One of the last people to see Dawn Searle alive says she was ‘smiley’ and positive just hours before her and her husband’s bodies were found at their home in France.
The mum-of-two’s was found along with husband Andrew in the small village of Les Pesquies, north of Toulouse, a week ago.
Police probing the couple’s deaths said they have not ruled out foul play by a third party, and autopsies for the pair were carried out on Monday.
They revealed Dawn had died from ‘several’ blows to the head from a blunt and sharp object. Andrew’s death was confirmed as from hanging.
Last night a local who works at a nearby fireplace shop said Dawn visited to book appointments for herself and villagers around 18 hours before the couple died, the Sun reports.
She told how Dawn, a project manager, was in good spirits despite feeling unwell with the flu, adding: ‘Her mood was very good, [and she was] smiley.’
The shopkeeper, who knew the couple well, said Dawn, 56, and Andrew, 62, were a ‘very generous and united couple’ who gave up their Sundays to teach their French neighbours to speak English free of charge.
Another local businessman described the pair as the ‘perfect couple’ who were always involved in social events held in the community.
The mechanic said he regularly serviced Dawn’s white Dacia Duster SUV and enjoyed bantering with Andrew about England playing rugby against France.
Last week CCTV footage seemed to show Andrew buying a lottery ticket in the hours before his body was discovered.
Officials are also considering whether the pair may have died through murder-suicide.
A statement from prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said: ‘Further examinations (anatomical-pathological, toxicological) are ongoing to determine the precise circumstances of the deaths. Investigations are continuing, notably to determine whether the tragedy resulted from a marital crime followed by a suicide or from the intervention of a third party.’
The prosecutor said emergency services rushed to the couple’s remote home after being alerted by a neighbour.
There they found Dawn’s body ‘partially undressed, in front of her home’ before discovering Andrew’s body ‘hanging from a radiator’ inside the property.
It adds the pair’s home appeared to have been ‘roughly searched,’ with cash found in their bedroom and a jewellery box near Dawn’s body. But there was no sign she had been sexually assaulted and no weapons ‘capable of inflicting [her] injuries’ were found.
The couple married in 2023, with Dawn’s son Callum, a former Hollyoaks star, walking her down the aisle. Andrew is said to have moved his family to France a decade ago.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it is supporting the family and liaising with local authorities.
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