French investigators keeping open mind over violent deaths of UK couple

Investigators are refusing to rule out a family dispute or third-party involvement in the brutal deaths of a retired British couple at their home in southern France, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The bodies of the couple, who were in their sixties and had lived in France for several years, were found at the property outside the town of Villefranche-de Rouergue in the Aveyron region last week.

The wife suffered a major injury to her skull while her husband was discovered roped to a radiator, prosecutors confirmed Tuesday.

British media, including The Times newspaper, have said the husband was a former financial crimes investigator and raised the possibility of a link to his work.

The woman was reported to be the mother of a British singer and actor who had appeared in a British television soap opera.

"Investigations are continuing, in particular to determine whether the tragedy was the result of a domestic crime followed by suicide or whether it was the result of the intervention of a third party," the regional prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The wife "had a major injury to her skull. A box containing jewellery was found nearby, but no objects or weapons likely to have caused the injuries," it read.

Her husband, who was "found hanging by a rope attached to a radiator, did not have any visible defensive injuries. The house appeared to have been summarily searched; cash was found in the couple's bedroom."

The statement made no mention of any possible link to the man's work. Prosecutors have previously said they were looking at all lines of enquiry.

The deaths plunged the community in shock.

They were well integrated in the small village of Les Pesquies located on the outskirts of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a town of 11,000 people, said Mayor Jean-Sebastien Orcibal.