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WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: Andrew, 62, and Dawn Searle, 56, mum of former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr, had been discovered useless in horrifying circumstances at their residence in southern France
19:50, 08 Feb 2025Updated 22:55, 08 Feb 2025
Horrific circumstances of the case have emerged(Image: Facebook)
French police probing the killing of a British couple have confirmed they are following a number of lines of inquiry – including murder-suicide. Andrew, 62, and and Dawn Searle, 56, were found dead in their home in Les Pesquiès, southern France, on Thursday afternoon.
French authorities are also considering whether the couple were tortured before their death, murdered in a burglary gone wrong or targeted by French or British criminals.
The murder-suicide theory was confirmed as credibly by police in a press conference this evening. “It’s being thought-about,” stated Regional prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller.
Dawn is the mum of former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr
Officials initially believed the pair were killed in a burglary gone wrong but they have since said their “deaths had been clearly a murder.” One line of inquiry is the couple could have been murdered by criminals from the UK because Mr Searle was a financial investigator specialising in crime and terrorism.
On Friday, investigators revealed the disturbing circumstances in which Mr Searle’s body was found – hanged inside the house with a gag in his mouth. There was no gun or knife nearby, suggesting he may have suffered a horrifying death by torture, French police said.
His spouse Dawn was discovered close by, bare and with a wound to the top. Her physique was mendacity by the entrance door, simply in entrance of the home, with jewelry scattered round her. It is believed that the best way their our bodies had been found counsel the victims could have been making an attempt to flee when killed by an unidentified intruder or intruders.
The grisly discovery was made on Thursday (Image: Phil Harris)
A source close to the investigation revealed the macabre details to French publication La Dépêche, saying: “The spouse’s physique was first found in entrance of the door of the home. Around the unlucky girl, jewelry was discovered scattered, testifying to an excellent dysfunction. In the home, the husband’s physique was found hanging with a gag caught in his mouth.”
It has now emerged that Mrs Searle was the mum of former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr, who starred within the Channel 4 cleaning soap between 2020 and 2021. The actor, who additionally starred on Netflix’s Virgin River, has not spoken publicly concerning the deaths. The 30-year-old can also be a rustic singer who relies in Nashville, Tennessee, and walked his mum down the aisle when she married Mr Searle in September 2023.
French police are following quite a few strains of inquiry(Image: Phil Harris)
Meanwhile, neighbours of the British couple said they looked “regular” and “joyful” as they visited a farm to buy beef and made a chimney sweep booking. One local, who owns a farm 200 yards from the couple’s home, told how the pair visited at around midday on Wednesday and purchased some meat.
She said: “They each got here and simply regarded regular. We talked about atypical issues. We’re farmers they usually got here to order meat. We’ve already advised the police all the pieces.”
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