Brit couple found dead at French countryside home as police launch murder probe

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A murder investigation is underway in southwest France after the dead bodies of a British couple were found at their isolated countryside home.

Friends of the pair – who have not been named – visited the home in Boudrac, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, south of Toulouse, after not hearing from them for at least three days.

When they arrived at their home – which was due to be turned into a bed and breakfast – on Sunday afternoon, they found the lifeless body of their friend, a 65-year-old woman.

Local prosecutor Christophe Amunzateguy said she had been dead for “some days” and had a rope around her neck.

“Wounds were also found on her body – there were signs of strangulation and blows,” he said.

When gendarmes arrived later they found the woman’s husband, 64, dead in an outhouse.

“He was found hanged, and had left a note,” said Mr Amunzateguy.

“The couple had a project to open a guesthouse but it was ended because of financial difficulties,” Mr Amunzateguy added.

Confirming that a murder investigation had been opened, Mr Amunzateguy, the public prosecutor in Saint-Gaudens, said “there was no evidence of a third party being involved”.

He added that an autopsy would be performed on each of the bodies on Tuesday, to try and establish a cause of death.

The couple had bought their house in Boudrac – which has a population of around 130 – in early 2021 and wanted to turn it into a bed and breakfast.