An actor whose mother was the victim of a suicide in France, encouraged her friends not to attend his stepfather's funeral.
Callum Kerr, who appeared in Hollyoaks and Netflix's Virgin River, said it would be “inappropriate” for the memory of his mother, Dawn Searle, to be associated with her husband Andrew Searle.
The bodies of the couple were discovered by a neighbor in their country house in the Aveyron region on 6 February.
The public prosecutor who was responsible for the case previously told the BBC that the murder was followed by suicide and there was no evidence that another person was involved.
The statement, issued on the Instagram account of Kerr on behalf of the actor and his sister Amanda, comes more than six months after the couple was found.
It is unclear why it took so long before Mr Searle's body is released by the French authorities or when his funeral is planned.
Mr Kerr, who is also a rural singer in the US, and his sister said that while the investigation into death was underway, they “cannot ignore the circumstances as they stand”.
The statement continued: “For this reason, we must ask respectfully but firmly that our mother is in no way included in the funeral schemes that are made for Andrew.”
They insisted on the friends of their mother not to attend the ceremony and asked people not to share photos of the Lord and Mrs. Searle together.
The statement concluded: “It would be inappropriate that her memory is associated with a service in honor of the man who, based on all the available evidence, was possibly responsible for her death.
“We ask for understanding, privacy and respect while we continue to mourn and seek justice for our mother.”
Andrew and Dawn Searle lived in the hamlet of Les Pesquiès, north of Toulouse [BBC]
Mrs. Searle's body was found in the garden of ownership of the couple in the hamlet of Les Pesquiès, with serious wounds on her head.
Mr. Searle's body was found in their house, about an hour north of Toulouse.
The police were warned about the incident by a neighbor who had started checking when they did not show up for a planned dog walk.
Post-Mortem exams confirmed that Mrs. Searle “suffered several strokes in the head with a bone and sharp judge” while Mr Searle died hanging on hanging.
Mrs. Searle, 56, grew up in Eyemouth in the Scottish borders, and Mr. Searle, 62, originally from England.
They previously lived in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh, and married in 2023 in France.
Prosecutors said they had lived in the Aveyron region for five years.
According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Searle previously worked in financial crime prevention at companies such as Standard Life and Barclays Bank.
