Detectives believe the killer of a British couple found lifeless in their home in rural France was ‘definitely caught on camera at some point’, as an investigation into their deaths continues.
The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who were both in their 60s, were discovered on Thursday afternoon by a dog walker in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
Mrs Searle, whose son is Hollyoaks actor Callum Kerr, was found with head injuries outside the house with jewellery scattered around her.
Meanwhile Mr Searle was reportedly discovered inside the house.
Mr Searle was a former financial investigator involved in the battle against organised crime, leading to fears that gangsters arranged a savage professional hit late at night and disappeared unseen.
But – despite its rural location – the hamlet is surrounded by police and road video surveillance cameras that operate 24 hours a day.
There are also private devices belonging to neighbours of the Searles who often leave their properties empty.
‘It would be absolutely impossible to get in or out without being filmed,’ an investigating source said on Saturday.
The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who were in their 60s, were discovered on Thursday afternoon
Mrs Searle is the mother of former Hollyoaks actor Callum Kerr. Image shows Kerr walking mother Dawn Searle down the aisle for her marriage to Andrew Searle in 2023
Pictured: Pictured is the house where Dawn and Andrew Searle, 56 and 62, were discovered on Thursday afternoon in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue
‘The likelihood is that a car was used, but even if someone managed to get across the countryside on foot, they were definitely caught on camera at some point.’
Specialist officers appointed by prosecutors have already started examining days of footage in a radius of at least five-miles around the suspected murder scene.
Gendarmes are also making house-to-house enquiries, and collecting all footage available.
‘Criminals can take all kind of precautions to disguise their activities, but cameras are everywhere,’ said the source.
‘We’re not dealing with open countryside – Villefranche-de-Rouergue is a well policed municipality and cameras play a huge part in the fight against crime.’
There had been no arrests in connection with the suspected crime on Saturday.
The couple had moved to France from Scotland a decade ago after Mr Searle spent his working career involved in ‘fight against organised crime and terrorism’, according to his LinkedIn profile.
This included taking on major money-laundering syndicates in countries where sanctions have been imposed, such as Russia.
Police are seen at the house where Dawn and Andrew were found dead on Thursday
Their bodies were discovered by a dog walker on Thursday afternoon
Police have turned the couple’s property into an extensive crime scene
Andrew Searle is said to have moved his family to France a decade ago after working as a financial investigator in the ‘fight against organised crime and terrorism’
Mr Searle worked in the financial crime assurance arm of Barclay’s Bank in Edinburgh, and at Standard Life, which is also based in the Scottish capital.
Detectives yesterday raised concerns that the couple could have been murdered by ‘criminals from the United Kingdom’.
On Saturday, the couple’s property and surrounding land remained sealed off.
Jean-Sébastien Orcibal, the mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, said the ‘deaths were clearly a homicide,’ and not a ‘burglary gone wrong,’ as had been speculated earlier, adding that ‘no knife was found’ at the scene.
We do not really have burglaries in our town, and especially not violent burglaries’, the mayor said.
He also noted that the incident was ‘not a family tragedy’, meaning the married couple did not take their own lives or kill each other.
A neighbour found the bodies at around 12.20pm on Thursday, after they did not arrive to walk their dogs together as planned.
A forensic doctor working for the judicial authorities in Montpellier arrived at the site by helicopter on Thursday, and is likely to release autopsy results on Monday.
The Searle’s house included a two-bedroom flat designed for paying guests.
Actor Callum Kerr pictured with his mother Dawn, who was found dead alongside her husband this week in their home in rural France
Villefranche-de-Rouergue is in the Aveyron department – the French version of a county. It is full of British expat, and holiday home owners from the UK
There is a swimming pool outside, and then thick woods which put the house in an isolated position, away from the centre of the hamlet, where around 100 people live.
Nicolas Rigot-Muller, the Rodez prosecutor, is in charge of the investigation, with judicial police and gendarmes supporting him.
Mr Searle was originally from West Sussex, while his wife came from Scotland.
The couple married in the summer of 2023.
Mrs Searle’s is former soap star Callum Kerr. He is known for his role as PC George Kiss in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, which he appeared in between 2020 and 2021.
The actor-turned-country singer is currently based in Nashville and had released his latest song on Friday.
Kerr had shared a snap on Instagram with his mother in September 2023 walking her down the aisle.
‘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’, he wrote in a social media post on his mother’s wedding day.
Image shows a French Gendarmerie’s van parked at the entrance of the house of a British couple, aged in their sixties, who were found dead on February 6
A murder investigation is ongoing. Autopsies will be carried out on Monday
Orcibal, the town mayor, said the couple were ‘very well integrated’ in the local area and would regularly invite neighbours round for a drink.
One neighbour told MailOnline: ‘[They] were lovely – hearing about this is extremely distressing.
‘They were extremely friendly, and always out and about. What has happened has caused a lot of fear.’
Villefranche-de-Rouergue is in the Aveyron department – the French version of a county. It is full of British expat, and holiday home owners from the UK.
Another local source said the couple ‘had numerous friends locally and further afield including in Britain, and often organised dinner parties.’
He added: ‘They both loved the countryside, and were very happily settled. They were very proud of their house, which is situated well away from other buildings in the hamlet’.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office told MailOnline: ‘We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the Local Authorities.
