French police formally investigate woman over 2025 killing of Briton

What the report says

BBC World News reports that a 70-year-old woman has been placed under formal investigation in France in connection with the 2025 death of Karen Carter, a 65-year-old British-South African mother of four. Carter was discovered with stab injuries near her car in Trémolat, a village in the Dordogne where she had lived for more than 10 years and ran two holiday rental properties.

According to the BBC, prosecutors said the woman now under formal investigation had previously been held in 2025 during preliminary inquiries and then released. Jacques-Edouard Andrault, the investigating judge, said in a statement on Wednesday that work carried out under a judicial inquiry opened on 7 May 2025 had resulted in the woman being formally charged.

The killing took place in April 2025. Carter’s husband, Alan Carter, told the BBC at the time that he first learned of reports of her death through a cousin who had seen a post on a local community Facebook page. He said confirmation came after his assistant contacted local police.

The case matters because it marks a significant procedural step in the investigation into the death of a long-term expatriate resident in rural southwest France. The BBC report does not identify the woman under investigation or state a motive, plea, or trial date. In general, a French formal investigation indicates that a judge considers there are grounds for deeper judicial inquiry, but it is not a final finding of guilt.