Death of Borders woman and husband in south of France 'treated as murder-suicide'
Last updated 3rd Apr 2025
The death of a Borders woman found partly dressed and with a significant head injury outside her home in the south of France, where her husband was discovered hanged inside, is being treated as murder-suicide.
Almost two months on from the tragic discovery in the hamlet of Les Pesquies in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Aveyron, French authorities say there is no evidence anyone else was involved.
Dawn Kerr, who listed Eyemouth High as her former school on Facebook, and Andrew Searle were both aged in their 60s when they were found dead, in the early afternoon of February 6th.
Police launched an investigating to establish whether the married British couple died as a result of a murder-suicide, or if a third party was involved.
Prosecutor Fabrice Belargent said that "the analysis carried out does not so far show any evidence that a third party was involved".
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It is understood Ms Kerr and Mr Searle were the mother and stepfather of Scottish actor and musician Callum Kerr, who played PC George Kiss in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, and appeared in Netflix's Virgin River.
A statement posted on Mr Kerr's social media accounts on February 8th said: "At this time, Callum Kerr and Amanda Kerr are grieving the loss of their mother, Dawn Searle (nee Smith, Kerr), while Tom Searle and Ella Searle are mourning the loss of their father, Andrew Searle."
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.
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A statement issued by French prosecutors in February said: "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."
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