A 70-year-old woman has been formally charged with the murder of British-South African mother-of-four Karen Carter, who was found stabbed to death in the idyllic Dordogne village of Trémolat after returning from a wine tasting last April.
Karen Carter, 65, was discovered lying near her car with multiple stab wounds by a friend in the village where she had lived for over a decade, managing two holiday rental homes. An autopsy revealed she had been subjected to a “frenzied attack”, suffering catastrophic injuries including eight major wounds to her chest, groin, arm and leg — one of which severed her aorta.
“A 70-year-old woman charged with murdering British mother Karen Carter, 65, found stabbed in French village after wine tasting.”
The suspect, originally taken into custody on 30 April 2025 during a preliminary investigation before being released, was charged on 2 July 2026. Jacques-Edouard Andrault, the investigating judge in Périgueux, said in a statement: “Since then, the investigations conducted as part of the judicial inquiry opened on 7 May 2025 have led the investigating judge to indict her.” He added that the woman was formally charged with murder.
According to prosecutors, the 70-year-old is from Trémolat. Several of Ms Carter’s neighbours had also been arrested and then released without charge in the 10 months since the killing. Her French lover, retired business executive Jean-François Guerrier, 75, was originally arrested after discovering her body in a pool of blood when she failed to call him as promised, but he has since been released without charge.
At the time of the killing, Ms Carter’s husband, Alan Carter — who was based 10,000 miles away in South Africa as the couple prepared to divorce — said he first learned of her death through a cousin who read about it on a local community Facebook page. Describing her as “the exact opposite” of his introverted nature, he said: “She’s an extrovert, she loves people, she loves to have fun. People love her, she has a good heart. She’s the one who would bring home the lost dog, or cat, or whatever. She’s that sort of person. Everyone liked her. That’s why I married her. She’s just lovely.”
One friend paid tribute to Ms Carter as “a strong businesswoman who had an air of authority about her”, while another said she “didn’t have any enemies”. A Trémolat resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Everyone is in total shock – she was a delightful, energetic person who got on with everybody.”
Under French law, being placed under formal investigation means an investigating judge must now decide whether there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.