Why has Caroline Crouch’s diary been banned from publication?

CAROLINE Crouch kept a diary in the years leading up to her brutal murder in Greece last month.

It was leaked to the press and on social media after her husband confessed to her killing, but the publication of entries from it have now been banned.

Why has Caroline Crouch's diary been banned from publication?

Greek prosecutors have banned the publication of any entries from Caroline's diary over fears it could prejudice the trial of her husband.

Babis Anagnostopoulos is accused of murdering the 20-year-old British mum in front of their 11-month-old daughter on May 11.

Vassilis Pliotis, a Supreme Court prosecutor, said publishing the diary could see the charges of premeditated murder are reduced, meaning he could get away with a lesser sentence.

Anagnostopoulos currently faces life in prison after being charged with murder, animal abuse, providing false testimony and filing a false police report about the robbery.

Pliotis said: "The publication of the [diary] entries not only offends the victim’s memory, but they may contribute to creating a favourable climate for the defendant and his line of defence."

He also called for an urgent investigation into how the diary entries were leaked.

What did Caroline Crouch write in her diary?

Murdered Caroline penned heartbreaking diaries to record the horrifying abuse at the hands of her killer husband.

Some of the excerpts depict a rocky and controlling marriage with Greek helicopter pilot Anagnostopoulos, which led her to threaten to leave him. 

It is believed the diaries, some written in code, chronicle disturbing details of Crouch’s deteriorating and abusive relationship in the run-up to Anagnostopoulos strangling her. 

In one leaked entry, written in July 2020, a month after giving birth to her daughter Lydia, Caroline wrote of her plans to move out of their home.

And in December 2019 she wrote about seriously fighting with Anagnostopoulos, detailing how he hit her and he broke down a door.

She went on to say she planned to leave her partner, whom she said she loved, as the relationship was hurting her.

The diary also includes several entries where Caroline blames her hormones for the couple's arguments and says she feels "embarrassed" they affect her so strongly.

What punishment does Babis Anagnostopoulos face?

Caroline's husband Anagnostopoulos confessed he strangled his 20-year-old wife when she vowed to leave him and staged the crime scene.

He initially told police that a gang of Albanian criminals had broken into the couple's home in Glyka Nera on May 11.

Police have described him as a "top-class actor" as he was pretending to be devastated by his wife's death for 38 days.

According to the investigators he even drowned the family dog and hung its body from a stair banister to blame it on the burglars and strengthen his story.

After an interrogation of eight hours, he admitted he staged the burglary to "keep custody of their baby daughter."

He is charged with murder, animal abuse, providing false testimony and filing a false police report about the robbery.

If convicted on all counts, he faces life in prison.