Dordogne murder: why no news one year on?
No leads have been made public and no charges brought
65-year-old Karen Carter was found lying grievously wounded outside her home in Trémolat on April 29
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No new leads have been made public and no charges brought, one year on from the brutal murder of a British woman in a Dordogne village.
Karen Carter, 65, was stabbed eight times after she returned home from an informal wine-tasting party at around 22:00 on Tuesday, April 29, in Trémolat, between Bergerac and Sarlat-la-Canéda.
Gendarmes said: “As we are acting in the context of a judicial investigation, we don’t have the right to supply any elements on the investigation underway.”
The office of the public prosecutor in Périgueux also said: “I can only confirm to you that the investigation is continuing actively in the context of the judicial enquiry that is being carried out by the criminal unit in Périgueux.”
The mairie of Trémolat told us that mayor Eric Chassagne, who was at the wine tasting, is not giving interviews.
Compared to the UK or US, where murder cases often see regular police press briefings, a relative lack of information is not uncommon in France where serious criminal investigations are often led by an investigating judge.
A principle of le secret de l’enquête et de l’instruction, set out in the Code de procédure penale, requires that details not be made public to third parties.
This aims to avoid evidence being tampered with or witnesses being influenced as well as to preserve the presumption of innocence, especially while evidence is collected and before charges are made.
It also aims to avoid ‘prior judgement by public opinion’ and pressure on investigators, according to an article by the public prosecutor for top appeal court the Cour de cassation.
As a result, it may seem a case has gone quiet when work is still going on behind the scenes.
DNA samples
The Dordogne edition of Sud Ouest states that locals, who said Ms Carter had a “sunny” personality, are also in the dark, though some were questioned and gave DNA samples. The murder weapon, likely a long-bladed knife, was not found despite searches and neighbours said they heard nothing.
The victim was found bleeding by a local man retired a senior job in the tech industry, with whom she was said to have recently started a relationship. He had hosted the wine tasting at home and after Ms Carter left, he drove to her house to see her again. He called the emergency services but they were unable to save her.
According to Sud Ouest, lines of enquiry have included this man, the victim’s estranged husband (in South Africa) and a woman said to have been passed over in favour of the victim by her new partner.
Ms Carter, who grew up in South Africa with British parents, had four children and had been married for 33 years. For several years she had focused on running holiday lets in France, including in Trémolat, where she increasingly spent her time.
A friend was quoted saying Ms Carter sent divorce papers to her husband, who the friend said did not want to divorce, days before she died. The husband stated he only learnt of her death, and of her new relationship, via Facebook.
The murder happened in the same month Ms Carter returned from a South Africa trip with a local football team for older women, les Reines du foot.
