The baby daughter of a British mum tortured and murdered in Greece was hitting her body and trying to wake her up when police arrived, a union boss says.
Caroline Crouch’s 11-month-old daughter was crying next to the 20-year-old mum’s body when officers walked in on a distressing scene following a burglary at the family’s flat in in Glyka Nera, near Athens.
Officers were left distraught after watching the baby, who was unharmed, try to “wake up” the mum by hitting Ms Crouch with her hands, said police union president George Kalliakmanis.
Ms Crouch, a student, was strangled in front her her daughter after home invaders burst in while the family was sleeping at about 5am on Tuesday. The family’s dog was also killed.
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(Image: Caroline Crouch/Instagram)
The mum lay face down on the floor after being gagged and bound, and her husband Charalambos Anagnostopoulos, 33, was nearby in handcuffs and with duct tape partially covering his eyes and mouth, said Mr Kalliakmanis.
The dad is said to have suffered hypoxemia, a low level of oxygen in the blood, and temporarily lost consciousness during the attack.
Helicopter pilot Mr Anagnostopoulos said he managed to call the police on his mobile phone after loosening his bonds.
(Image: Caroline Crouch/Instagram)
(Image: Babis Anagnostopoulos/Instagram)
He told reporters afterwards that he “begged” the burglars not to hurt his family and watched as they held a gun to his baby daughter’s head.
The dad said the intruders threatened to kill his baby if he and Ms Crouch did not tell them where they kept their money and jewellery.
He told them where to find £10,000 in cash hidden inside a Monopoly box.
Mr Kalliakmanis’ comments were reported by the Greek news portal Newsit, with other reports claiming the burglars made “many mistakes” by leaving “many traces” – fingerprints and DNA evidence – at the crime scene.
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The victims’ clothing and items used to bind and gag the couple, including a pair of trousers, are being analysed by forensic experts.
Three men stormed into the flat and it is thought a fourth man was waiting outside.
It is said the thieves stayed inside the family’s home for about half an hour continued to ransack rooms after Ms Crouch was killed.
No one has been arrested.
Police have drawn up a list with hundreds of names as part of the hunt for suspects, and are taking a fresh look at robberies that have occurred in the area.
They are looking into the movements of 300 known gang members who have been convicted of robbery and been released from prison since 2019, Ta Nea reported.
Speaking to reporters outside the family home on Wednesday, Mr Anagnostopoulos said: “I wish no-one ever goes through what we went through last night. It was a nightmare.
“We begged the thieves not to harm us. We told them where the money was and asked them to leave us alone. The police will catch them.”
A £260,000 reward for information has been announced by the Greek Government.
The minister responsible for public order, Michalis Chrisochoidis, described the killing as “particularly heinous”.
He added: “One rarely encounters such barbarity in Greece, in Greek society, even among criminals.”
Two teams of detectives have been set up to handle the investigation, he said.