Neighbours of Brit couple ‘murdered by gangsters’ in France reveal how husband was acting just hours before their deaths – and why his behaviour stood out

The neighbour of a former financial investigator found dead in his French home alongside his wife has said he ‘appeared agitated’ just hours before he died.

Antoine Da Silva said he regularly saw Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn as they walked their two dogs in countryside near their isolated rural home in Les Pesquies, two hours north of Tolouse. 

Retired financial investigator Andrew, 65, and Dawn, 56, who only married two years ago, were found last Thursday by a horrified friend who was worried he had not seen them out with their dog

Mr Da Silva, 63, said: ‘I was walking a lot in Les Pesquies and was bumping into him quite regularly. He was a very nice man, smiling and he was speaking French quite well, his wife less so. She would get her hair cut by my daughter.

‘When we bumped into each other we would always talk but the last two times he seemed really agitated. A week ago I saw him walking in a real hurry and he didn’t stop, he just said hello and waved and walked off.

‘Then last week before the murder I saw him on the phone. He looked very worried. He said ‘I can’t speak with you I’m on the phone’ and he walked on immediately.’

Mr Da Silva said that he and his wife had been questioned by police and he had told them about Mr Searle’s recent behaviour saying it was different from usual.

He added: ‘The police said they weren’t sure what had happened and we would have to wait for the investigation to finish.’

Retired financial investigator Andrew Searle, 65, and Dawn, 56, who only married two years ago, were found dead last Thursday at their home in rural France

Pictured is the house where Dawn and Andrew Searle were found dead last week 

Dawn Searle is the mother of former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr

Police have turned the couple’s property into an extensive crime scene

Another neighbour who lives close to the house, described how she saw the couple the day before they died.  

‘I saw them the day before they were found – they were walking the dogs and Andrew was on the phone’, she said. 

‘He was very agitated, and he was arguing violently in English, he just waved at me and then carried on. I don’t know – maybe it’s relevant, but I can’t see burglary as a motive.’

Close friend Odile Marian described how Mr Searle had also been irate just hours before he died after ‘finding the door of his garage open’.

She added: ‘I know that someone had opened the door of his garage was opened, he was trying to find out who it was, maybe it was him – I don’t know, maybe it’s connected?

‘I just know he was very angry and irate that it was open, but it may have been him who left it open. We just don’t know.’

The couple, who appear to have been popular among those living in Les Pesquies, having retired to France in 2015, were seen in the nearby town of Villefranche de Rouergue on the evening before they died. 

Mr Searle was captured on CCTV footage in a tobacconist just before 6pm on Wednesday evening as the shop was closing.

Police are investigating many unanswered questions regarding the couple’s deaths

French media have reported Mr Searle was found inside hanging from a banister with a gag in his mouth, but local officials have refused to confirm this

Around his neck is a tracking device used to keep an eye on the couple’s two hunting dogs

Appearing happy and relaxed, he is seen buying a chocolate bar and two 3 Euro Lottery tickets before thanking the shopkeeper and walking away to his car outside where wife Dawn was waiting.

Around his neck is a tracking device used to keep an eye on the couple’s two hunting dogs and which were found at the scene and taken away for DNA testing by police following what has been described as their ‘violent deaths’.

They were found dead the following day.  

French media have reported Mr Searle was found inside hanging from a banister with a gag in his mouth, but local officials have refused to confirm this.

Mrs Marian told how Dawn had been found ‘in her pyjamas’ outside the house by a neighbour and had a ‘head injury’.

She added: ‘Her jewellery was scattered around her and the man who found them called police and they arrived and found Andrew inside.

Autopsies are expected to take place on Monday. 

Any suggestions the killings came from a ‘burglary gone wrong’ have been dismissed by the town’s mayor Jean-Sébastien Orcibal.

He also said the deaths were ‘clearly a homicide’ and not a ‘family tragedy’, suggesting officials thought the pair did not take their own nor each others’ lives.

