Caroline Crouch’s parents granted full custody of baby Lydia and killer husband banned from ever seeing her again
CAROLINE Crouch's grief-stricken parents have been granted full custody of one-year old Lydia as her killer husband is banned from seeing her again.
The 20-year-old's mum had previously requested full custody of her granddaughter so that she is "not known as a killer's daughter".
Twisted Babis Anagnostopoulos claimed last week that he wanted to raise his baby daughter from prison.
However a Greek court stripped him of his parental rights and gave exclusive custody of the child to the Crouch family.
Susan and David Crouch say the Greek island of Alonissos, where Caroline was raised will be the best environment for the little girl to grow up in at least "for the first years."
The Crouch family lawyer Thanasis Harmanis said last week the little girl would be ''better off with Caroline’s parents then at the home of a killer''.
Today he exclusively told The Sun: ''The court has accepted our request. We were always confident it would.
''Lydia will be collected on Wednesday by her grandmother mother and go back to Alonissos where she will be surrounded with the love of her family and local people.
''Everyone there loved Caroline and it is right Lydia is there. David and Susan are delighted with the news.''
A prosecutor ruled that Anagnostopoulos' parents who had also fought for custody of the child would be able to see her five days a month between 10am and 2pm - but only in Alonissos.
The parents of the pilot had requested a joint custody and applied to look after her for at least six months of the year.
It currently remains unknown if they will try to overturn the judgement - legally they can apply against it within 30 days.
The two families - and particularly the two grandmothers - are said to have "excellent relations."
The decision comes after it was revealed that Babis visited a plot of land the couple had bought, planning to build a house, just days after he strangled his 20-year-old wife.
The 33-year-old alongside his architect father, met with an engineering team to discuss the construction of his dream home –a three-bedroom prefab east of Athens.
The plot of land was bought on Anagnostopoulos name for £47,000 (€55,000) and was acquired mostly with the help of Caroline’s mum.
According to Susan had offered over £42,000 (€50,000) to help the couple buy their dream home.
The couple needed another £163,000 (€190,000) to start the construction and took a loan for £137,000 (€160,000), the outlet reported.
Greek media claim that the self-confessed killer’s shocking behaviour is further proof of his motives, despite the pilot insisting the murder was no premeditated.
''More evidence of the cynicism and insensitivity of the wife killer comes to light after Caroline’s murder,'' To Vima wrote on Monday.
''It comes after Caroline’s family lawyer revealed that the self-confessed murderer asked for Caroline's mother to pay for her coffin at the funeral.''
Thanassis Haramanis, the lawyer for Caroline’s family, confirmed that the pilot asked the Crouch family to pay for her coffin.
He told The Sun: “This man has no shame.
"First he killed Caroline, then he asked her parents for money to pay for her coffin and to fly her body from Athens for the funeral.
"They gave him 4,000 euros.
"He paid nothing.”
According to SKAI News, Anagnostopoulos told shocked members of the team that it would have been ''Caroline’s wish'' to continue with the construction and even went so far as to say to them ''I am a good man.''
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When it turned out that the plot wasn’t connected to the power grid and electricity supplies posed a problem, the pilot urged the team to ''accelerate'' the process of applying for a permit with the local town hall.
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The 33-year-old pilot who confessed to murdering the young mum is currently in the so-called VIP ward of Korydallos prison, shamelessly claiming he is 'mourning'' the loss of his wife.
It's reported he plans to use "good behaviour" as a way to get special treatment.
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.