There were surely few places better suited to a second act in the life of expat Briton Karen Carter than the French village of Tremolat.Perched above a spectacularly scenic bend in the River Dordogne, the sleepy stone-built village of fewer than 700 people is the kind of spot far more likely to appear on postcards rather than in crime reports.Honey-coloured cottages surround a Romanesque church, walnut groves stretch across the rolling countryside and life proceeds at an unhurried pace in this corner of the 'Black Perigord', so named for the dark rich loamy soil here.Glamourous Karen, 65, who had lived most of her years with her husband Alan in east London and South Africa, firmly believed that in France she had found the life of which she had always dreamed.For more than 15 years, the mother-of-four devoted herself to restoring an old farmhouse with its outbuildings called Les Chouettes (The Owls), converting them into gites to welcome holidaymakers and immerse herself in village life.Friends recalled a sociable woman of boundless enthusiasm, who adjusted to French culture, learning its language with ease.Although the Carters remained married, their lives increasingly diverged. Mr Carter spent most of his time in South Africa while his wife devoted herself to managing the French properties, spending progressively longer periods in Tremolat.At the same time Karen began to form an attachment to local retired French business executive, Jean-Francois Guerrier, 75, which detectives now believe was a key factor in sowing the seeds of her brutal demise.British retiree Karen Carter was brutally murdered in April 2025 on the doorstep of her home, circled bottom left – the accused is Marie-Laure Autefort, whose home is circled top right Mrs Carter, 65, had spent the evening of her death at a wine tasting evening, dancing with her rumoured lover, retired business executive Jean-Francois Guerrier