
Musician and actor Callum Kerr tells of family mourning over deaths of Dawn and Andrew Searle - as investigation details emerge in France
A musician and actor has shared a statement about his family's grieving following the deaths of a British couple in rural France.
Dawn and Andrew Searle, who have not been officially identified but have been named by French news sites, were found at their home in the hamlet of Les Pesquies, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, on Thursday.
Investigations into how they died are still ongoing.
Country musician and former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr shared a statement about his mum on Instagram on Saturday.
"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," the statement said.
It went on to ask for privacy "during this difficult period" and said further updates would be provided "as appropriate".
Several local media outlets have reported Ms Searle's body was found outside their home, while Mr Searle's body was discovered inside.
Ms Searle was seen by a neighbour, according to La Depeche and Midi Libre. La Depeche also reports she was naked, with jewellery found scattered nearby.
A source "close to the investigation" told Midi Libre she had suffered a major head wound. The neighbour who found her initially thought she was unwell, it said, before calling emergency services.
Mr Searle was found hanged inside the house and had been gagged, both publications reported.
Investigators are reportedly looking at whether the British couple were killed during a burglary, but all lines of inquiry are said to remain open following the discovery of their bodies on Thursday.
Mr Searle is said to have previously worked as an organised crime financial investigator in the UK.
A LinkedIn profile in his name says he retired in 2015 after working for Barclays and Standard Life, and was "enjoying life in rural France".
His page talks about "over 20 years experience specialising in Financial Crime Prevention (AML, Fraud and Anti-Bribery) with a high profile in the industry and an extensive network of contacts".
The mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, who also lives in Les Pesquies, told broadcaster France 3 the deaths were"something criminal, a homicide very clearly".
However, the public prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said that while both "died violent deaths... all hypotheses remain open" while investigations continue.
Postmortems are expected to take place on Monday.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scottish Sun
16 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Former West Ham star Dimitri Payet has contract ripped up leaving him unemployed after shocking abuse claims
DIMITRI PAYET had his contract ripped up to leave him unemployed. It comes just weeks after shocking abuse claims against the ex-West Ham man. 4 Ex-West Ham man Dimitri Payet had his contract in Brazil terminated Credit: Getty 4 Ex-lover Larissa Ferrari made shocking abuse claims against the married footballer during their alleged affair Credit: Payet, 38, joined Brazilian side Vasco da Gama on a two-year contract in August 2023. However, the club announced the decision to cut the deal short. They wrote on social media: "Vasco da Gama announces that, in a friendly manner, it has reached an agreement to terminate the contract with midfielder Dimitri Payet early. "The club thanks the athlete for the professionalism, dedication and respect demonstrated throughout his time at Sao Januario, and wishes him success in his next challenges. "For Vasco, Payet played 77 matches, scored eight goals and contributed 16 assists. "Thank you, Payet. This is Vasco." Payet hit headlines in April when his ex-lover alleged he subjected her to "physical, moral, psychological and sexual violence" during a seven-month affair. The "lonely" married footballer was accused of forcing Larissa Ferrari to film degrading videos, SunSport revealed. Brazilian lawyer Ferrari, 28, also said the former French international Payet made her partake in a fake wedding and wear a ring to 'prove her love'. She claimed he made her drink her own urine and water from the toilet, and lick the floor - plus showed SunSport photos of her bruises. Premier League cult hero Dimitri Payet rolls back the years as he humiliates opponent with unique 360-nutmeg The mum-of-two said: 'He's a sick monster. I was scared for my life, and I'm still scared." Payet denied "physical and psychological violence" in a statement to the police in Brazil, adding that everything was consensual and proposed by his accuser. The playmaker has four children with his wife of nearly 20 years, Ludivine, who remained in France after he joined Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro in 2023. Before that, he had six-and-a-half years with Marseille, joining the French side for £25million following an impressive 18 months with West Ham. 4 Payet spent two years with Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro Credit: Getty

Western Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
MoD ‘dishonest' to call 1994 Chinook crash an accident, say families
RAF Chinook ZD576 was carrying 25 British intelligence personnel from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to a conference at Fort George near Inverness when it crashed in foggy weather on June 2 1994 on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland. All 25 passengers – made up of personnel from MI5, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army – were killed, along with the helicopter's four crew members. The families of those who died said earlier this month that they were beginning legal action against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for not ordering a public inquiry. They want a High Court judge to be able to review information which they say was not included in previous investigations, and which they believe will shed new light on the airworthiness of the helicopter. The families, who have coalesced into the Chinook Justice Campaign, said failing to order a public inquiry is a breach of the UK Government's human rights obligations. An MoD spokesperson said: 'The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died. 'We have received a pre-action protocol letter from the Chinook Justice Campaign and are considering our response. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to comment further.' Solicitor Mark Stephens, who is representing the families, said: 'The statements issued by the Ministry of Defence in recent days are so blatantly at odds with the facts as we now know them that they have caused immense upset to the families and cast a further cruel and disgraceful shadow on this ongoing travesty of justice. 