SCENE OF HORROR
Crying baby of Brit mum killed by burglars found ‘hitting her dead body’ trying to wake her up, cops reveal
THE baby daughter of a Brit mum tortured to death by burglars was found crying and "hitting her body" as she desperately tried to wake her up, according to reports.
Cops entered a scene of horror after the raiders strangled Caroline Crouch, 20, and tied up her pilot husband in an upmarket suburb of Athens.
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Officers described seeing Caroline's body tied to a pole where the intruders had tortured her in the family's attic bedroom, .
Baby Lydia, 11 months, was "half on her, screaming and hitting her mother with her hands to wake her up".
Husband Charalambos Anagnostopoulos, 32, was tied up with rope "like a sausage" and also handcuffed, with insulating tape over his eyes and mouth, reports said.
He is believed to have suffered hypoxia - a potentially fatal lack of oxygen - before wriggling free and calling police in the early hours of Sunday.
Charalambos has told investigators he begged for their lives as the brutal thieves held a gun to the baby's head and demanded to know where they kept their cash and jewels.
Detectives have reportedly drawn up a "red list" of 100 suspects including foreigners and Greek nationals who have recently been freed from jail.
They are also probing possible links to five other robberies last year, which were also characterised by shocking levels of violence.
Officers suspect the gang may have been tipped off that the couple had £13,000 in banknotes stashed in the house.
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The money was to pay for builders after they bought a plot of land and was reportedly hidden in a Monopoly box.
Police believe the gang had information on the land sale and believed they would find a large amount of money in the house, in an upmarket Athens suburb, reports.
But according to murder cops are looking at whether the information came from within the couple’s inner circle.
A distraught Charalambos told investigators the terrified couple pleaded with the depraved gang not to hurt them and their baby, as his wife screamed for help.
INNER CIRCLE
The gang kept torturing her, convinced more money was hidden in the house.
“They kept telling me ‘where is the money, eh?’. I told them right away where I had hidden the money, so that the torment could end quickly.
"I heard my wife constantly screaming for help tied to the bed as I was tied up. The baby was crying, my wife was crying."
The thieves eventually escaped with more than £30,000 in cash and jewellery.
The three robbers forced their way into the family's two storey house at 4.30am after breaking a CCTV camera and hanging the family's dog by its own leash.
A fourth criminal kept watch outside the home as the other three found the couple sleeping with their child in an attic bedroom.
A police spokesperson told the local news outlet The Dawn that police believe the suspects broke into the house through a window in the basement after spending several hours observing the family.
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A post-mortem examination was taking place yesterday and it is believed she may have been strangled with her own T-shirt.
Meanwhile police are colleting DNA samples from the couple's clothes and from Caroline's fingernails, which could lead them to the gang.
Samples from Caroline Crouch's fingernails show evidence of her frantic struggle as she fought back against her torturers and are now being examined by investigators.
"Clothes that the couple were wearing at the time of the incident and samples from the nails of the victim, who fought for her life and that of her baby, have been recovered and now being examined for any generic material that could help identify the perpetrators," said a police spokesman.
CCTV footage from nearby homes and businesses was also being examined and door to door enquiries were also taking place.
Another police officer quoted in Greek media claimed the gang had been identified and were well known.
“The three robbers are professionals. They have what we call a criminal past,” said the cop.
“That is, they are marked, they have gone through prisons and as it turned out, they are people with a strong anti-social element and a complete lack of emotions.”
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He said the sadistic gang “used their hands” to kill the young mum despite having weapons in what was a “prolonged physical contact” with their victim.
The officer said the killers had the opportunity to walk away but didn’t.
“This clearly shows their intention to kill. In a robbery, the question is money. It was not necessary to kill to achieve the goal.
“They took the money, but they will be charged with murder. A crime that will send them behind bars for many years.
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Caroline's British father moved to Greece 20 years ago where he lives with his Filipina wife who was said to be in Athens with investigators.
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Marilena Poniraki, who taught Caroline on the island of Alonissos where she lived with her parents, paid tribute to her.
"I will always remember her so happy, she was a very remarkable creature, it is a great pity what has happened."
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