A woman was charged with the murder of British expat Karen Carter at her home in rural France after 'significant holes' were exposed after police raised concerns about her alibi, investigators claim. Karen Carter, 65, was murdered at her home in the rural French village of Trémolat, in the Dordogne, in April 2025. Ms Carter died in front of the guesthouse she opened in the tranquil village. Investigators said at the time she had been stabbed eight times, with one blow 'penetrating the aorta'.Her death was mired in mystery, with several people being detained and questioned over it in the days after the incident. But following the arrest and charging of 70-year-old prime suspect Marie-Laure Autefort earlier this month, which was revealed yesterday, investigative sources told the Mail that they had concerns over her alibi. It was previously reported that she was held for 48 hours after Ms Carter's death, before being released after 'checks regarding her whereabouts'. During this time, an investigating magistrate questioned her, alongside senior judicial police officers, and all of the interviews were taped.An investigating source told the Mail: 'Her alibi was centred on helping to look after other people in Trémolat, and it appeared very credible. Marie-Laure Autefort (pictured) has been charged with the killing of Karen Carter in the Dordogne village of Trémolat in April 2025 Karen Carter (pictured) was found outside a guesthouse she ran in the village, which is east of Bordeaux Ms Carter was seeing Jean-François Guerrier (pictured) romantically at the time of her death 'She had spent much of her adult life as a care worker, was highly respected in the community, and has no criminal record.'Beyond this, she did not appear to have the physical strength to carry out such a violent attack, and so was initially released.'But, on July 2 this year – a full 15 months later – the suspect was charged with 'premeditated murder' because of the concerns over in her claims.The investigating source said suspected inconsistencies needed to be checked out by police, and that 'this took a long time.' Ms Carter was on the verge of divorcing her husband Alan Carter, now 66, while seeing Jean-François Guerrier, a 75-year-old retired executive who lived close to her French property.However this had reportedly not sat well with the suspect who is thought to have been 'madly in love' with Mr Guerrier. The prosecutor did not identify the woman yesterday but his description effectively identified 70-year-old neighbour Marie-Laure Autefort. When approached by media, he declined to comment on the identity. Autefort has previously denied any involvement in the stabbing. The police record, which was previously released, states: 'During his brief custody period, Jean-François Guerrier directed them to Marie-Laure Autefort, a resident of Trémolat who lives only about a ten-minute walk from the victim's home, cutting across the fields.'He described her as a woman who had fallen madly in love with him the previous year, to the point of divorcing the father of her children after several decades of marriage.'Philippe Monribot, Ms Autefort's brother, has confirmed she was in love with Mr Guerrier, and deeply upset by his affair with Ms Carter, but said the thought of her murdering someone was preposterous.