French prosecutors have confirmed how a British couple died, five days after they were found dead in their rural home in south west France.
The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle were discovered by a neighbour in the hamlet of Les Pesquiès, north of Toulouse, on Thursday.
Prosecutors in Rodez issued an update on the case following post-mortem examinations on the couple, who moved to France from Scotland about 10 years ago.
It confirmed Mr Searle, 62, died from hanging and Mrs Searle, 56, suffered “multiple blows to the head with a blunt and sharp-edged object”.
The statement added: “The investigation is ongoing, particularly to determine whether the tragedy resulted from a domestic crime followed by suicide or involved a third party.”
Mr and Mrs Searle lived in Musselburgh near Edinburgh before moving to France.
Their bodies wered discovered by a neighbour, who went to check on them when they failed to turn up for a planned dog walk.
The area around their detached house was sealed off while investigations took place, and local police called in expert help from Toulouse, which is about 70km (43 miles) away.
As well as intensive forensics activity a helicopter and a drone were also sent to the site.
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