The devastated family of a Scots mum who was found dead alongside her husband at their home in France have travelled to the small village where their bodies were discovered.
Dawn and husband Andrew Searle were discovered by a neighbour at their home in Les Pesquies, near Toulouse, in the south of the country on Thursday.
Detectives in Les Pesquies, are understood to fear that Dawn, 56, and husband Andrew, 62, who emigrated to France from Musselburgh, in East Lothian, could have been murdered by “criminals from the United Kingdom”.
A forensic pathologist has carried out an initial examination of the bodies but is not thought to have found bullet or knife wounds.
Autopsies are expected to be carried out on Monday.
The Sunday Mail understands Andrew’s daughter Ella-Louise, 32, was flying from her home in Lagos, Portugal as his son Tom was making his way from India to France.
Dawn, originally from Eyemouth in the Borders, is the mum of actor and country music singer Callum Kerr, 30, who played PC George Kiss in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and starred in hit Netflix series Virgin River.
A family friend, who asked not to be named, said: “Andy and Dawn were so happy living in France. They had been so excited about their new life and future in France.
“For this to happen is beyond words.
“The whole family is utterly devastated. The kids are being supported by family and a close circle of friends.
“Everyone is in utter shock, they are devastated for the kids.
“Andrew’s daughter Ella, who lives in Portugal, is on her way to France as is his son who lives in India.”
Dawn, who was formerly Dawn Kerr, was originally from Eyemouth in the Borders. Her husband Andrew, was originally from West Sussex but spent years working in Edinburgh.
French police are now investigating the circumstances of their deaths.
It was initially feared the pair’s deaths came after a burglary went wrong but the mayor of Villefranche, Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, said it was “clearly a homicide”.
Last night family friends and former neighbours of the couple from their former hometown of Musselburgh told of their shock.
A friend, who has known Andrew for over three decades said: “I was absolutely horrified when I was told what had happened.
“The few close family members who first knew about what happened had to call round the extended family members to let them know.
“I understand it was a friend in France that had called Ella to tell her what had happened.
“The scene was apparently horrific. It’s utterly heartbreaking.
“It’s the kind of thing you see on TV, but you never imagine it happening to someone you know.”
The couple moved to France in 2015 after Paul retired from the financial crime assurance arm of Barclays Bank in Edinburgh.
Andrew, a grandad, had previously worked for Standard Life, also based in Edinburgh.
Andrew spent at least 20 years working with police and the Serious Fraud Office against organised crime groups involved in financial crimes such as money laundering.
This included work in “sanctions screening” – the process of checking individuals and groups who might be barred from operating in the UK because of their links to rogue nations, terrorist groups or drug traffickers.
It’s understood this would have brought Andrew to the notice of underworld networks working around the globe.
The friend added: “I knew what Andy did as a living but I didn’t realise quite to what extent it was investigating criminal activity.
“It was the kind of job you didn’t ask questions about and not the kind of thing he would have told you about.
“He was very private.
“The police and prosecutors now need to carry out the post mortems and decide what happens next.”
The couple, who are understood to have met through a local rugby club, moved to France and married in September 2023.
The friend said: “Andy was a really lovely guy, very sociable, very friendly.
“He and his wife Judy had divorced and then he later met Dawn. I think they met at the rugby club. They only married a few years ago.
“We were good friends so when he told me he was moving to France I was happy for him but a bit disappointed too.
“I remember them packing up the car with his two dogs Chilli and Bruno. Andy was always out with the dogs. He loved his dogs.”
A former neighbour of Andrew’s from Musselburgh added: “The whole town is in shock.
“Andy was a lovely man. He was very intelligent and spoke multiple languages.
“He had lived with his first wife Judy until they got divorced and he later met Dawn who also lived nearby in Musselburgh.
“They haven’t been married very long. But they seemed so happy.
“We are just so devastated for the family.”
No arrests have been made in connection to their deaths.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign 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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