A woman has been arrested over the alleged murder of a British mother-of-four who was stabbed to death outside of her home in France.
Karen Carter, 65, was found dead on her property in the village of Trémolat, east of Bordeaux, after returning from a night out on Tuesday.
Sylvie Martins-Guedes, the prosecutor for Bergerac, has now said a woman known to Karen is being held over the fatal attack.
The prosecutor said: ‘A woman aged 69 years old, who comes from Trémolat and is part of the couple’s circle, has been detained.’
An investigating source said she was found ‘covered in stab wounds’, suffering multiple wounds to her chest, groin, arm, and leg.
‘The wounds revealed a singular violence and their placement showed the desire to kill,’ Martins-Guedes added.
Alan Carter, her husband, told French media he had heard of his wife’s murder on Wednesday during a phone call with his cousin from Yorkshire who also had a holiday home in the French village.
The couple had owned the property for about 15 years, the 65-year-old said, and they divided their time between South Africa and Trémolat.
Carter’s body was discovered by a friend, who had also been out with her earlier that evening, when he arrived on the scene 10 minutes later and found her collapsed and unconscious.
The body of Karen Carter, a 65-year-old married mother of four, was found outside a property she ran in the village of Trémolat, east of Bordeaux, on Tuesday evening
Ms Carter is believed to have arrived at her home 10 minutes before a friend found her
The Bergerac prosecutor said she had been in a relationship with the friend who found her body for several weeks.
‘They had spent the evening together in Tremolat with friends and then returned to the victim’s home, whom, he said, had arrived only about 10 minutes before him,’ Martins-Guedes said.
She suffered the ‘frenzied attack’ after returning home, and was found by her friend, who tried to administer first aid at the scene, French media reported.
Medics responded to a call at 10.17pm and arrived to find Ms Carter ‘in cardio-respiratory arrest’.
Despite attempts to revive her, she died at the scene.
The prosecutor, confirmed that a criminal enquiry had been opened, and that local gendarmes were investigating.
Husband Alan said that he was ‘disturbed’ by a statement from Martins-Guedes that his wife had ‘started a relationship’ with a man some weeks before who had been interviewed by police.
French media said that the friend was questioned by police but released without charge.
‘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,’ Mr Carter told The Times.
Karen Carter, a 65-year-old married motherr, was found outside a property she ran in the village of Trémolat
A friend found the 65-year-old woman lying near her vehicle with five deep wounds caused by a blunt object at her home in the village of Tremolat in the Dordogne on Tuesday evening
He said he was speculating, but was juggling thoughts that the perpetrator could be someone he or his wife knew.
The prosecutor said that, pending investigation, ‘no hypothesis is being favoured’.
Neighbours left in ‘total shock’ from the tragedy paid tribute to ‘a delightful, energetic person who got on with everybody’.
‘Nobody can understand how this could have happened in a peaceful place like this,’ one resident said.
‘We are all keeping our doors locked. It is deeply worrying.’
‘We saw emergency vehicles in the village, and then lots of police cars, and then the area around her house was cordoned off,’ one resident said, who asked to remain anonymous ‘for security reasons’.
Living in the rural commune of Trémolat, Carter owned and managed two guest houses, frequently used by guests from the UK.
Mr Carter told The Times that the property was a passion of his wife’s and that she loved the French culture.
Due to this interest, he and his children are planning to go to France to hold a small funeral before scattering her ashes in South Africa.
A message written by Carter on her guest house website read: ‘We would love to welcome you to visit our beautiful cottage in the Dordogne Valley, France.
The victim was the owner and manager of two guest houses in Trémolat, and both were frequently used by guests from the UK
‘Take time out of your crazy schedule and relax into the wonderful slow lifestyle of the French community.’
The property is called Les Chouettes [The Owls] and it is described as ‘a lovely old renovated farmhouse and barn’, sleeping 14 in total.
Carter also ran a lifestyle blog for women over 50 called La Vie est Belle (Life is Beautiful) and was a member of Les Reines du Foot (The Queens of Football), a football team for women aged over 50 which in early April completed a tour of South Africa.
As news emerged of her tragic death, her football team paid tribute in a post on Facebook.
‘We are immensely saddened by the sudden passing of Karen, our friend and Queen of Football, who leaves a great void in our hearts.
‘All our thoughts go out to her loved ones.’
The victim was one of 18 football players who left for South Africa to participate in the Grandma’s World Cup, after training between Calès and Trémolat.
‘Everyone is in shock, it’s horrible,’ her distraught teammates told Francebleu.
Known to play in a number 12 jersey, the British national was a substitute left midfielder during the competition in South Africa.
‘We are immensely saddened by the sudden passing of Karen, our friend and Queen of Football, who leaves a great void in our hearts. All our thoughts go out to her loved ones,’ reads a tribute from Les Reines du Foot, her football club
A sign was placed on the front of the local café to inform residents that the Wednesday concert evening and Thursday quiz were cancelled ‘due to death’.
The Dordogne is an area of France that is hugely popular with British tourists, second home owners and expat pensioners.
In February, British couple Andrew and Dawn Searle, who previously lived in East Lothian in Scotland, were found dead at their home in the south west village of Les Peques, north of Toulouse.
Ms Searle’s body was found in the garden with severe wounds to her head, while her husband’s body was found hanging inside.
The prosecutor in charge of the case has since said there was no evidence that another person was involved in their deaths, and that murder-suicide was the likely cause.
MailOnline has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.
