Caroline Crouch’s shameless husband says ‘I wish I could go back, but I can’t’ after trying to blame HER for murder
CAROLINE Crouch’s shameless husband said "I wish I could go back in time but sadly I can't" after he tried to blame his wife for her murder.
Babis Anagnostopoulos, 33, who appeared in court earlier today, has been taken to maximum security prison Korydallos.
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The helicopter pilot who confessed to the 20-year-olds murder is reportedly seeking to escape a life sentence for murder.
The 33-year-old was arrested by police on Thursday and admitted killing Caroline in a fit of rage.
He showed no emotion as he was led past a crowd shouting "rot in prison" while handcuffed and wearing a bulletproof vest.
He has been charged with murdering Caroline and is facing a life sentence for strangling her after earlier disarming CCTV in the house.
Leaving the court today, he apologised again for his crime, reports.
He had previously admitted he "lost his temper" when his wife threatened to leave him and take their baby daughter.
His attorney Alexandros Papaioannidis stated: "This is a long interrogation and all the necessary clarifications were given.
He also requested an expert examination of the camera that was inside the couple's home in Glyka Nera in order to establish when the memory card was removed, in a bid to prove his crime was not pre-meditated but occurred in a fit of rage.
He submitted a second request asking the summoning of witnesses from the couple's environment in a bid to strengthen his claim that he had a good relationship with Caroline.
He continued by narrating how the couple met in 2017 in Alonnisos and how happy their life was.
He claimed the problems in their marriage started shortly after their wedding in 2019, when Caroline had a miscarriage.
The 33-year-old continued to blame Caroline as he said her "behaviour changed" and she was "aggressive" towards him.
It was then when he suggested for both of them to go to therapy but Caroline "was finding excuses not to go and eventually stopped," he said.
What we know:
- Five clues gave away Anagnostopoulos and blew apart his story
- Haunting footage shows him cradling daughter before he killed Caroline
- Caroline's mum didn't suspect her daughter's husband "for a second"
- Her diary reveals she was planning to leave her husband
- Anagnostopoulos admitted he was planning to hide Caroline's body
- Caroline died an "agonising" death, a coroner's report has said
If he is somehow able to convince the court then he could have his sentence cut to a maximum of 15 years.
But prosecutors will point to elaborate preparations he made in disarming security cameras and also making the house look like it was ransacked by robbers after he killed her, says
Anagnostopoulos then spent 38 days maintaining the charade, including hugging Caroline's mum at her memorial.
He also admitted staging a fake robbery after she threatened to divorce him and take their 11-month-old daughter Lydia.
Anagnostopoulos has also been charged with killing their dog, as part of his attempt to cover up the crime, and also lying to police about the robbery.
The murder shocked Greece and Anagnostopoulos account of what happened initially attracted an outpouring of sympathy for him and the families involved.
But that has turned to widespread anger when he confessed to the crime after maintaining his charade.
Anagnostopoulos is also charged with making a false complaint about the robbery and lying to police.
As he arrived in court, one of Anagnostopoulos’ lawyers announced that he has already quit the case.
Caroline's heartbroken parents David and Susan promised to care for Lydia and vowed "memories of her mother will live forever". A judge is set to decide who will care for the child.
In their first interview since she was murdered, they have spoken of the "wonderful life" ahead of her that was brutally taken away.
They were too distraught to make the journey from Alonissos, the Greek island where Caroline was raised.
Their lawyer Thanassis Hamanis, however, did appear in court in a bid to secure custody of Lydia so she can be brought up by her grandparents.
Lydia is currently being taken care for by the pilot’s teacher mum and architect father in Athens and they have also expressed a desire to bring her up.
After the killing on May 11, he claimed Caroline had been the victim of a gang who broke into their house in Glyka Nera, Athens.
He has been described as a "top-class actor" by police as he was pretending to be devastated by his wife's death for 38 days.
A police psychologist has described him as "very sick" and said he showed "no emotion" when speaking to investigators, reports.
But later he snapped and became furious after a TV interview given by a psychologist who Caroline had been seeing.
Eleni Mylonopoulou revealed the couple had tensions in their relationship.
His story was blown apart when cops travelled to Alonnisos, where a memorial service for Caroline took place.
They asked him to follow them in order to give new testimony about the murder probe.
It is reported he told cops he "panicked" when he realised he had killed Caroline after holding her down in bed as the couple were having a late night row.
He said that he killed her in a fit of rage after she threatened to take their daughter away.
"I did not want to go to prison, because I wanted to raise my daughter," the 33-year-old was said to have told detectives.
At 4.01am, Caroline's biometric watch that she wore on her wrist recorded an intense pulse stimulation.
It was at that moment that Babis began attacking his wife, in front of their infant daughter, as Caroline struggled against the man 13 years her senior.
The brave Brit then fought against him for a further ten minutes, until her watch recorded that her heart had stopped beating at 4.11am.
Babis then sickeningly placed their daughter next to her late mother in a bid to create a more convincing crime scene, police said.
He even admitted killing the family's puppy in order to make the crime scene more plausible.
Caroline's distraught parents David and Susan have spoken of their hope for their 11-month-old granddaughter's future in their first interview since her death with the
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"Both Susan and I will spend the rest of our lives making sure that justice is done and ensuring that her little daughter Lydia is brought up with all the advantages that we can give her and that the memories of her mother live forever," David told the publication.
The 78-year-old proudly remembered the young mum who has been "cruelly taken away at the beginning of what was expected to be a wonderful life."
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a . from 10am to noon.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.