Woman charged with murdering British guesthouse owner in France after love triangle investigation
Karen Carter, 65, was attacked at her property in the village of Trémolat, in the Dordogne region, on 29 April last year.
The mother-of-four was reportedly close to divorcing her South Africa-based husband, Alan Carter, 66.
She had also been seeing Jean-François Guerrier, a 75-year-old retired business executive who lived near her French home.
The public prosecutor in Périgueux, Jacques-Edouard Andrault, told local media a woman had been formally charged on 2 July.
He said: “The investigating judge in Périgueux formally charged a woman with murder.”
The woman, originally from Trémolat, was taken into custody on 30 April 2025 "during a preliminary investigation" and later released.
The prosecutor continued: "Since then, the investigations conducted as part of the judicial inquiry opened on May 7, 2025 have led the investigating judge to indict her."
French media reported at the time that the woman charged was known to investigators for having “unrequited feelings” for Mr Guerrier, and was a regular at the same community café as Ms Carter.
She was initially detained for 48 hours following the killing, but was released while officers carried out checks into her movements and whereabouts.
Ms Carter was found critically injured outside Les Chouettes, the guesthouse business she ran in the tranquil Dordogne village of Trémolat.
Investigators said she had suffered multiple stab wounds, including one which penetrated her aorta.
They said she died from a “massive haemorrhage”.
The 65-year-old had spent the day training with her women’s football team, made up of players aged between 50 and 70, before going to a wine-tasting evening at Café Village.
Mr Guerrier, a retired business executive who lived around 10 minutes away, had also attended the event.
He later told police he had become concerned after Ms Carter did not contact him when she got home.
Leaked interview notes reportedly state he told officers he had planned to spend the night at her house.
When he could not reach her, Mr Guerrier drove to the property and found her lying near her car in a pool of blood.
Emergency crews were called at about 22:15 and found Ms Carter in cardiac arrest.
Despite attempts to save her, she was declared dead at the scene.
Her husband, Alan Carter, who was living in South Africa at the time, said he had been distressed by reports that his wife had started a relationship with another man.
He insisted Mr Guerrier was “just a friend of hers”.
Mr Carter told The Times: “What I understand is that Karen went to a wine-tasting event on Tuesday night and was supposed to phone him to let him know that she had got back safely.
“It was a ten-minute drive. I don’t know if Karen phoned, but when he couldn’t get through to her he drove to see if anything was wrong and found her unconscious next to her car.”
He described the attack as “vicious and deliberate”, adding that he believed it was likely Ms Carter had known her attacker.
Ms Carter and her husband had owned Les Chouettes for about 15 years, as well as two other properties near Trémolat.
The farmhouse and barn could sleep up to 16 people and were popular with holidaymakers, including visitors from the UK.
The couple had four adult children - two daughters and two sons - living in the UK, the US, Australia and South Africa.
Mr Andrault said the judicial inquiry into Ms Carter’s death was continuing.
Deputy Editor
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