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🇬🇧 United Kingdom /Crime & Justice

Woman, 70, charged with murder of British expat Karen Carter in France

From The Guardian · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • A 70-year-old woman has been charged with the murder of British expatriate Karen Carter in Trémolat, France.
  • The suspect was initially arrested shortly after the murder in April 2025 but was released, only to be formally charged on July 2, 2026.
  • Carter, 65, died from multiple stab wounds, and investigations revealed she had reportedly begun a relationship with another man shortly before her death.

A 70-year-old woman has been formally charged with the murder of Karen Carter, a 65-year-old British-South African national, who was found dead in Trémolat, in France's Dordogne region, last year. The charge was confirmed by Jacques-Édouard Andrault, the public prosecutor for the region.

On July 2nd, the investigating judge in Périgueux formally charged a woman with murder.

— Jacques-Édouard AndraultConfirming the formal charge against the suspect.

The suspect was initially taken into custody on April 30, 2025, shortly after Carter's death on April 29, 2025. However, she was released without charge at the time. Following further investigations as part of a judicial inquiry opened on May 7, 2025, an investigating judge formally charged the woman with murder on July 2, 2026. She has since been placed under judicial supervision.

this 70-year-old woman, originally from Trémolat, was taken into custody on April 30, 2025, during a preliminary investigation, before being released.

— Jacques-Édouard AndraultDetailing the suspect's initial arrest and release.

Karen Carter, who owned and operated two holiday rental homes, known as gites, in Trémolat, reportedly died from severe blood loss after sustaining multiple stab wounds. An autopsy revealed eight serious wounds to her chest, abdomen, and forearm, as well as superficial injuries to her thigh, shoulder, and thumbs. Carter was discovered next to her car.

Since then, the investigations conducted as part of the judicial inquiry opened on May 7, 2025, have led the investigating judge to indict her.

— Jacques-Édouard AndraultExplaining the process leading to the formal indictment.

Carter had been attending a wine-tasting event at Cafe Village Trémolat with approximately 15 other guests, including the village mayor, Eric Chassagne. A few days after the attack, a then 69-year-old local woman was arrested but later released. It later emerged that Carter was discovered by Jean-François Guerrier, a 75-year-old businessman with whom she was reportedly in a relationship. Carter's husband, who was in South Africa at the time, expressed surprise at the revelation of this relationship, stating he understood Guerrier to be merely a friend.

this woman has been placed under judicial supervision.

— Jacques-Édouard AndraultStating the current legal status of the accused.
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Originally published by The Guardian. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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