The deaths of a Scots mum and her husband in rural France may be linked to “a problem from the past”, according to a local mayor.
Andrew Searle, 62, and his wife Dawn, 56, were found dead in the small hamlet of Les Pesquies, near Villefranche-de-Rouergue last Thursday. It is understood that the pair were discovered by a friend after Andrew failed to arrive for a dog walk.
They moved to the area around ten years ago and married in 2023 in a nearby town named Villefranche-de-Rouergue. The pair were married by the mayor Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, who is also their neighbour.
Speaking from outside the town hall where the couple held their wedding ceremony, Mr Orcibal said their deaths may have been caused by a problem linked to their past.
He told Sky News: “It doesn’t seem like the problem comes from here because when we knew them and saw them living here they were very happy, very friendly and didn’t seem to have any problems. The problem seems to come from the past or somewhere far away.
“It’s an isolated act, it’s very independent. It doesn’t say that it’s a very dangerous territory, in fact, it’s very peaceful and that’s why probably Andy and Dawn chose to live here, because it’s very peaceful. Now, did their past come back and get them? That’s another story. That’s totally different from where we are. It could’ve happened anywhere.”
A police investigation into the circumstances surrounding the couple’s death is underway. Several lines of inquiry, including murder-suicide and double murder, are open.
Dawn was discovered in her pyjamas with a head injury while there are reports that Andrew was found hanging inside their home. There were no weapons, bullets or knife wounds at the scene, according to a source close to the investigation.
It has been suggested they could have been murdered by hitmen due to Andrew’s career combatting financial crime. The public prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller, who is leading the investigation, previously said that while both “died violent deaths… all hypotheses remain open”.
Other expats close to the couple described the pair as living a “happy” and “comfortable” life in the rural countryside north of Toulouse. Two British couples were last night keen to put down the suggestion of suicide.
The Brit expats, who are in their late 60s and live in a nearby village, said: “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?”
Dawn’s son, a former Hollyoaks star, walked his mother down the aisle at their wedding in 2023.
The British expat continued: “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 were also 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.”
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