Sister of woman arrested over Dordogne murder says she was wrong accused
A French pensioner detained over the suspected murder of a British mother in the Dordogne was 'wrongly accused', her brother has told The Telegraph.
Philippe Monribot said his sister had fallen in love with a man who was thought to be having an affair with Karen Carter, found dead outside her guest house in the Dordogne
He explained how police targeted his sibling because she had told everyone in the village she was in love with Jean-François Guerrier, who volunteered at a café with Mrs Carter.
'She went around Trémolat saying, 'I'm in love, I don't have a husband any more. I'm in love,' Mr Monribot said.
Marie Laure Autefort, a 69-year-old retired carer and amateur genealogist, was detained by the French authorities and later released. She has since left the village of Trémolat, east of Bordeaux.
'All I know is that she's in a very, very bad way and won't get over this accusation,' Mr Monribot said.
'She was easy prey, for the journalists, for the prosecutor, it was easy. She told everyone in Trémolat, 'I love Jean-François.
'They destroyed her, destroyed her, the family is destroyed.
'Like coming out of Guantanamo'
'She couldn't say anything when she got out (of questioning). It was like coming out of Guantanamo.'
Mrs Carter, a 65-year-old mother of four, was found sprawled on the ground next to her car on April 29 with eight stab wounds to her 'chest, groin, arm and leg'.
Her body was discovered by Mr Guerrier, a 74-year-old retired Fujitsu executive from the village with whom she had allegedly been having an affair for several weeks.
Ms Autefort was released the day after she was detained when detectives examined her schedule.
She has now fled to Paris to escape the 'bad atmosphere' of the village, Mr Monribot said.
Over a café au lait outside the village's pizzeria, Mr Monribot said his sister was 'very, very far away in Paris... because she was wrongly accused'.
Gesturing to the cobbled streets and the medieval church opposite, he said: 'She was beautiful, she was like France.'
French prosecutors leading the murder investigation said Mrs Carter had been in a relationship with Mr Guerrier for several weeks at the time of her death.
Mrs Carter's husband, Alan Carter, who is travelling to Tremolat from his home in South Africa, said he was unaware of the relationship until it was publicly announced by French authorities and has described 'a feeling of complete betrayal'.
Police are pursuing the theory that the killer may have harboured a grudge against either the couple or Mrs Carter herself.
Mrs Carter and Mr Guerrier had previously been filmed dancing with each other at parties hosted at the Café Village, an eatery and community hub in Trémolat where they both regularly volunteered.
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