Latest news with #EricChassagne
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
French cops probing murder of Brit expat take DNA from mayor and 14 other guests of wine-tasting she attended before she was stabbed to death in Dordogne village
French police investigating the murder of a British woman who was found with eight stab wounds have taken DNA samples from the mayor of the town she lived in, along with 14 others. Karen Carter, 65 and a married mother of four, was found dead outside her home in Trémolat, east of Bordeaux, following a night out with friends on April 29. Just a few hours before her death, she had attended a wine tasting hosted by Jean-François Guerrier, her 75-year-old lover. In attendance were 15 others, including Eric Chassagne, the mayor of Trémolat. Chassagne told local media: 'I believe that everyone who may have met Karen during the day and evening of April 29th has been sampled. 'They [the police] want to close off certain lines of enquiry. The idea is to eliminate possibilities and move forward.' According to local media, investigators are hoping to match at least one person's DNA to samples found on the victim's car. Karen's case has seen cops interview dozens of people and arrest, and subsqeuently release, two people. Both Guerrier and neighbour Marie-Laure Autefort, who was said to have been passionately in love with the 75-year-old, were questioned in the days after Karen's body was found. But both were quickly released without charge. Karen left the wind-tasting evening at 10pm, and had promised to phone Mr Guerrier when she got home. Concerned when he heard nothing, Mr Guerrier, a former managing director of Fujitsu Services who worked in Britain at one point, drove to check on her, and found her body sprawled on the driveway of the property she ran as a rental business. Despite attempts to save her, Ms Carter died from severe blood loss, after being stabbed in the chest, groin, arm and leg, according to an autopsy. As cops continue to investigate, a village café that may hold the key to finding Karen's killer has since reopened – exactly a month after the savage murder. The Café Village, where she worked part time behind the bar along with an alleged secret lover, was immediately 'shut indefinitely' following the killing. Investigators leading the investigation feared that someone who held a grudge against Ms Carter – or 'the new couple' she was forming with Jean-François Guerrier, 74 – may have come to know her at the hugely popular social centre. Carter had been dating retired businessman Jean-François Guerrier (pictured) who has a farmhouse close to the Carters' holiday home Yet – despite the killer not being caught and locals fearing he or she may have 'strong connections' with the café – it was back in business just a few weeks later. 'Regular opening' resumed on May 28th, according to management, with events including pop music concerts and quiz nights. In December, Ms Carter was filming dancing with Mr Guerrier at the Café Village, to Gloria Gaynor's disco anthem, I Will Survive. In turn, Ms Carter's 65-year-old husband, Alan Carter, who spends most of his time in South Africa, said he was unaware of their relationship. He said he knew nothing about it until it was publicly announced by the French authorities, saying he had 'a feeling of complete betrayal.' Prosecutors believe the murder was a meticulously planned crime, carried out by someone who knew Ms Carter. He or she lay in wait, they believe, and took care to avoid leaving forensic evidence, before using 'unspeakable violence' against the defenceless Ms Carter, according an investigating source. 'It certainly could have been someone who knew the victim from the Café Village, or a contract killer acting on their behalf,' the source added. Ms Carter had British and South African nationality, and her husband was at their home in East London, South Africa, at the time of the killing. He arrived in Trémolat soon afterwards, and visited the scene of the suspected murder, before organising his wife's funeral, which took place in Bergerac earlier this month. Mr Guerrier has meanwhile declined to speak at length, saying: 'Karen was a lovely lady, but I can't answer any more questions at the moment.' He confirmed hosting a party at his converted farmhouse, close to the village, just before Ms Carter's death.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
French mayor gives DNA to police over murder of British mother
A French mayor is among 15 people who have supplied DNA samples to police investigating the murder of a British-South African woman in the Dordogne. Karen Carter, 65, was stabbed to death on the front porch of the gîte she rented to holidaymakers in the tiny village of Trémolat on April 29. Hours before her death, Ms Carter had attended a wine tasting hosted by her 75-year-old lover and retired Fujitsu executive, Jean-François Guerrier, at his home. Fifteen other guests, including Eric Chassagne, the mayor of Trémolat, also attended the event. Approximately 10 minutes after driving home and arriving at her front door, the mother-of-four was found by Mr Guerrier sprawled on the ground next to her car with eight serious stab wounds on her 'chest, groin, arm and leg.' Investigators initially detained Mr Guerrier and a 65-year-old neighbour, Marie-Laure Autefort, who was said to have been passionately in love with Mr Guerrier, but both were quickly released without charge. Two months on, police are looking to narrow down the field of potential suspects. Ms Carter was was in the process of separating from her husband, Alan Carter, but he was in South Africa at the time of the murder. Gendarmes have taken DNA samples from all those who attended the event, according to Mr Chassagne, in the hope of making a match with DNA traces found inside Ms Carter's car. In an interview with France 3, a French news channel, Mr Chassagne said: 'I believe that everyone who may have met Karen during the day and evening of April 29th has been sampled. 'They [the police] want to close off certain lines of enquiry. The idea is to eliminate possibilities and move forward. Mr Chassagne said a squad of gendarmes has been stationed in the village throughout the course of the investigation. 'That was three weeks ago, a month ago. They were assigned to the case as a supplement to gain a fresh perspective.' 'Life has returned to normal. But as soon as there is the slightest micro-event, everything comes back to the surface.' 'People want the results of the investigation.' A clear motive for the murder has not been established, but investigators believe that the attacker may have harboured a grudge over Carter's burgeoning relationship with Mr Guerrier. Sylvie Martins-Guedes, the public prosecutor in Bergerac who is handling the investigation alongside her counterpart in Périgueux, Jacques-Edouard Andrault, said all hypotheses remain open. The night before her death, Carter told Beverley Needham, her neighbour and fellow expatriate, over dinner that she had filed for divorce. She was also in the process of buying a one-bedroom £135,000 cottage where she planned to settle and live alone with her dog. Mr Carter, who was in South Africa at the time of his wife's murder, had voiced concerns over his wife's relationship with Mr Guerrier but did not know it was romantic until it was announced publicly by French authorities. Mr Carter visited the scene of the attack the week after his wife's death and described her as an outgoing, friendly person who 'wouldn't hurt a fly', and said her death has been 'traumatic' for his family. 'I'm an introvert, and she's the exact opposite. She's an extrovert; she loves people, she loves to have fun. 'People love her, she has a good heart. 'She's the one who would bring home the lost dog, or cat, or whatever. She's that sort of person. Everyone liked her. That's why I married her. She's just lovely.'
