Andrew and Dawn Searle’s bodies were found by a neighbour in their rural home in Les Pesquies, a quaint little village north east of Toulouse, France, on Thursday
A former colleague of the counter-fraud investigator found dead with his wife at their home in France says he was not killed in a gangland hit.
A neighbour found the bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle in their idyllic home in the remote village of Les Pesquies on Thursday. French investigators said that the couple suffered a “violent death” and that they are pursuing several theories, with organised crime being one of them.
Mr Searle, 62, worked as a counter-fraud specialist at a number of prestigious firms, including Standard Life and Barclays Bank, before the couple retired to the South of France from their home in Scotland.
Witnesses said that he was seen arguing on the phone before his death and had flown into a rage after finding the door of his garage open. A former colleague based in the UK has refuted claims of a revenge hit. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the colleague – who asked to remain anonymous – said: “There is no way he could have been the target of a gangland hit.
“He was senior but not hierarchical. The bad guys just see the organisations declining them and try new routes or try to learn how to circumnavigate.
“Criminals just see the organisation, not the individuals in the teams or running the teams. They’d have a full-time job following through on vendettas.” He added that everyone who had known Andrew were stunned after his death, adding that he was a “really nice guy”.
It comes after friends of the couple said they had been living a “happy” and “comfortable” life in the rural countryside north of Toulouse. Two British couples, close friends of the Searles, 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?” The neighbour who discovered the couple last night said Dawn appeared to have been beaten to death and Andrew was found hanged.
Questions about the couple’s possible financial difficulties also emerged yesterday. Local sources said it had taken him over a year to settle a bill of several thousands euros, and was spotted looking tearful in December amid issues with his UK pension.
But the British couples, who were great friends with the pair and attended their wedding, dismissed suggestions they were hard up. They added: “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.” The couple married in 2023, with Dawn’s son Callum, a former Hollyoaks star, walking her down the aisle.
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