Ex-Marine Ukip councillor quizzed over murder of his wife at their £400k home
A FORMER Royal Marine and Ukip county councillor has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife.
Stephen Searle, 64, was being questioned last night after his wife, Anne, 62, was found collapsed at their £400,000 house.
Mr Searle, a British Legion poppy seller, was arrested at the four-bedroom home soon after paramedics declared his wife dead at 10.30pm on Saturday.
Mrs Searle had suffered a cardiac arrest, but a post-mortem examination this week should reveal the exact cause of death.
The couple were married for more than 30 years and are thought to have three sons.
Mr Searle, 64, was taken to a police station in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, near their home in Stowmarket.
Photographs on his Facebook page show the former commando holding guns, posing with ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage, and standing with his Scottish wife.
Suffolk Constabulary said a 64year-old man, who was known to the victim, was arrested on suspicion of murder at the address.
A spokesman said: ‘A man has been arrested following the death of a woman. On arrival at the property a woman was discovered unresponsive. Paramedics attended but the woman was declared deceased at the scene.
‘The death is being treated as suspicious and a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.’
Two officers stood outside in the cul-de-sac while forensics officers searched the family home.
Neighbours spoke of their shock yesterday at Mrs Searle’s death. Richard Hallett, 40, said: ‘ There was one ambulance, two rapidresponse vehicles and three police cars. I thought the gentleman from the house where the woman died worked with the Salvation Army and did the poppy collection. He seemed a nice bloke.’
Another neighbour said: ‘I saw a load of flashing lights outside. I never imagined it could be something like this. What an awful thing to happen.’
A resident of the area for 54 years added: ‘It’s absolutely terrible. Nothing like this, to my knowledge, has ever happened before.’
Representing Stowmarket South, Mr Searle was elected to Suffolk County Council for UKIP in 2013, defeating the then Conservative vice- chairman by one vote. In running for election, he advertised himself as, ‘Stephen Searle, former Royal Marine commando. He fought for his country – now he’s fighting for you’.
However, he lost the seat in local elections this May.
In June, he ran for election as MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, but came last out of five candidates, with just 2.9 per cent of the vote.
The couple, who are thought to have several grandchildren, ran the Stag Tavern in Stowmarket but sold the business in 1992.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman last night said: ‘We received a call at 10.22pm on December 30 to a report of a woman who was not breathing.
‘An ambulance crew, ambulance officer and rapid-response vehicle were dispatched.
‘They treated a woman in cardiac arrest. Despite their best efforts, the patient sadly died at the scene.’
Detectives investigating the murder of 72-year- old Michael Eaton in Doncaster have charged a 38-year-old woman.
Lindsey Fletcher, of Doncaster, has been remanded in custody to appear before local magistrates this week charged with murder.
At around 12.20pm on Boxing Day, emergency services discovered Mr Eaton’s body at his flat in the Balby area of the city.
A post-mortem examination found he had been stabbed several times and beaten.
‘He seemed like a nice bloke’