Why official information on British couple's deaths in France is slow to emerge
The investigation highlights stark differences in procedures between France, UK and US
The bodies of Dawn and Andrew Searle were discovered by a neighbour at their isolated home near Villefranche-de-Rouergue on February 6
Holly Evans/Facebook
The disturbing deaths in February of two Britons living in France have highlighted differences in how cases of suspected killings are managed here as opposed to across the Channel.
In the UK – as well as in the US – police investigate a suspected crime, often holding press conferences to quell speculation, until the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or district/state attorney deems a case can be made.
The UK system is ‘adversarial’, with the police taking charge and seeking evidence to bring charges, which is later passed to the CPS, which represents the state if the matter comes to court.
In France, the system is described as ‘inquisitorial’, with the state’s role being to gather all relevant evidence to make an impartial decision as to whether the matter should go to court.
The local public prosecutor takes charge and, in serious or complex matters, usually appoints a judge from the area’s criminal court to preside over the investigation.
The procureur and judge typically maintain secrecy to protect victims’ privacy, to guarantee the presumption of innocence around any suspects, and to ensure the integrity of any evidence.
The judge has powers, for example to hear (or read) evidence from alleged victims and witnesses, order items to be seized or searches to be made, put in place surveillance operations, or go to the scene of a presumed crime and organise a reconstruction of events.
Coroners in the UK and US can release limited details to the media but these do not exist in France where even basic facts are often not immediately publicised.
Initially, it was only known that the deceased couple were British retirees.
A media circus took off, boosted by the fact that Ms Kerr’s son is the Hollyoaks and Netflix actor Callum Kerr.
Speculation was rife: was it a burglary gone wrong? Was it a murder-suicide?
Were they killed by a gang in reprisal for Mr Searle’s former role as a financial crimes investigator?
Reports leaned heavily on unofficial sources such as the local mayor.
Neighbours spoke of a happy, outgoing and smiling couple who were heavily involved in local community events.
By February 7, police sources reportedly told the UK press that the role of Russian or Albanian agents was “a prioritised line of enquiry”.
The first official information finally came in the form of a press release from Nicolas Rigot-Muller, the Rodez procurer charged with the case, on February 11.
The deaths of Andrew Searle and Dawn Kerr
A neighbour found the body Dawn Kerr lying partially undressed outside the couple’s home on February 6 while walking his dog in Pesquiés, in the commune of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Aveyron.
He called the pompiers, who found Mr Searle hanged from a radiator at the back of the house.
Mrs Kerr was found to have received several blows to the skull with a heavy, sharp object. A box containing jewellery was found nearby, but no object or weapon was found that could have caused the injuries.
The investigation, initially led by the Villefranche de Rouergue research brigade, was handed over to the Montpellier criminal section.
Fight against misinformation
Mr Rigot-Muller confirmed the identity of the victims and the manner in which they were found, adding the detail that Mr Searle’s body showed “no defensive injuries” and that the house appeared to have been rudimentarily searched.
“Investigations are continuing, in particular to determine whether the tragedy was the result of a domestic crime followed by suicide, or whether it was the work of a third party,” he said.
The release of this limited information was authorised in response to the mounting speculation around the case under article 11 of the Code de procédure pénale, which allows the procurer to make public “objective elements drawn from the proceedings” in order to “prevent the dissemination of incomplete or inaccurate information”.
The case was then passed on to the Montpellier procureur Fabrice Belargent who confirmed the opening of an investigation for “intentional killings”, saying, however, that nothing should be read into this as to whether a third party was involved in the deaths.
“It is a merely technical expression, and I am appointing a presiding judge so the whole crime scene can be clarified,” he told journalists. “I never offer a ‘working assumption’, an expression which is more suited to fortune telling than the rigour that must hold sway in this kind of investigation,” he added.
'No evidence a third party was involved'
Mr Belargent's office confirmed to The Connexion on April 3 that there is “no evidence so far that a third party was involved in their deaths”.
The procureur did not confirm - as was reported in other media (including the BBC) - that the deaths are being treated as a ‘murder-suicide’.
Indeed, his office told French media that "these deductions are totally hasty", as the investigation has not yet reached any such conclusion.
It is worth noting that suspicious deaths frequently give rise to similar mixed messaging, speculation and conspiracy theories in the UK.
One high-profile example of this followed the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly, which was ruled a suicide by the coroner, investigated by the police and touted as a suspicious death by conspiracy theorists.
Dr Kelly’s death was subsequently confirmed as a suicide by the Hutton Inquiry.