'We know that the RAF helicopter carrying the 29 service personnel who were killed, serving their country, had been grounded because of fatal flaws in the software on board. 'For the MoD to claim that this was a 'tragic accident' flies in the face of the facts and is blatantly and disgracefully at odds with the truth. 'It is nothing short of dishonest, deceitful and disingenuous and we demand a retraction.' The families have also called for the release of documents that were sealed at the time of the crash for 100 years, something revealed in a BBC documentary last year. The MoD has said that records held in the National Archives contain personal information and early release of those documents would breach their data protection rights. Mr Stephens said: 'For the Government to believe that data protection laws were designed to protect someone who is living – and who may have made a dreadful decision that night – rather than the truth emerging over 29 service personnel who were killed in an unairworthy aircraft, is a total abomination. 'This decision must be overturned, these files must be seen by a judge, and we will fight this in court if necessary.' Niven Phoenix, a commercial pilot whose father Ian was one of the senior RUC officers killed in the crash, said: 'This was about as far from a tragic accident as you could get. Locking the files away until we are all dead proves there is a cover-up about something. 'The MoD's statement that these files have been sealed to protect third party interests is yet another disingenuous, distasteful and outright dishonest assertion designed to hide the truth using data protection laws which only came into force in the UK long after the crash. 'The Government would prefer for all the children of the Chinook victims to die like their parents rather than provide access, answers and take accountability for past mistakes. This is not the duty of candour promised by Keir Starmer in his election manifesto.' Following the crash, the Chinook's pilots, Flight Lieutenants Richard Cook and Jonathan Tapper, were accused of gross negligence, but this verdict was overturned by the UK Government 17 years later, following a campaign by the families. A subsequent review by Lord Philip set out 'numerous concerns' raised by those who worked on the Chinooks, with the MoD's testing centre at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire declaring the Chinook Mk2 helicopters 'unairworthy' prior to the crash.

Leader Live
28 minutes ago
- Leader Live
MoD ‘dishonest' to call 1994 Chinook crash an accident, say families
RAF Chinook ZD576 was carrying 25 British intelligence personnel from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to a conference at Fort George near Inverness when it crashed in foggy weather on June 2 1994 on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland. All 25 passengers – made up of personnel from MI5, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army – were killed, along with the helicopter's four crew members. The families of those who died said earlier this month that they were beginning legal action against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for not ordering a public inquiry. They want a High Court judge to be able to review information which they say was not included in previous investigations, and which they believe will shed new light on the airworthiness of the helicopter. The families, who have coalesced into the Chinook Justice Campaign, said failing to order a public inquiry is a breach of the UK Government's human rights obligations. An MoD spokesperson said: 'The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died. 'We have received a pre-action protocol letter from the Chinook Justice Campaign and are considering our response. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to comment further.' Solicitor Mark Stephens, who is representing the families, said: 'The statements issued by the Ministry of Defence in recent days are so blatantly at odds with the facts as we now know them that they have caused immense upset to the families and cast a further cruel and disgraceful shadow on this ongoing travesty of justice. 'We know that the RAF helicopter carrying the 29 service personnel who were killed, serving their country, had been grounded because of fatal flaws in the software on board. 'For the MoD to claim that this was a 'tragic accident' flies in the face of the facts and is blatantly and disgracefully at odds with the truth. 'It is nothing short of dishonest, deceitful and disingenuous and we demand a retraction.' The families have also called for the release of documents that were sealed at the time of the crash for 100 years, something revealed in a BBC documentary last year. The MoD has said that records held in the National Archives contain personal information and early release of those documents would breach their data protection rights. Mr Stephens said: 'For the Government to believe that data protection laws were designed to protect someone who is living – and who may have made a dreadful decision that night – rather than the truth emerging over 29 service personnel who were killed in an unairworthy aircraft, is a total abomination. 'This decision must be overturned, these files must be seen by a judge, and we will fight this in court if necessary.' Niven Phoenix, a commercial pilot whose father Ian was one of the senior RUC officers killed in the crash, said: 'This was about as far from a tragic accident as you could get. Locking the files away until we are all dead proves there is a cover-up about something. 'The MoD's statement that these files have been sealed to protect third party interests is yet another disingenuous, distasteful and outright dishonest assertion designed to hide the truth using data protection laws which only came into force in the UK long after the crash. 'The Government would prefer for all the children of the Chinook victims to die like their parents rather than provide access, answers and take accountability for past mistakes. This is not the duty of candour promised by Keir Starmer in his election manifesto.' Following the crash, the Chinook's pilots, Flight Lieutenants Richard Cook and Jonathan Tapper, were accused of gross negligence, but this verdict was overturned by the UK Government 17 years later, following a campaign by the families. A subsequent review by Lord Philip set out 'numerous concerns' raised by those who worked on the Chinooks, with the MoD's testing centre at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire declaring the Chinook Mk2 helicopters 'unairworthy' prior to the crash.