A BRIT expat wife along with her lover was shot dead by her estranged cop husband inside a rural village in France.

Alison Erb, 49, was found dead alongside her 51-year-old partner Loreto Di Salvatore at their flat in the city of Roppentzwiller.

Emergency responders broke into their home and discovered their bodies after neighbours raised the alarm.

Both were reportedly shot three times with a small calibre revolver that was found at the scene.

Cops detained Alison’s husband Olivier, a serving French police officer, immediately in the aftermath of her tragic death.

However, they were forced to let him go after “no material evidence of his involvement” was found at the scene.

He reportedly admitted to “some kind of involvement in the lives of the couple but not their killings”.

Local French media reported that Alison and Olivier were in the middle of getting a divorce.

Olivier was also previously investigated on suspicion of abusing and harassing his wife.

CCTV footage showed the suspect dressed in black and wearing gloves and a hood entering the flat on the day Alison and her lover were killed in 2023.

A source told the DailyMail: “The killer was well disguised and very careful to avoid his face being caught on camera.”

After an extensive investigation by the French cops, Olivier was charged with the double murder of his wife and her lover.

He was arrested back in April 2024, but details have only emerged now due to French criminal laws.

A police source in Strasbourg said the “large-scale operation” involved hundreds of interviews and video footage checks investigating the suspect’s movements.

Olivier is now being held in isolation inside a maximum security prison near Strasbourg – and is expected to face trial later this year.

Alison was managing a nursery at the time of her death – and loved with Mr Salvatore in a flat above the town hall.

Mrs Erb’s sister, who didn’t want to be named, told a local newspaper in Norfolk: “I am utterly heartbroken by the loss of my sister. I have never felt more alone.

“We’re just 18 months apart in age. We were as close as only sisters can be.

“Ali and I would talk almost every day, as she did with her aunt who was like a mother to her.

“She took care of her aunt and nursed her to health when she was suffering from cancer. I still can’t believe such a kind and beautiful soul has been stolen from the world.”

The sister said Mr Di Salvatore was “desperate to marry her”, adding: ‘He did all he could to keep her safe and make her happy.

“Their relationship was true love. This is the first time she has experienced this.”

French lawyers, acting on behalf of Alison’s family, told Norwich Evening News: “We want to highlight the exceptional work carried out by the investigating magistrate in Mulhouse and the Gendarmes in Strasbourg, both past and ongoing, in determining the circumstances that led to the horrendous death of Alison Knott and her partner”

A spokesman for Norfolk Police said: “The family of former Norwich woman, Alison Erb, are currently being supported by a specially trained family liaison officer.”