Dad of Brit stabbed to death slams jailed husband's appeal after 'heinous crime'

21 February 2023 , 02:34

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Babis Anagnostopoulos, pictured with Caroline Crouch, is appealing his life sentence (Image: Babis Anagnostopoulos/Instagram)

The devastated father of a woman choked to death has hit out at her killer’s attempt for a reduced sentence over the “heinous crime”, it is reported.

Babis Anagnostopoulos is serving a life sentence for suffocating 20-year-old Caroline Crouch in front of their 11-month-old daughter in May, 2021, in Greece.

Caroline was suffocated with a pillow at their Athens home, with Anagnostopoulos staging a robbery and even hanging the couple's dog Roxy in a bid to cover his tracks.

Anagnostopoulos is in a maximum security prison in Korydallos where the helicopter pilot has launched an appeal to have his 27-year sentence reduced.

And Caroline's dad David Crouch reportedly told Greek media: "It is absolutely despicable that my daughter's killer is trying to get his prison sentence reduced because of his 'good behaviour'.

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Anagnostopoulos is in a maximum security prison in Korydallos (Babis Anagnostopoulos/Instagram)

"The crime committed by the murderer, that of femicide, is a heinous crime that should deserve particularly severe punishment. In my opinion, men who kill their wives, for whatever reason, are the lowest of the low, ranking alongside paedophiles.

"I think it will be a sad day for women when the murderer of a defenceless woman who slept with her child will serve less than his full prison sentence. This man is beyond contempt."

Anagnostopoulos’ legal team are arguing that mitigating circumstances were not taken into consideration during his trial and that he was acting in the “heat of the moment” during a row over their daughter because “Caroline had pushed Lydia away”, it is reported.

Caroline was murdered at her Athens home (Caroline Crouch/Instagram)

His lawyers are also arguing that he continued to claim that his family was attacked by an Albanian gang to try and ensure that Lydia was not taken away.

Mr Crouch told the Mail: "The killer tried to get the hearing rescheduled until 2024 but the lawyer objected and it will now go ahead next month.

"The mother still believes in her son’s innocence and tries to show my beloved daughter in a bad light which I will not tolerate."

This comes as Anagnostopoulos' lawyer said that his client had been attacked in a notorious Athens prison.

In one incident, which was narrowly prevented by prison guards, Papaioannidis said an inmate had told him that he had sought him out and planned to kill him.

“Reports that he said 'I want to kill him. I came from another prison. I’ve been looking for him'” are true," Papaioannidis told the outlet.

Tim Hanlon