Killer: Babis Anagnostopoulos
(Picture: AP)The famly of murdered Briton Caroline Crouch say they are glad her killer husband will be sent to one of Europe’s worst prisons.
Babis Anagnostopoulos killed Caroline, 20, in front of their baby daughter and killed their puppy to stage a break-in at their home north of Athens.
The 34-year-old Greek pilot will become a “broken man” in the notoriously tough Korydallos Prison, said Ms Crouch’s father, David.
He is expected to spend around 18 years behind bars.
“No amount of prison time can ever bring back my beautiful daughter but I am just gratified that the court didn’t believe the scurrilous nonsense that he produced during his testimony,” Mr Crouch, 79, told the Daily Mail.
“I am further gratified to know that he will serve his time in Korydallos Prison, the toughest prison in Greece which has one of the worst prison systems in Europe.
“When he eventually completes his sentence, which many people think he might not survive, he will be a changed man, a broken man, far older than his true age.”
Anagnostopoulos was arrested after crying crocodile tears at a memorial service for Caroline near her family home on the Aegean Sea island of Alonissos where he was pictured hugging her mother.
He initially claimed he was tied up by robbers who strangled his wife and stole £10,000 in cash.
But police said that evidence from his phone and a smartwatch with a heart rate monitor used by Ms Crouch disputed his timeline of events.
The killer eventually abandoned the burglary story, instead claiming his wife had died following an altercation between the couple.
But prosecutors said Anagnostopoulos had suffocated Caroline as she slept. Anagnostopoulos had later admitted to killing Ms Crouch, but denied murder.
Ms Crouch’s father said he would make sure the killer would never see his daughter again after murdering her mother.
“Now that his fate is settled, Susan and I can move on. I intend to change Lydia’s name to that of her mother so that she will never be associated with this odious creature,” he told the paper.
The case shocked Greece, with the authorities initially offering a €300,000 (£254,000) reward for information.
Greek police swooped to arrest Anagnostopoulos a month after the May 2021 killing after tech revealed inconsistencies in his testimony, including evidence from his mobile showing him moving about the house when he claimed to have been tied up.