Locals have said Dawn was found ‘in her pyjamas’ outside the house by a neighbour and had a ‘head injury’

Police are investigating after the couple were found dead in their home last week 

A crime scene has been set up at the property, which is around two hours from Toulouse 

Dawn Searle is pictured here with her actor son Callum Kerr, who starred in Hollyoaks

Mr Orcibal added: ‘These people were well integrated into the village.’

He told how Mr Searle had been part of the town’s festival committee, adding: ‘They regularly invited the whole neighbourhood to come and have an aperitif at their place and share a festive moment. They knew a lot of people.’

Mr Orcibal also said: ‘We do not really have burglaries in our town, and especially not violent burglaries.’ 

Detectives have been conducting a neighbourhood survey but locals said the couple had no obvious enemies.

One neighbour, Dominique Loubière, said: ‘We knew them well. They had dogs and sometimes we went for walks with them.

‘They got along well with everyone. When we arrived, they introduced us to the neighbours. They were very nice.’

There has been speculation the couple could have been murdered by ‘British criminals’ since Mr Searle previously worked as a counter-fraud specialist. 

It is understood that Mr Searle spent at least 20 years working with the the police and Serious Fraud Office against organised crime groups involved in financial crimes such as money laundering. 

The couple were found at their property in Les Pesquies, two hours north of Toulouse

An investigating source said: ‘A criminal enquiry has been launched and the fear is that the couple were murdered.

‘They were very fit, and very popular locally, but there is a theory that they were being pursued by criminals from the United Kingdom.

‘This is currently the prioritised line of enquiry, because [the husband] was once involved in the fight against organised crime and terrorism.’

This included work in ‘sanctions screening’, which is the process of checking individuals and groups who might be barred from dealing in the UK because of their links with rogue nations, terrorist groups and drugs traffickers.   

This would have brought Mr Searle to the notice of networks working across the globe, in countries such as Russia.

Mr Searle retired to France in 2015 from his professional life in Scotland, after working in the financial crime assurance arm of Barclay’s Bank in Edinburgh.

Before this, the Liverpool John Moores University graduate was at Standard Life, which is also based in the Scottish capital.

He maintained a LinkedIn account, in which he wrote: ‘Responsible for the delivery of significant improvements in AFC [Anti-Financial Crime] capability, developing effective operating models within a Group structure.’

Pictured is the house where Dawn and Andrew Searle were discovered in Les Pesquies

Town mayor Jean-Sébastien Orcibal has dismissed suggestions of a ‘burglary gone wrong

A financial source who was aware of Mr Searle’s previous work said: ‘Big banks and financial institutions have scores of people working in this field.

‘A lot of people do these sorts of checks at scale all day, every day and it’s not individuals going against individuals, it’s an anonymous process.

‘What he was doing wasn’t particularly unusual and it was all a long time ago.’ 

There is also some speculation that the couple were in financial difficulties after local reports that Mr Searle was seen looking upset in December last year after he had issues with his UK pension. 

According to The Mirror, local sources suggested that Mr Searle Local had taken over a year to settle a bill of several thousands euros.

But this has been dismissed by close friends of the couple, who told the newspaper the pair were financially comfortable, and that they had a ‘happy’ life and would not have taken their own lives. 

‘They weren’t flashy by any means, but they were definitely comfortable and had it good out here’, they said. 

They added that there was a holiday home connected to the couple’s property which ‘gave them a good income on the side’ as the rented it out.  

Family members are expected to travel to the village in the next few days as police and prosecutors continue their investigation into the shocking double deaths – with prosecutors and police ‘keeping an open mind’.

Dawn’s son Callum – who lives in Nashville, Tennessee – posted a tribute on his Instagram, while also asking for the family’s privacy to be respected during this ‘difficult time’.

The 30-year-old, who is best known for his role as PC George Kiss in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, shared a statement saying he was ‘grieving’ over the tragic loss of his mother and her partner.

He wrote: ‘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.

‘We kindly request that their privacy be respected during this difficult period. We will provide updates as appropriate. Thank you for your understanding.’

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘We are supporting the family of a couple who died in France and are liaising with the local authorities.’

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