Family don’t believe husband beat wife to death with bat before hanging himself

Local police in France have said that John Boyes, 63, hit his wife with a baseball bat before strangling her, then he hung himself but his family dispute the prosecutors account of events

A British family has disputed the account of French police saying that a husband beat his wife with a baseball bat and strangled her before hanging himself.

John Boyes and his wife Kathryn were discovered dead at their home in the Pyrenees.

Local French police said that the 63-year-old British marathon champion beat his wife to a grisly death with a baseball bat before he took his own life.

Officers claimed their idyllic life in France, where they ran a retreat while 65-year-old Kathryn worked as an artist, was a front for deeper issues.

They said the couple, originally from Bournemouth, was experiencing financial difficulties because of a suicide note written on a computer.

The couple had been dead for some time when police found them.

But John’s brother, Robert, dismissed the murder-suicide theory.

He said he spoke to his brother every Sunday and that he had never mentioned any issues with his marriage or money.

Talking to The Times, he said: “When I first heard they had died I assumed they were victims of a robbery because their house is in a remote area. I want the police to carry out a full investigation and not assume John killed Kath.”

John was a well-known long distance runner in the 1980s and combined a career in the Royal Mail with his athletics where he won marathons across the world.

Him and Kathryn, who worked at Barclays bank in Southampton, met during a running camp in Lanzarote and the pair moved to France in 2004.

They ran a specialised retreat for runners and cyclists and had guests included Steve Wray, the British 100km record-holder, and Chris Boardman, the Olympic gold-medal winning cyclist.

Robert said that two years ago the couple found maintaining the five acre property too difficult so decided to retire.

They sold up and retired to a smaller property nearby in Boudrac.

Robert said that they both had their work pensions and were not far off claiming their state pensions as well.

He added he couldn’t imagine his brother murdering his sister-in-law and said they had had a “wonderful life” in France.

He also dismissed reports they had run out of money converting the house into holiday accommodation.

After two weeks of not hearing anything from his brother, Robert became concerned and a friend, who was due to go cycling with John, discovered their bodies last Sunday.

John’s Stava account showed that as recently as April 12 he completed a 3.6mile run.

The local prosecutor Christophe Amunzateguy said the John had hit his wife with a baseball bat before he strangled her.

He then went into an annexe and hung himself, they said.

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