SEVERAL unanswered questions still remain over Brit mum Karen Carter’s brutal murder outside her home in a French village.
Investigations are continuing into the 69-year-old’s mysterious death as the cops scour the woodland for possible clues.
Karen died from severe blood loss after being stabbed multiple times next to to her car in Trémolat, in the Dordogne region, on Tuesday evening.
She was outside her home in the village, which has a population of around 600, following the night out with pals.
The group of friends had been at a popular café-bar in Trémolat, around 10 minutes drive from Karen’s home.
An autopsy carried out in Bordeaux within 24 hours of the stabbing showed that death was caused “by haemorrhage following a wound to the aorta.”
A total of eight severe injuries were documented, affecting areas such as the “chest, abdomen, and forearm,” in addition to “minor ones on the thigh, shoulder, and thumbs,” according to a source involved in the investigation.
The source added: “All the wounds suggest the victim was attempting to defend herself from a frenzied attack.”
But there are still a number of unanswered questions surrounding what happened on the night of Karen’s tragic death.
Was the suspect known to her?
A 69-year-old woman was arrested in connection with Karen’s murder on Thursday.
Prosecutors hinted that the suspect may have known the victim and was “part of their circle” – but no further details of her identity were revealed.
Sylvie Martins-Guedes, the Bergerac prosecutor overseeing the murder investigation, stated: “A 69-year-old woman from Trémolat, who is associated with the couple, has been taken into custody.”
The woman was released on Friday after the cops confirmed her alibi for the time of the killing.
Prosecutors previously said they had arrested Karen’s friend and alleged lover after he found her body.
Jean-Francois Guerrier was briefly detained by detectives for questioning, but was released within a few hours.
Guerrier was president of the community association that ran the village bar where they both worked.
What was the motive?
The chief prosecutor indicated that the investigation remains focused on “individuals who might have held a grudge against the victim or the partnership she had with her companion.”
But her estranged husband Alan insisted that his wife “wouldn’t hurt a fly” – sparking fresh confusion as to the killer’s motive.
Alan said: “I don’t know the details but I understand the attack was vicious and deliberate and not like it was by an interrupted intruder.
“It is likely to have been someone Karen knew and had an issue with her.
“But she was a kind and friendly person and got on with people.
“I am just speculating but the person who did it could have been someone she knew and perhaps I knew too.”
And it seems that others who knew the late Brit agreed.
One ex-pat, 61, who said he’d worked for her, said: “She was gentle, she was kind. I worked for her for 13 years and I’ve never seen her lose her temper.
“She was just a lovely person, very friendly, very helpful. Just a genuinely nice person.
Prosecutors previously investigated other possible motives – including robbery.
Forensics officers returned to the crime scene on Friday morning for further examinations, arriving in a police van and an unmarked SUV.
The cottage remains cordoned off, with a police notice taped to the front door of the property.
And a harrowing bloodstain marks the place on the gravel driveway where she is believed to have been stabbed.
Where is the murder weapon?
So far the police have been unable to find the weapon used in shocking murder.
But it seems they have not given up hope of finding it as pictures showed officers searching the woods on Friday afternoon.
A team of around ten cops reportedly searched the woodland area around half a mile from the French cottage.
It is thought they were searching for the mysterious murder weapon.
The team also cordoned off the road outside her home and a helicopter was seen circling the village as neighbours said they reconstructed the murder scene.
Karen’s tragic death has left her community shaken as neighbours and friends pay tribute to the late Brit.
Charity worker Adrian Carter, who has had a house in the village for a decade, said: “I was shocked, really really shocked. Genuinely, you would say it’s safe.
“It’s such a sleepy place. It’s not like a Midsomer Murders sort of place.”
A local football team for whom Mrs Carter paid tribute to her at a game in the Basque Country on Friday.
The Queens of Football (Reines du Foot) side – nicknamed the “Football Grannies” – also observed a minute’s silence before the game.
