‘TOP ACTOR’
Babis Anagnostopoulos hugged Caroline Crouch’s mum at memorial, drowned pet dog & wept on TV to cover his tracks
CAROLINE Crouch's killer husband hugged her mum at her memorial, drowned their pet dog and wept on TV to cover his tracks.
Babis Anagnostopoulos, 33, played the part of the grieving widower for weeks while cops searched for the robbers he claimed had raided his home and murdered his wife.
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He has since been charged with her murder, as well as crimes of animal abuse and perjury after admitting to smothering the 20-year-old Brit to death, after eight hours of interrogation in the homicide department of Athens' police headquarters, according to Greek news site
Police have described him as a "top-class actor" after staging the detailed crime scene and keeping up his web of lies for over a month.
The helicopter pilot broke down when talking to reporters outside his home on the Greek island of Alonissos - but was actually crying crocodile tears as he told of his "shock" over Caroline's death.
To substantiate his sick charade, he even drowned the family dog and hanged its body from a stair banister in a bid to blame the fictional Albanian criminals cops have been chasing for weeks.
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The master manipulator fooled the tragic 20-year-old's family and was even pictured embracing her mother just hours before confessing to the killing.
Cops allowed Babis to attend a memorial service in Caroline's honour on Wednesday in order for him not to "take fright" - where he told her loved ones he had been asked to identify "a new suspect".
"He was a top-class actor...one of the last things he did on Alonissos was to hug Caroline's mother and tell her he was going to Athens to identify a suspect," a cop told the Sun Online.
He was a top-class actor...one of the last things he did on Alonissos was to hug Caroline's mother and tell her he was going to Athens to identify a suspect.
Cop
Authorities issued his arrest warrant after deeming him a flight risk due to his job as a pilot, his financial means, and his cunning approach to covering up the murder.
It was in fact Babis himself who had become the focus of the investigation, after detectives were able to untangle his deceit by analysing the couple's smart devices.
Cops revealed the helicopter pilot had an app on his phone to measure his steps that showed repeated movement from the attic to the basement of the home at the time he claimed to be bound by the raiders, at around 5am on May 11.
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Babis had earlier said he lost consciousness for up to 30 minutes due to the constriction of the tape tied around his neck.
But data also appeared to show he was active on his mobile during the time he was allegedly tied to the bed.
It was discovered the memory card in the security camera of the maisonette the couple shared had also been removed at 1:20am - while he claimed the thieves broke into the house several hours later.
The next clue came from Caroline's biometric watch that she wore on her wrist, recording her pulse rate.
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It showed the 20-year-old's heart had stopped beating hours before the time Babis claimed she must have been murdered, allowing him time to stage the robbery.
It appears the presentation of a perfect family life before Caroline's murder were merely smoke and mirrors - as he had been arguing with his spouse just hours before he smothered her to death.
Officers said the couple had been bickering in the lead-up to the killing, as a text message exchange showed one had called the other "stupid".
Friends said Caroline "could not have the time she wanted with her friends and she was constantly expressing her complaints about his behaviour," Greek news site Ethnos reported.
Caroline had allegedly messaged a pal on the night of May 11, telling them she was leaving Babis.
The helicopter pilot, who was 12 years older than his student wife, was detained in the cells at Greece's central police headquarters last night.
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It had taken police 37 days to crack the case with investigators following up a host of dud inquiry lines based on the testimony Babis had given.
"It is going to be remembered as one of the great crime cases in recent decades," said one source.
Local media reported that among the evidence police had of the altercation was an attempt by Caroline to book herself into a hotel with their baby daughter on the night of the crime.
In a text message found on Caroline's phone, it had become apparent that the student had indeed threatened to leave the man she had first met as a teenager just hours before her own murder.
The pilot will be hauled before the courts today but is expected to request a 48-hour reprieve to prepare his defence with lawyers.
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, where you call 999 and press ‘55’ if you can’t safely speak.
- Always keep some money or a bank card on you, including change in case you need a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to move towards an exit if you are inside the house and get your phone in case you need to call for help.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other potential weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom.
Women’s Aid provides a - available every day from 10am-6pm or email [email protected]
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].
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
'Eight-hour interrogation'
The pilot had killed the Brit in front of his eleventh-month-old daughter who he had cradled in his arms during Caroline's funeral in Alonissos, where she had been raised after her parents moved to the island.
Local media reported that police sources claimed that Babis confessed after more than "eight hours of interrogation."
"The evidence available to the police was such that it could not refuse it," the sources said.
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"According to the first information, the 32-year-old pilot claims that his young wife told him when she was determined to take the child and leave him."
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Greek police yesterday: "Investigation of the homicide of a 20-year-old native that took place on May 11, 2021, in Glyka Nera.
"The perpetrator is her 33-year-old husband, who confessed to his act.
Charalambos Anagnostopoulos returns to the scene of the crime where wife Caroline Crouch was tortured to death
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