© Image: FacebookThe bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who were in their 60s, were discovered on Thursday
The bodies of Andrew Searle, a retired fraud investigator, and his wife, Dawn, a project manager, were discovered at about 12.30pm on Thursday at their home in the village of Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
According to local media reports, Dawn Searle was found naked outside the property with a serious head injury and jewellery strewn around her. She was reportedly found by a neighbour, who thought she had passed out, and called the emergency services.
When police arrived they searched the property and discovered Andrew Searle dead inside. He was reportedly found hanging with a gag in his mouth. Police say no theories are being excluded for the motives of the apparent killings. Theories include a burglary gone wrong or a possible domestic dispute.
The couple married in 2023 and had two children each from previous relationships. They had lived in the village for a decade.
A forensic pathologist was flown in by helicopter to carry out an initial examination of the bodies. The results of autopsies were not expected before Monday.
The public prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said on Friday: "Both died violent deaths, but I cannot establish that either was a homicide. All hypotheses remain open."
According to his LinkedIn profile, Andrew Searle retired in 2015 after a career in financial crime prevention.
After quitting as a consultant in financial crime assurance at Barclays in Glasgow, Searle posted that he was "enjoying life in rural France - renovating!". He previously worked for 21 years at Standard Life, in Edinburgh, where he was responsible for the bank's anti-crime initiatives across Europe.
A claim made by MailOnline that police were investigating the possibility that the couple were murdered by UK-based criminals has not been confirmed by the French authorities.
Searle went to a grammar school in Steyning, West Sussex, and graduated from Liverpool John Moores University.
A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the local authorities."
Comment: The Daily Mail reported that Mr Searle spent "at least 20 years working with the police and Serious Fraud Office against organised crime groups involved in financial crimes such as money laundering." As for the theory of a burglary gone wrong, Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, the Mayor of Villefranche said: Another article stated that he was seen by a neighbor 'arguing violently' on the phone in English hours before his death.