- Caroline Crouch, 20, was strangled at the home she shared with 33-year-old husband Babis Anagnostopoulos
- Three armed men are believed to have raided her house, killing the family dog before tying up Babis
- Caroline was tortured to reveal location of valuables, before she was killed in front of 11-month-old daughter
- Men fled with £33,000 in cash and possessions, and are now being hunted by Greek police
- The country’s government have issued a €300,000 (£258,000) reward for information
A British woman has been tortured and murdered in front of her 11-month-old daughter during a horror home invasion in Greece.
Caroline Crouch, 20, was strangled at the home she shared with 33-year-old husband Charalambos ‘Babis’ Anagnostopoulos in the Glyka Nera suburb of Athens early Tuesday.
Police say three men – some of whom were armed with pistols – broke into the family home around 5am while a fourth stood guard outside.
The trio killed the family dog, tied up Babis – a helicopter pilot – then tortured Caroline for an hour to get her to reveal the location of the family’s valuables, before strangling her.
The men then took jewellery worth worth £21,500 and £13,000 in cash, and fled.
The Greek government have issued a €300,000 (£258,000) reward for information, Greek news outlet The Dawn reported.
Babis was today seen briefly returning to his home to pick up personal possessions whilst accompanied by three police officers, according to Greek newspaper Proto Thema.
A TV news video showed the moment he was questioned by journalists as he got into his car to leave.
Babis, who was visibly distressed, said in Greek that his wife’s killers would be caught and added that they had ‘begged’ the men not to hurt them.
On Tuesday evening, heartbreaking footage emerged showing Caroline playing with her baby at the beach earlier this year.
In what was her final Instagram video, the young mother was seen holding and kissing her cherished child.
Caroline Crouch, 20 (right), has been strangled to death at her home in Athens, Greece, that she shared with husband Babis Anagnostopoulos (left) and their infant daughter (pictured)
Police say a gang of burglars broke into Caroline (left) and Babis’s (right) home, tied him up, tortured and strangled her, then stole £33,000 in cash and jewellery and fled
After his wife was killed, Babis eventually was able reach a phone and call emergency services, who arrived a short time later.
Theodoros Chronopoulos, a spokesman for Greek police, described the attacks as a ‘heinous crime, committed with extreme ferocity.’
‘Such barbarism is rare for Greece,’ he added.
Investigators say the raid began around 4.30am when the gang approached the couple’s house and broke a security camera outside.
They then broke a basement window to get inside the property, and found the family’s dog downstairs.
Police say the animal was strangled using its own leash before being left to hang on the house’s fence.
The men then made their way upstairs to an attic bedroom where the couple were asleep next to their child.
Babis was attacked first – with the men handcuffing him to a bed post and covering his eyes and mouth with duct tape.
They then set upon Caroline, a trained martial artist, and tied her up using a t-shirt.
Babis was today seen briefly returning to his home to pick up personal possessions whilst accompanied by three police officers, according to Greek newspaper Proto Thema . The publication ran a news video on its website showing the moment he was questioned by journalists as he got into his car to leave
Caroline, who is thought to have been born Greece but has a British passport, began dating Babis in 2017, married him in 2019, and gave birth in June last year
Caroline was a student at the University of Piraeus, according to Greek media, though it is unclear what she studied. Pictured: Caroline and Babis with their daughter
