The husband of a Brit murdered in Greece says he didn’t know she was dead until the police removed duct tape that was covering his eyes.
Caroline Crouch, 20, her husband Charalambos (Babis) Anagnostopoulos, 32, and their 11-month-old daughter were sleeping when three intruders broke into their home in Glyka Nera, near Athens, at about 5am on Tuesday.
Ms Crouch, a student, and Mr Anagnostopoulos, a helicopter pilot, were bound as the burglars demanded to know where they kept money and jewellery.
The mum was strangled to death and her unharmed baby girl was found crying next to her body and “hitting” her in an attempt to wake her up, said police union boss George Kalliakmanis.
Mr Anagnostopoulos used his nose to dial his mobile phone and raise the alarm, said a neighbour, who took the call.
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(Image: Caroline Crouch/Instagram)
He was in handcuffs on the floor and had duct tape partially covering his eyes and mouth, said Mr Kalliakmanis.
The thieves, who stole £10,000 that was hidden in a Monopoly box, also killed the family’s dog before fleeing.
Speaking outside the house on Thursday, Mr Anagnostopoulos told how he did not know his wife was dead until officers arrived and took off the tape that was covering his eyes.
He told reporters: “They tied us up while we told them where the money was.
(Image: Athena Pictures)
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“I realised that my wife was not alive when the police freed me.
“My daughter, fortunately, was not hit. She went to the hospital as a precaution and, fortunately, she is fine.”
Mr Anagnostopoulos said he has been helping detectives, who are working around the clock to find those responsible.
He said he was still in “shock” over his wife’s death as he appealed for people to contact police if they have information about the suspects.
(Image: Caroline Crouch/Instagram)
Earlier, police union president Mr Kalliakmanis told Ant1 News the first officers on scene were left distraught after finding the baby girl trying to wake her dead mother.
The 11-month-old was crying next to Ms Crouch’s body, he added.
Ms Crouch lay face down after being gagged, bound and tied to a bed.
Her husband was found on the floor nearby.
He is said to have suffered hypoxemia, a low level of oxygen in the blood, and temporarily lost consciousness during the attack.
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Mr Anagnostopoulos said he managed to call for help on his mobile phone after loosening his bonds.
A neighbour told MailOnline that Mr Anagnostopoulos used his nose to dial his phone and call the most recently dialled number, which was hers.
She couldn’t understand what he was saying because he had been gagged.
She said: “He was screaming, he was screaming but I could not understand what he was saying because his mouth was gagged.
“I thought it was a medical problem. I went outside to investigate and I saw and then I knew it was much more important.”
(Image: Athena Pictures)
The woman said Mr Anagnostopoulos was in “shock” and “could not speak” when she saw him outside the home following the arrival of police.
She added: “(He) was holding the baby. I went inside and got a blanket to wrap up the baby. The grandmother came and took the baby.”
In an interview outside the home on Tuesday, Mr Anagnostopoulos told reporters afterwards that he “begged” the burglars not to hurt his family.
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.
He said the couple had such a huge sum of cash hidden in their home because they had bought a plot of land and needed to pay builders for work.
(Image: Babis Anagnostopoulos/Instagram)
Reports claim the burglars left behind fingerprints and DNA evidence at the crime scene.
Medical examiner Grigoris Leos told the To Vima newspaper that Ms Crouch likely would have suffered a “slow and torturous death”.
If she fought back, DNA from at least one of the suspects could be found under her fingernails, he added.
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.
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.