A British woman who was killed in a rural village in France has been named and pictured. Karen Carter was found dead following an attack in the village of Trémolat, east of Bordeaux. 

The body of the 65-year-old was found outside of a property she ran in the area. Karen, a married mum-of-four, was stabbed to death before being found dead on Tuesday evening.

A man called medics after Karen, who was of a British-South African background, was found with "deep" wounds. An urgent investigation has now been launched to track down the attacker.

Karen died at the scene after being found by medics "in cardio-respiratory arrest". A source said the "frenzied attack" took place after she went on a night out at a local café-bar with a man whom she had been in a relationship with for several weeks.

They said: "A man called the emergency services after finding her covered in stab wounds." They added: "Five deep injuries pointed to ferocious violence and a desire to kill."

Authorities have revealed that the 65-year-old was stabbed in the chest, arm, groin and leg. She went home after the night out before being found "collapsed and unconscious" near a vehicle around 10 minutes later.

Prosecutors said her male friend phoned for help before administering first aid. He was detained by police before being released on Wednesday evening.

A criminal investigation has now been launched, Sylvie Martins-Guedes, the Bergerac prosecutor, confirmed. She said that "a search has been launched to identify and arrest the perpetrator," and that possible motives included robbery.

Karen was married to 65-year-old Alan Carter, who at one point worked for the London Stock Exchange. According to the France 3 news outlet, they were both educated at Rhodes University in South Africa.

Karen was the owner and manager of two guest houses in Trémolat. They were both frequently used by guests from the UK.

A Trémolat resident said: "Everyone is in total shock. Ms Carter was a delightful, energetic person who got on with everybody.

"We saw emergency vehicles in the village, and then lots of police cars, and then the area around her house was cordoned off. Nobody can understand how this happened in a peaceful place like this. We are keeping our doors locked. It's deeply worrying."

Karen also previously ran a lifestyle blog for women over 50 called La Vie est Belle (Life is Beautiful). Karen was also a player in the Queens of Football (Reines du Foot) team, which in early April completed a tour of South Africa.