Heartbroken husband’s touching message about wife murdered in front of their baby – World News

The heartbroken husband of a British woman murdered in Greece has paid a touching tribute – describing her as “full of love”.

Caroline Crouch, 20, was strangled in front her baby daughter after burglars broke into her home near Athens on Tuesday.

Partner Charalambos Anagnostopoulos, 32, was handcuffed nearby while the thugs carried out the brutal crime.

The family dog was also killed in the 5am raid, but the 11-month-old child was not harmed.

Mr Anagnostopoulos penned an emotional tribute to Ms Crouch on Thursday, which he shared with the Mirror.

He told our reporter: “Take care of your family Sir, cherish your loved ones as much as you can.

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“She was an amazing person, full of life and full of love. Our lives will never be the same without her.”

Ms Crouch was tied up and strangled while Mr Anagnostopoulos, a pilot, was bound and gagged as the intruders searched.

They were reportedly looking for cash and jewellery at the home in Glyka Nera – with it feared the gang may have been tipped off.

Speaking to broadcasters outside what appeared to be their home earlier this week, Mr Anagnostopoulos described his “nightmare”.

He said: “I wish no-one ever goes through what we went through last night.

“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.”

It has also been revealed that Ms Crouch’s daughter was hitting her in a bid to try and wake her up when officers arrived at the scene.

Police union president George Kalliakmanis said authorities arrived to a distressing scene, with the child next to her mother.

Mr Anagnostopoulos called police after managing to loosen his bonds.

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.

Mr Anagnostopoulos is said to have suffered hypoxemia, low levels of oxygen in the blood, and lost consciousness during the attack.

He told reporters afterwards that he “begged” the burglars not to hurt his family.

He said the intruders threatened to kill his baby if he and Ms Crouch, a student, 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.

He said the couple had such a huge sum of cash hidden in their home because they needed to pay builders for work.

Police have drawn up a list with hundreds of names as part of the hunt for suspects.

They are said to be taking a fresh look at robberies that have occurred in the area – although no arrests have been made so far.

Officers 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.

It is thought that three men raided the home while a fourth waited outside.

It is said that they stayed inside for half an hour after Ms Crouch’s horror murder.