The mother of former Hollyoaks actor Callum Kerr has been killed alongside her husband in France, with gangsters suspected to be behind the brutal attack. Dawn Searle, 56, and Andrew Searle, 62, were discovered dead at their holiday home in Les Pesquiès, southwest France, on Thursday.
Mrs Searle was found near the front door with a head injury amidst scattered jewellery. There are claims that Mr Searle may have been tortured prior to his death.
Mrs Searle is the mother of Callum Kerr, who appeared on the Channel 4 soap from 2020 to 2021. Initially thought to be a botched robbery, French authorities now say that the “deaths were clearly a homicide.”
The ongoing investigation suggests the couple could have been the target of hired killers, as Mr Searle had previously worked as an organised crime investigator focusing on money laundering operations connected to Russia, according to The Sun.
Callum Kerr, who also featured in Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’, has yet to make a public statement regarding the tragedy. The 30 year old country singer, based in Nashville, Tennessee, had the honour of walking his mother down the aisle at her wedding to Mr Searle in September 2023, reports the Mirror.
He celebrated the occasion on Instagram, sharing a photo and expressing his joy for their union, saying: “Not many people can say they walked their own mother down the aisle. What a pleasure! ! I love you mum.”
“Congrats to Dawn and Andy on their wonderful wedding day and here’s to a tremendous life together for the happy couple.”
An unnamed source with knowledge of the French investigation told The Sun: “A criminal enquiry has been launched and the fear is that the couple were murdered.
“They were very fit, and very popular locally, but there is a theory that they were being pursued by criminals from the United Kingdom.
“It may well be that gangsters with a score to settle are behind these killings.”