Mystery as decision to charge arthritic 5ft 5in woman, 72, with murder of ‘love rival’ Brit expat stuns French village

THE idyllic, honey-bricked Dordogne village of Tremolat has twice been the backdrop for murder. Eerily, local mother-of-three Marie-Laure Autefort, 70 — a divorced former nurse — has a connection to both. Former nurse and carer Marie-Laure Autefort, 70, has been charged Credit: Enterprise Mother-of-four Karen Carter, a community volunteer, was discovered bleeding to death after being stabbed eight times In 1969, she had a walk-on part in cult horror movie The Butcher, the fictional tale of a woman’s corpse being discovered with multiple blade wounds. Today, she is centre stage after being charged with the real-life murder of British-South African expat Karen Carter who, in April last year, was discovered bleeding to death after being stabbed eight times. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! It has left close-knit Tremolat in deep shock, with many locals perplexed that Marie-Laure is now a prime suspect. Could a woman of her years, standing less than 5ft 5in tall, who friends say has high blood pressure and severe osteoarthritis in her hands, have the strength and guile to commit such a savage murder? After all, one of the blade blows almost severed Karen’s arm, while another pierced her kidney and reached her spine. And was this ferocious assault really a crime of jealousy and passion as investigators now seem to believe? Many in remote Tremolat — population 600 — had thought Karen’s ­clinical slaying must have been the work of a hired assassin. In a crime that appears to have been meticulously planned and executed, the murderer arrived and left the scene undetected. Most read in The Sun No murder weapon has been found despite fingertip searches, and ­forensic investigators seem to have drawn a blank. One local said last week: “I’ve always said it was a hit job and I can’t see how they have a case against her [Marie-Laure], but ­perhaps they might have some hard evidence we aren’t aware of.” Born in South Africa to parents originally from Preston, Lancashire, Karen Carter had intended to see out her years in slow-paced Tremolat. An attractive brunette of 65 who kept trim playing over-50s football, she and her husband of 30 years, Alan, had first visited the pretty French village from their South African home in 2008. Karen instantly fell in love with its 12th century charms. They bought and did up Les Chouettes, a 250-year-old cottage and barn, which Karen managed as holiday lets in summer. Shortly after his wife’s murder, South African Alan, 66, said: “One of the reasons we bought this property was that Karen had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer and had fought so hard to survive that. “When we came to the village for the first time, Karen immediately loved it so much that I wanted to make that dream possible.” Les Chouettes guest house, where Karen was fatally stabbed. Circled, where her bodywas found by Jean-Francois Alan, who runs an environmental consultancy and formerly worked at the London Stock Exchange, was keen to keep their base in the South African coastal city of East London, renamed KuGompo City this year. Yet Karen, who was enamoured with the delights of French rural life, preferred to remain in Tremolat. The couple — who have four grown- up children, the eldest from Karen’s previous marriage — were soon spending time apart on different continents. Karen volunteered at Cafe Village, a vibrant community hub and bar, where well-heeled French retirees, British expats and locals mingled over wine and music. A framed poster of horror flick The Butcher — a claim to fame for Tremolat — hangs on the wall inside the bar. The movie had portrayed the village as outwardly peaceful and respectable — but with a secret, dark undercurrent. Another volunteer at the cafe was Paris-born Jean-Francois Guerrier, 75, a retired executive at IT firm Fujitsu. He and Karen began an affair. Clutching glasses of wine, the pair were seen dancing and singing to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive in a video posted on the cafe’s Facebook page in December 2024. However, another woman was also said to hold a candle for urbane Jean-Francois — and that was Marie-Laure Autefort. Born into a local farming family, she had become infatuated with the retired businessman. A one-time nurse and carer, she landed her role as an extra in The Butcher aged 12, when filmmakers arrived in the village. Jean-Francois Guerrier, who was involved with Karen, discovered her body Credit: Jamie Lorriman – Commissioned by The Times Living her dream, Karen with husband Alan in 2008 Marie-Laure appeared in a funeral scene where firefighters sprayed the crowd with hoses to make it look like it was raining. A keen local historian and “intensely proud” of her roots in the village, she has co-authored a book on Tremolat’s history and curated an exhibition of old photos of the place. It is unclear if she was resentful of