A Greek magistrate has issued an arrest warrant for multiple robberies against a 36-year-old Georgian national who is also being investigated by authorities for possible involvement in the robbery in the Athens suburb of Glyka Nera, in which Caroline Crouch, a young mother of British descent, was murdered.
The suspect was arrested at the Evros border on Friday, when he attempted to leave the country using a fake passport. The suspect was found to be a match for biological forensic evidence collected at the scene of a previous violent home invasion on March 7 in Pikermi.
The magistrate issued a warrant against him on Monday for robberies and for causing bodily harm. The 36-year-old will now be brought to the court so that, once the warrant against him is executed, he can appear before the magistrate to testify.
Based on evidence found by the police, the suspect, who attempted to leave Greece via the Kipi border crossing in Evros, had taken part in a robbery targeting an elderly couple and their domestic worker in Pikermi on March 7, along with another four individuals.
The perpetrators had tied up and beaten the three residents of the house and police have biological evidence from the 36-year-old found at the scene of the crime.
The robbery at Pikermi has many similarities with the robbery at Glyka Nera, where Crouch was murdered.
Moving tribute to Caroline Crouch by her husband
The husband of Caroline Crouch posted a moving tribute to his wife on Monday.
Babis Anagnostopoulos, Crouch’s 32-year-old husband, posted a picture of the couple on their wedding day on Instagram with the caption: “Together forever. Have a nice trip, my love,” in Greek.
The grieving husband stated that he is “sad that our daughter will grow up without remembering her beautiful mother, who was the joy of my life.”
Yet he finds hope that his wife will remain with him and their child forever, saying:
“But through her daughter, Caroline will always be with me and with all of us … You should always look after your loved ones and enjoy your time together.”
Crouch was a British national, but spent much of her life on the Greek island of Alonnissos.
The young mother was tortured and killed in front of her 11-month-old daughter during a robbery in the Athenian suburb of Glyka Nera last Tuesday.
Horrifying events that led to disturbing murder in Greece
The hooded burglars broke into the home of Crouch and her husband Charalambos Anagnostopoulos, 32, at Glyka Nera, northeast of the Greek capital.
They tied Anagnostopoulos to a chair and tracked down Crouch, who was hiding in the attic with her 11-month-old baby.
She was found dead next to the baby. Caroline was beaten and strangled to death by the burglars, as she was pressured to reveal where the money and jewelry were kept, threatening the life of her child.
“Tell us where the money is, we will kill the baby,” one of the burglars said to Crouch, her husband told police.
“We begged them. We told them where they would find the money,” he added.
Crouch murdered trying to protect her child
Holding a gun, they threatened to kill the family if they did not give them everything they asked for. According to reports, the gun at some point was aimed at the child’s temple.
“I told them where I had hidden the money so that the torment could end quickly. I heard my wife constantly screaming for help tied to the bed. We both screamed not to hurt us. The baby was crying, my wife was crying as they were searching the house for money and jewelry,” the distraught man told police.
“Suddenly they left the room and then I stopped hearing my wife’s voice,” Anagnostopoulos said.
After the murder, they trio made off with 15,000 euros in cash and valuables. They also killed the family’s dog to stop it from alerting the neighbors.
Anagnostopoulos managed to untie himself a few hours later and call the police just before 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
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