Woman, 70, charged in France over murder of British woman

BORDEAUX – French prosecutors have charged a 70-year-old woman with the murder of a British expat who was fatally stabbed in south-western France in 2025.

Karen Carter, who played for the local “Queens of Football” team, was killed in the Dordogne village of Tremolat.

The elderly woman was indicted in early July, regional prosecutors said on July 22.

Carter’s body was discovered beside her car by a man with whom she had been in a relationship for several weeks. He alerted the police.

The police initially detained the man, but rapidly released him, saying there were no “suspicious elements against him”.

The suspect, who was part of the couple’s social circle and came from the same village, was taken into police custody after the killing.

However, she was later released after investigators carried out checks on her whereabouts at the time of the crime.

According to investigators, Carter suffered eight stab wounds inflicted with “particular violence”.

She played for Reines du Foot (“Queens of Football”), a women’s football team for players aged 50 and over. Before her death, she had returned from South Africa, where she and her teammates competed in the “Grannies World Cup”.

Fellow player Joelle Mayer told AFP in 2025 that the British woman was a valued member of the community.

“She was a charming, serene woman who loved life,” she said.

She was among players to strip naked for a jokey calendar to raise funds for the trip to South Africa.

In 2025, Carter’s husband Alan told France Bleu radio that he learnt about the death through a cousin.

He said at the time that he and his wife were not divorcing but going through a difficult period.

He said he and his wife decided to buy a cottage in Tremolat after spending a holiday there 15 years ago. AFP