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Mum's tragic diary entries before being 'suffocated by husband'

A mum’s diary entries have been presented as evidence against her husband who is accused of killing her.

Babis Anagnostopoulos, 33, was arrested on Friday (local time) for allegedly murdering Caroline Crouch, 20, at their home on the outskirts of Athens on May 11.

Ms Crouch died of suffocation. Anagnostopoulos initially claimed it was a home invasion and burglars killed his wife, but his lawyer reportedly confirmed to journalists he had confessed to the crime, adding the 33-year-old had expressed remorse for his actions.

Babis Anagnostopoulos, 33, pictured with Caroline Crouch, 20,
Babis Anagnostopoulos, 33, is accused of murdering wife Caroline Crouch, 20. Source: Instagram/ Babis Anagnostopoulos

A 26-page police document seen by The Athens-Macedonian News Agency details not only investigators' findings, but includes diary entries from Ms Crouch which show she intended on leaving her husband.

At one stage she wrote on New Year’s Eve 2019: “I do not know if I can continue with Babi”, but she “loves him so much”.

In another entry from July 3 last year, Ms Crouch wrote she had told Anagnostopoulos she wanted a divorce and had found somewhere else to live.

According to news outlet Greek Reporter, many of the entries detail Ms Crouch having issues with pregnancy before she eventually gave birth to her daughter, Lydia.

“Yesterday we had a fight with Babi because my hormones made me freak out on him. I screamed at him, hit him and told him I did not want our baby,” she wrote.

“I’m not well, I’m very upset, obviously I would never hurt my baby. I love my baby more than anything else in the world. I’m so influenced by my hormones and Babis should know that. I’m ashamed to tell him. I know he will support me but I can not tell him.

“I’m not well but I’m trying for my baby. I do not want (the baby) to feel that her mum does not want her and does not love her. My hormonal problems are mine.”

Babis Anagnostopoulos, husband of murdered Caroline Crouch, is escorted out of the prosecutor's office, Athens, Greece, on June 18, 2021.
Anagnostopoulos has reportedly confessed to killing his wife. Source: AAP

How man 'covered up' wife's murder

Police investigators said analysis of data from a smartwatch worn by the victim had helped reveal inconsistencies in Anagnostopoulos’s account of events.

He had publicly claimed armed robbers broke into the couple’s home, tied up and gagged him and his wife in their bedroom as their months-old daughter slept. He had said the men stole cash before escaping.

The account shocked the nation and prompted government officials to announce a A$487,000 reward for information about the crime.

Babis Anagnostopoulos and Caroline Crouch pictured together in an Instagram photo.
Ms Crouch had indicated she wanted to leave her husband. Source: Instagram/Babis Anagnostopoulos

Their daughter was unharmed, but the family dog was found choked to death on a leash, hanging from a staircase rail, authorities said.

“Everything was staged for the crime scene to look like the scene of a robbery,” Costas Hassiotis, director of the greater Athens homicide division told reporters, adding the suspect had tied his own hands and those of his dead wife.

He said the examination of mobile devices, a smartwatch with a heart rate monitor used by Ms Crouch and cameras, had established a timeline that contradicted the pilot’s testimony.

Mr Hassiotis said forensic experts established the time a memory card had been removed from a security camera, adding to the evidence against the pilot.

Anagnostopoulos was detained after authorities summoned him for questioning on Thursday while he was attending a memorial service for Ms Crouch on the Aegean Sea island of Alonissos, where she grew up.

He was flown to Athens by helicopter from the nearby island of Skiathos and interviewed for more than six hours before police announced he was a suspect.

In a May 16 post on Instagram, Anagnostopoulos uploaded an undated photograph of the couple on a trip to Portugal for a wedding photoshoot, writing: “Always together. Farewell, my love.”

with The Associated Press

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