Friends reject the theory of murder-suicide after a British couple’s death in France, raising questions about motives.
Police continue to investigate the case. Friends refuse to believe a certain theory. Local sources mentioned Andrew’s bill payments and his struggle for a year to pay several thousand euros. This was due to issues with his UK pension. He cried after paying it in December.
Close friends who are British expats disagree. They don’t think money issues led to murder-suicide. One couple knew Dawn and Andy well and is sure it was not murder-suicide. The Searles lived comfortably, traveling often, like to a Goa wedding, and honeymooned in South America.
Dawn worked as a project manager, and Andy did freelance work, too. Friends wonder why they would kill themselves. Life seemed good for them.
Former colleagues shared their shock online. Keith Falconer knew Andrew and wrote about the tragedy on LinkedIn. David Williams called it devastating news, while Trish Divine said Andrew was a gentleman.
A finance source discussed Andrew’s work, saying it was largely anonymous. Many people do similar work in the UK and it isn’t really about individuals versus individuals. If he freelanced, he may have done similar work, though the source doesn’t know.
Andrew bought chocolate and lottery tickets before his death. Cops have not ruled out murder-suicide. The couple married in 2023.
Initially, police thought it was a burglary gone wrong. Later, the investigation suggested hitmen. Andrew used to investigate organized crime. Reports claim Andrew was tortured, and Dawn had a head wound near the door with scattered jewelry.
No weapons were at the scene. Initial exams found no bullet or knife wounds. Prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller leads the investigation and said both had a violent death. All leads are being checked.
CCTV shows Andrew buying lottery tickets and getting chocolate on Wednesday around 6 p.m. Isabelle Palazy served him and said they were regular customers. He seemed happy and relaxed.
Andrew’s father, Fred Searle, is heartbroken and has thousands of questions. He flew to France for his family. Dawn’s son is Callum Kerr, an actor in Hollyoaks.
Callum shared his grief online and asked for privacy for his family, saying they will provide updates later. He walked his mother down the aisle in 2023 and also acted in Netflix’s Virgin River.