businessman described the pair as the “perfect couple” who were always involved in social events held in the community.
The mechanic said he regularly serviced Dawn’s white Dacia Duster SUV and enjoyed bantering with Andrew about England playing rugby against France. Officials are also considering whether the pair may have died through murder-suicide.
A statement from prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said: “Further examinations (anatomical-pathological, toxicological) are ongoing to determine the precise circumstances of the deaths. Investigations are continuing, notably to determine whether the tragedy resulted from a marital crime followed by a suicide or from the intervention of a third party.”
The prosecutor said emergency services rushed to the couple’s remote home after being alerted by a neighbour. There they found Dawn’s body “partially undressed, in front of her home” before discovering Andrew’s body “hanging from a radiator” inside the property.
It adds the pair’s home appeared to have been “roughly searched,” with cash found in their bedroom and a jewellery box near Dawn’s body. But there was no sign she had been sexually assaulted and no weapons “capable of inflicting [her] injuries” were found.
Autopsies were conducted on Monday with results showing Dawn suffered “a significant wound on her skull” from a “blunt and sharp object.” Meanwhile “[Andrew] was found hanging by a rope tied to a radiator [and] showed no visible defense injuries.”
The announcement comes after a week of speculation about what happened to the couple, who friends described as “comfortable” and “happy.” Sources close to the police investigation initially suggested it was a burglary gone wrong. They then considered the possibility of a revenge attack because of Andrew’s work combatting financial fraud. Murder-suicide was also a line of inquiry.
The couple married in 2023, with Dawn’s son Callum, a former Hollyoaks star, walking her down the aisle. Andrew is said to have moved his family to France a decade ago.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it is supporting the family and liaising with local authorities.
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