wealthy outsiders like Karen who had moved into the village in the years since The Butcher was filmed. What is certain is her obsessive infatuation with Jean-Francois. Her brother, retired fireman Philippe Monribot, revealed last year: “She made no secret of the fact she was in love with Guerrier. She was telling everyone in Tremolat, ‘I love him, I love him’. “He took her to see the chateaux of the Loire Valley, to Paris, to fancy restaurants and so on. She had very little money and fell in love with him — and as soon as he realised that, he bailed on her.” Others in the village insist it was a one-sided infatuation and accuse Marie-Laure of being a “fantasist”. Despite Tremolat’s intimate size, Karen is said to have knowingly clapped eyes on Marie-Laure only once, although she was well aware of her existence. A close friend of the guest house owner said last week that they crossed paths at Cafe Village just six days before the murder. Jean-Francois was also present. It was a Wednesday, when the Dordogne Chippy fish-and-chip van visits the bar, and there is music and dancing. Karen’s friend said: “We hadn’t seen Marie-Laure at Cafe Village for over a year. We were amazed when she turned up with a group of about six friends. She didn’t come over, but Karen picked up on the tense atmosphere. She said, ‘What is it?’. Murder movie Le Boucher — The Butcher in English – was made in Tremolat in 1969 Credit: Alamy Karen had a walk-on part in 1969 cult horror movie The Butcher, the fictional tale of a woman’s corpse being discovered with multiple blade wounds Credit: Supplied “I told her Marie-Laure was there and she asked me to point her out. It was common knowledge Marie-Laure was in love with Jean-Francois. She was shouting it from the rooftops.” Five days later, Karen had dinner with her best friend in the village, Beverly Needham. Originally from Manchester, Beverly, 69, said last year: “She brought wine, she always did, and I can’t bring myself to move the bottle from where she left it in the kitchen.” That night, Karen told her friend she had served divorce papers on Alan. Beverly revealed: “She told me the relationship was over and said, ‘I’m done’ . . . That was her words.” Alan has subsequently denied Karen filed for divorce and believed the marriage was salvageable. He had suspected Karen and Jean-Francois were having an affair, but his wife had denied it. He later revealed: “I told her the gossip was tarnishing her reputation, but she said there was nothing in it. She told our friends the same.” On April 29, 2025 — the evening after Beverly and Karen’s dinner — Jean-Francois held a wine tasting at his hilltop property on the outskirts of Tremolat. The 15 guests, including Karen, left around 10pm. Karen — who had turned 65 two days before — drove her Dacia Duster the five minutes to her Les Chouettes guest house. It was a mild, overcast evening. A light wind rippled through the walnut trees around the property. Karen exited the vehicle, opened the front door and turned on the light. The idyllic, honey-bricked Dordogne village of Tremolat has twice been the backdrop for murder Credit: Getty Tremolat will be under a dark pall until whoever killed Karen Carter is behind bars Credit: Zenpix Returning to the Dacia, she leaned into the back seat to pick up her crossbreed puppy, Haku. The killer then emerged from the shadows and launched into a “frenzied” assault with what the police believe was a long-bladed knife. Karen’s body was found soon after by distraught Jean-Francois, who had come to spend the night with her. He later told a friend it was a scene of “just gore”. A day later, cops arrested Marie- Laure and questioned her for around 40 hours. She was released without charge after giving a credible alibi. For the next 14 months, the investigation seemed to be going nowhere. Marie-Laure’s brother Philippe said cops had turned up at his house on the edge of the village with a search warrant on five separate occasions as they hunted for the murder weapon. Tremolat-born, police hoped he could guide them in a search of nearby caves. Nothing was found. Now, it has emerged Marie-Laure was charged with Karen’s murder on July 2 after “inconsistencies” were found in her alibi. An investigating source said: “She made out she was looking after somebody that night, but the facts were very vague.” Marie-Laure denies any wrongdoing. She was released on bail on the condition she doesn’t stay in Tremolat. A friend says the osteoarthritis in her hands has left her “barely able to cut open an envelope”, let alone wield a blade. Philippe said it was “impossible” to imagine his sister could be involved in murder, adding she was “scared of going out in the dark”. Prosecutors have not ruled out further arrests. An investigating source told The Sun there was “the possibility the suspect may have been working with someone else — somebody who was a lot stronger and fitter”. Meanwhile, idyllic Tremolat will be under a dark pall until whoever killed Karen Carter is behind bars.