The French village in which a British mother-of-four was savagely stabbed to death is the scene of a cult murder film about local women being murdered, it has emerged.
Karen Carter, 65, died in the Dordogne village of Trémolat, east of Bordeaux, exactly a week ago, on April 29.
She was slashed repeatedly, and suffered eight deep wounds outside the home and rental business she had lived in as an expat for the past decade.
On Tuesday, prosecutors and police admitted they were no nearer finding Ms Carter’s killer, as an older resident pointed to the cinematic history of Trémolat, and the film called The Butcher.
“A few of us remember filming in the late 1960s, and how the film attracted a lot of visitors at the time,” said the man, who is in his 80s and asked not to be identified.
“It was quite a disturbing film, and at the time people were quite upset that Trémolat was associated with it.
“The Butcher was all about a secret romance between a local woman and a man, who turned out to be killing women in the village.
“This terrible killer in Trémolat today has got us thinking about the film, although I haven’t seen it in years.”
The Butcher was released in 1970 after being filmed and directed by Claude Chabrol, the celebrated New Wave filmaker from Paris.
Starring Stéphane Audran and Jean Yanne, it is about an ex-soldier who returns to the peaceful village to work as a butcher, before falling in love with the head teacher at the local school.
Soon there are reports of the murder of two women, and the butcher – Popaul – is implicated before cornering his secret girlfriend and theatening her with a knife.
Overcome by guilt, Popaul then admits he is killer, and plunges his weapon into his own abdomen.
It turned out Popual had been brutalised by fighting in colonial conflicts such as the Algerian War of Indepedence, and wanted to taste the blood of women.
Many real life locations in Trémolat, including the village butcher’s shop, were used in the film, making it intensely realistic.
Chabrol chose to shoot the film Trémolat because of a dark atmosphere enhanced by the prehistoric caves in the area.
The husband of a Karen Carter has expressed his shock that an affair with a local man could have been a motive for her killing.
Mr Carter, 65, said the police investigation into the death of his wife of 30 years pointed to a “relationship I did not want to believe”.
Ms Carter had been dating retired businessman Jean-François Guerrier, 74, who has a farmhouse close to the Carters' home in Trémolat.
It was Mr Guerrier who discovered Mrs Carter in her driveway as she bled to death rom multiple stab wounds.
The secret lovers had spent Tuesday evening together, with others, at a wine-tasting event - which led to Mr Guerrier being questioned but subsequently released by French authorities.
Heartbroke Mr Carter said the revelation confirmed his worst fears.
Despite being together for 30 years, Mr Carter said he had suspected his wife of being unfaithful.
They both had dual British and South African nationalities and Mr Carter spent most of his time in East London, their South African home.
Ms Carter loved her life in Trémolat, and the pair grew more distant - spending most of their time on different continents.
Mr Guerrier has declined to comment on the case.
Mr Carter will reunite with his four adult children at Ms Carter’s funeral, which he is arranging in Trémolat.
The murder investigation, which is being led by the Bergerac prosecutor supported by police and gendarmes, continues.
