Brit expat knifed to death outside her French home was buying a cottage to live by herself after serving divorce papers on her husband, friend claims
A British woman murdered outside her holiday home in France was buying a small property to live by herself after serving divorce papers on her husband, MailOnline can reveal.
Karen Carter, 65, had viewed and agreed a sale on a charming one-bedroom cottage she planned on retiring to in the tranquil village of Trémolat.
And she had just bought a cross-breed puppy with a wealthy businessman she had recently begun an affair with, her best friend has revealed.
Beverley Needham, 69, told how her 'beautiful' friend was looking to move into the £135,000 property in September and start afresh in the French countryside with her new dog she had named Haku.
Mother-of-four Mrs Carter was stabbed to death last Tuesday outside a guesthouse she ran in the village with husband Alan, who had been at home in South Africa.
She had just returned from a wine-tasting party held at the home of 74-year-old Jean-Francois Guerrier, who she had begun a romantic relationship with in recent months.
Speaking for the first time today, Ms Needham, originally from Manchester but who has lived in Trémolat for 33-years, told how she had dinner with Mrs Carter the night before she was murdered.
Karen Carter (pictured with husband Alan) was found dead on her property in the village of Trémolat, east of Bordeaux, after returning from a night out on Tuesday, April 29
Jean-Francois Guerrier is understood to have been involved in a romantic affair with Mrs Carter, who was killed outside her home in Tremolat last Tuesday
The Carters' quaint 250-year-old farmhouse became the scene of a grisly murder mystery
Mrs Carter, a 65-year-old married mother, was found outside a property she ran in the village of Trémolat last Tuesday evening after going for drinks at the Cafe Village
Sitting outside her large converted farmhouse, less than half a mile from the crime scene, she told MailOnline: 'I can still picture her walking down the path to the house, huge smile on her face holding a bottle of wine.
'She also brought me some soy sauce as I was cooking her chicken in ginger and garlic.
'Karen was great fun, she said 'darling, I have wine' and plonked the bottle down on a sideboard. It's still there, I can't bear to move it.
'I saw her the night before she died. She seemed very tired. I think the relationship with her husband Alan was weighing heavily on her mind.
'She told me that she had served him divorce papers and that he was refusing to sign. She told me the relationship with Alan was over and said 'I'm done'.
'They both owned the guesthouse where she was staying and where she died. Karen wanted to keep it solely as a rental property and was in the process of buying a one-bedroom home in Trémolat where she wanted to live by herself.
'Alan saw France as a holiday. He was here for just two weeks a year but Karen was here a lot of the time alone. This is where she wanted to be.
'I was helping her buy the house. It had a large field at the back that was also for sale separately. She wanted the land for her new dog.
'The owner of the house had the property bequeathed to them and had no intention of living there. I'd seen them moving furniture out.
'I asked them if they would be prepared to sell even though the house wasn't on the market and they said they would.
'Karen came with me to view the property and fell in love with it instantly. She said 'this is perfect.'
Mrs Carter divided her time between France and South Africa, where she had grown up.
Her husband flew from the marital home in East London, on South Africa's Eastern Cape, and visited the scene of his wife's murder on Tuesday night.
Beverley said: I've spoken to Alan, he's devastated but he denied that Karen had served him divorce papers but that's what she told me 24 hours before she was killed.
'Alan was also aware that Karen was buying this new home for herself.
'It's tough, they were married 30 years and had four children.'
Mr Guerrier, pictured on May 7, paid tribute to a 'lovely lady' as he broke his silence
Former Paris restaurateur Beverley said she has spoken to police investigating her friend's murder twice.
She is mystified as to who would want to harm her but said the officer she spoke to told her that another woman in the village was 'jealous' of Mrs Carter.
The woman had a long-held obsession with Mr Guerrier, a former managing director for Fujitsu Services, but the relationship between them was 'one-way'
Ms Needham said father-of-three Mr Guerrier, who used to live in Surrey before returning to his family home in Trémolat, had become close to Mrs Carter and was helping her set up a French bank account as well as guiding her through local bureaucracy.
He had accompanied her the Wednesday before she died to pick up the dog from a breeder who was friends with his daughter.
Ms Needham said: 'Jean-Francois is a charming man who likes company of women, he always has. he has a lot of female friends.
'He's lived in Surrey in England, where his youngest daughter grew up, he's also lived in Belgium and the United States but the house he's in now has been in his family for years.
'He's someone who does a lot for the community, he helps the local homeless.
'Jean-Francois and Karen had grown close over recent weeks, he was her confidante and was helping her out with paperwork for things like setting up a bank account.
'But she never told me that they were together as a couple. She was very discreet and private it about her relationship.
'She knew the village was gossiping and would say to me 'oh please don't ask me about Jean-Francois' and I would joke and say 'I'm not bothered. It's not as interesting as you think Karen!'
'I don't know anyone who would want to harm her or who held any kind of grudge. She was dynamic and a lovely, lovely person.
'Everyone loved her because if you needed anything, she was always there.
'She was streetwise because she grew up in South Africa and she was fit and strong but in Trémolat she wouldn't have been on guard. There is never any danger here.'
The sunlit village of Tremolat, a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south west France
Mrs Carter managed properties in the French village of Tremolat
Mrs Carter had been dating retired businessman Jean-François Guerrier (pictured) who has a farmhouse close to the Carters' holiday home
A prison housing dangerous sex offenders is located just 17 miles away in the town of Mauzac-et-Grand-Castang.
But Ms Needham added: 'The killer has to have some connection with the village…there are many hunters here who have long, sharp knives for cutting meat. Was someone paid to do it?
'The police did tell me that they were aware of a woman who was jealous of Karen and me because we were friendly with Jean-Francois who she was absolutely obsessed with.
'Although he was gentle and perfectly civil with this woman, he kept his distance and was far more affectionate with us.'
Detectives investigating the murder believe the killer almost certainly knew Mrs Carter and held a 'grudge' against her, either personally or due to the fact she had entered into a new relationship with Mr Guerrier.
The businessman had hosted a wine tasting event at his converted farmhouse, high in the hills above Trémolat last Tuesday evening, which had been attended by Mrs Carter.
She left around 10pm and had promised to phone him when she was home safe but no such call was made.
Mr Guerrier called round to her home to check on her and found her body sprawled on the driveway.
Despite the best efforts of medics, she died at the scene from severe blood loss having been stabbed eight times in her chest, groin, arm and leg.
Mr Guerrier was initially questioned but later released.
A 69-year-old neighbour of Mrs Carter - Marie Laure Autefort - was arrested and quizzed for 48 hours until she too was freed having been able to prove she was elsewhere during the killing.
Mr Guerrier is now looking after Mrs Carter's puppy at his home. He has laid low since finding her body but broke his silence yesterday to say 'She was a lovely lady.'
Mr Carter has previously stated that while aware of his wife's close relationship with the tech company executive he still felt 'a sense of betrayal'.
He is currently staying with a friend near Trémolat as he sorts funeral arrangements.
He said: 'This is deeply upsetting for us. We are just trying to come to terms with what happened.
'We have all of the grief. We've spent the last few hours in Trémolat. It's been very difficult coming back to the village.
'We are still struggling with everything. I just want to focus on the investigation.'
