Caroline Crouch wrote her heartbreaking diaries in CODE to secretly record horror abuse at hands of killer husband
MURDERED Caroline Crouch penned heartbreaking diaries in code to secretly record horrifying abuse at the hands of her killer husband.
But Greek authorities fear publishing the 20-year-old Brit mum’s entries detailing her abusive marriage with twisted Babis Anagnostopoulos, 33, could "offend the victim’s memory".
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Some of Caroline's diary passages have already been glimpsed after they were leaked to the media and social media.
Excerpts depict a rocky and controlling marriage with her Greek helicopter pilot husband, which led her to threaten to leave him.
It is believed the diaries, some of which were written in code, chronicle disturbing details of Crouch’s deteriorating and abusive marriage in the run-up to Babis strangling her. reports .
But Greek prosecutors have banned further publication of the secret diaries, arguing that they could prejudice the trial.
He has been charged with murdering Caroline and is facing a life sentence for smothering her after earlier disarming CCTV in the house.
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 devastated mum can’t bear to face killer after they hugged
- She died an "agonising" death, a coroner's report has said
- Her shameless husband will try to blame her for provoking him
Supreme Court prosecutor Vassilis Pliotis said: "The publication of the [diary] entries not only offends the victim’s memory... they may contribute to creating a favourable climate for the defendant and his line of defence."
An investigation has been launched into how passages from her journal, which were contained in a 26-page police report, were leaked.
After lying to police for more than a month that Caroline was killed by a gang, he finally confessed to killing her at their home outside Athens on May 11.
But Anagnostopoulos will claim the killing was not pre-meditated and instead he entered a "blurred" state of mind as a result of her being "verbally and physically aggressive towards him".
If he is somehow able to convince the court then he could have his sentence cut to a maximum of 15 years.
The publication of the [diary] entries not only offends the victim’s memory... they may contribute to creating a favourable climate for the defendant and his line of defence
Vassilis Pliotis, Supreme Court prosecutor
In one leaked entry, written last July, a month after giving birth to her daughter, Lydia, Caroline writes of her plans to move out of their home.
In December of 2019, she wrote: "I fought with Babi again. This time it was serious.
"I hit him, I cursed at him and he broke down the door.
"All I wanted was for him to ask how I am when I woke up. I woke up so weak and tired.
"I am thinking of leaving. I am thinking of going to my sister, I don't know if I can keep going with Babi.
"I love him so much that I can't leave him even though this relationship hurts me."
Caroline writes in another entry in 2019: "Last night we fought with Babi because I had a meltdown because of my hormones.
"I yelled at him and hit him and told him I don't want our baby...
"I am not well, I am very upset, I know he would never hurt my baby.
"My love for her is stronger than anything in the world.”
On July 3, 2020, when her baby daughter Lydia was a month old Caroline wrote: "Today my little one is a month old - it's also the day I told Babi I want to leave... I feel awful."
She continues by saying she found a house in Halandri, a suburb of Athens and adding that she was thinking of leaving him before she got pregnant but eventually "stayed with him because I didn't want my daughter to grow up without her parents."
The diary includes several entries where Caroline blames her hormones for the couple's arguments and says she feels "embarrassed" her hormones affect her so strongly.
Caroline had allegedly messaged a pal on the night of her death, telling them she was leaving Babis.
Babis 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.
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.
Police have described him as a "top-class actor" as he was pretending to be devastated by his wife's death for 38 days.
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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.
Cops travelled to the island of Alonnisos where a memorial service for Caroline took place and asked him to follow them in order to give new testimony about the murder probe.
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Babis reportedly begged them to allow him to visit her grave before being taken to Athens.
After an interrogation of eight hours, he admitted he staged the burglary to "keep custody of their baby daughter."
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 – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a from 10:00am - 4:00pm weekdays, 10:00am - 12:00pm weekends.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.