This is the British pensioner who was beaten to death at his idyllic French home by a gang suspected of burglary.
John Agner, 85, was found in the early hours of Saturday after police chased his stolen car at high speed along a dead-end road.
Officers traced the vehicle’s registration to Mr Agner. When they went to the isolated rural property where he lived alone, they discovered his body in the front garden.
Police have arrested one person so far: a 60-year-old man. Investigators are also searching for three other people who may have been involved.
Prosecutors have launched a murder investigation into the killing, which has shocked residents of Verlus, a tiny village about an hour north of Pau in rural southwest France.
The circumstances have left detectives puzzled. Mr Agner was beaten to death at his £250,000 home, yet the attackers appear to have taken only his eight-year-old Kia Ceed.
John Agner, 85, a British pensioner who had lived for 20 years in the isolated rural hamlet of Verlus, about an hour north of Pau in southwest France, was beaten to death
Police found the body of Mr Agner, a father-of-one, at his property in the early hours of Saturday after pursuing a stolen car belonging to the British expat
Detectives are investigating how the suspected gang reached the remote hamlet, where the nearest neighbour lives 200 metres away down a small hill.
Mr Agner had been living alone at the property since July, when his wife, Susan, fell ill and moved into hospital.
One neighbour told Our News Outlet that Mr Agner would sometimes openly claim he was considerably wealthy, despite living in a modest home.
She questioned whether his comments about his finances might have reached the wrong people at the community centre in Riscle, about a 20-minute drive away, where he attended French lessons.
‘Maybe they knew he had money, was vulnerable and lived alone in that isolated farmhouse,’ she said. ‘He told me they were wealthy, and I know he had several bank accounts because they told me. Maybe someone overheard that. The house itself wasn’t full of valuables — there was a computer and a television, that’s about it. Maybe they thought he kept his money at home. But even that doesn’t make sense because nothing was taken.’
She added: ‘This has left me really shocked. I’m on my own now because my husband recently died, but I knew John and Susan very well.
‘They were a lovely couple. We got on straight away when we met, and we would visit each other’s homes. John played the guitar and loved music. They were both very kind, and John helped other expats in the community by fixing things for them.
‘They had lived in Canada and other parts of France. I know they had a daughter, but they had not spoken to her for years. They said the estrangement was because of a relationship she had that they did not approve of, and they ended contact.
‘I kept telling them it was such a shame and that they should try to rebuild the relationship, especially as they were getting older and owned the house. John also told me they had a lot of money, and I said: “Surely you want to leave your daughter something?”
‘But they were adamant they would not speak to her. She never visited, and they never went to England. I don’t think they left the village much, apart from travelling a few miles in either direction to go shopping or visit us.
‘The rift upset me deeply. You could see how much it had affected them. I kept asking, “How can you not talk to your daughter?” But they insisted there would be no reconciliation.
‘John also practised archery and was working to improve his French. The last time I saw him, in Lidl a few weeks ago, he said: “You are the only English person I’m going to talk to now; everyone else is French.”
‘I know Susan had been ill and was in hospital and he went to visit her every day. I just don’t understand why these thieves would drive all the way out here – because you have to drive – and then steal John’s car, it just doesn’t make sense.
Police have arrested one suspect, a 60-year-old man, on suspicion of the murder that has sent shockwaves through the small community where Mr Agner lived in south west France
The Agners’ home includes an annexe used as a garage and workshop and a two storey two-bedroom house with a small garden.
Another intriguing possible factor was that John was in the habit of taking in paying guests who were in need of a room for a night.
Another neighbour said: ‘I did think it was strange he did that, you just don’t know who these people were. They would stay for a night and then move on.
‘John said they were usually cyclists or hikers looking for a bed for the night but to be honest I wouldn’t have done it.’
It’s not clear what Mr Agner did in the UK before he moved to France, but he appears to have spent an extensive amount of time abroad with Susan.
Their last known address was in Northumberland where they lived until 2005 and before that they were in Southampton, while in the mid 1980s they were on Stronsay, in the Orkneys where Mr Agner carved a beautiful wooden map of the island which still hangs in a local club.
After that they are thought to have moved to Vancouver in Canada before returning to the UK in the late 1990s and there appears to be no trace of him on French or British company records so what he did for a living before he moved is a mystery.
Prosecutors and police believe the attack happened late on Friday and the murder was only discovered after the stolen car was chased by police at high speed through the town of Mont-de-Marsan, 25 miles away.
Officials said the Kia was pursued for 20 minutes while travelling at 74mph at around 2am last Saturday and it eventually turned down a one way street where four men jumped out and fled on foot and the arrested man is known to police.
Mr Agner, who enjoyed going on bike rides, was described as ‘athletic, fit and sporty’ for his age and ‘younger looking than he was’, with some saying they were not surprised he had put up a fight with his attackers.
Another expat said: ‘I would see him on his bike around the village, and we would say hello to each other, for an 85-year-old he was in good shape, he liked walking as well. I’m not surprised he put up a fight, but against four wasn’t perhaps a good idea.’
Mr Agner is said to have suffered wounds to his head and a French investigative source said: ‘They were very violent blows, it was a severe beating.’
Neighbours of Mr Agner, a retired wood carver and artist, told of their shock as they said he was a popular member of the community who helped other expats locally by fixing things
Mayor Menvielle told the Mail: ‘Everyone is in shock. Our hamlet has only around 100 people living here and nothing like this has ever happened. It really is deepest rural France, and no one can understand why these people came to John’s house.
‘I saw him two days before he was discovered. It was the Thursday. He asked me to help him book a service for his car as his French wasn’t good enough. It was for mid-October in Mont-de-Marsan where his car was stopped by the police.
‘Even though they had lived here for 20 years, I didn’t know much about them, they would say hello and come to the town hall for the New Year party and meetings but as they didn’t speak much French they didn’t mix much, although I know they had a few British friends nearby.
‘I know that he did some wood carving and painting as well but his life the last few months just revolved around visiting his wife in hospital, before she was admitted a nurse used to visit a few times a week, but he was a very polite and civil gentleman.
‘Maybe he was followed from the hospital? It is such an isolated place that you would have to be lost to get here or you would have to know the area, none of the people who live near him heard anything until the police arrived Saturday morning, it’s very strange.’
