The family of Karen Carter, a 65-year-old British-South African woman stabbed to death in the Dordogne village of Trémolat in April, believes the killer may have been someone she knew. Carter, who ran two holiday gites with her husband Alan, was found dead outside her property after a frenzied attack. Her husband, who was in South Africa at the time, has spoken of his shock at revelations that his wife had been in a relationship with another man, Jean-François Guerrier, who discovered her body.
Guerrier, a 75-year-old former Fujitsu managing director, was questioned by police but later eliminated from the inquiry. Local woman Marie-Laure Autefort, 69, was also arrested and released without charge. An autopsy revealed eight serious stab wounds, including to the chest and abdomen, causing fatal blood loss. Carter had attended a wine tasting earlier that evening with about 15 guests, including the village mayor.
Detectives have renewed appeals for witnesses, considering both a robbery gone wrong and a personal grudge as possible motives. Alan Carter described the gossip surrounding the case as damaging to the family. Police have taken forensic samples from several villagers but no arrests have been made. The case remains one of France's most puzzling murder mysteries.
