Cause of death revealed of British couple found dead at holiday home in France - mayor tells press deaths were 'clearly a homicide'

Andrew and Dawn Searle, 65 and 56, were found by a neighbour at their property in in the hamlet of Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, on Thursday 6 February. Pathologists working with judges in Montpellier carried out post-mortem examinations, confirming that Ms Searle had “severe wound to the skull caused by several blows caused by a sharp instrument” that has not been found.

Nicolas Rigot-Muller, the Rodez public prosecutor, said jewellery and cash was found scattered around her partially clothed body outside the house. According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Searle was a retired fraud investigator specialising in financial crime prevention who worked at companies including Standard Life and Barclays Bank.

Mr Searle, originally from the UK, was seen in surveillance footage in a tobacconist in Villefranche-de-Rouergue just hours before he died, buying lottery tickets and chocolate. The prosecutors statement reads: “The two deceased persons, a man and a woman, were the owners of the house in which their bodies were discovered. They were British expatriates, retired, and had been living in Aveyron for five years.

“The first victim, Ms Kerr, has a significant head injury. A box containing jewellery was found near to her, but no item or weapon which could have caused the injuries were located. Mr Searle, who was found hanged... did not show any visible defensive injuries.”

The prosecutors said that post-mortem examinations carried out in Montpellier found that Ms Kerr had died after having received “several blows to the head using a blunt or sharp object”. No signs of sexual assault were found.

Mr Searle died as a result of hanging, the statement added. The statement said other tests, including toxicology, are currently ongoing.

A day after the couple were found, the mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Jean-Sébastien Orcibal, told French television the deaths were 'clearly a homicide'. He said: “Investigators are not prioritising any lead between the theory of a domestic crime followed by a suicide, or that of a double homicide carried out by a third party, linked either to a financial motive or the deceased's past.”

CCTV footage is providing vital clues to solving the mystery, with detectives confident that any potential killer will have been picked up at some point by one of the scores of police, traffic and private cameras in the area. A criminal inquiry has now been opened for murder, according to Mr Rigot-Muller.

The couple moved to France ten years ago after Mr Searle took an early retirement in 2015. He went on to experience financial troubles, mainly with his pension, and had taken months to pay a bill of several thousand euros, according to reports. He had been seen crying in the nearby town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue in December after settling the debt, The Telegraph reports.