Questions surrounding who will get custody of Caroline Crouch’s baby, named Lydia, have been top of the agenda for the prosecutor involved with the case on Saturday.
The current deliberations about where the child will be housed only concern a temporary arrangement, as the final decision is up to a court which meets in 90 days.
Custody arrangements for Caroline Crouch’s baby
The child was in the custody of her father, Babis Anagnostopoulos, before he admitted to murdering his wife and the family dog on Wednesday. Now prosecutors are faced with the difficult question of where the child should be placed in order to be as safe as possible in the coming days.
According to Article 1532 of the Civil Code, the prosecutor’s office has two options. Crouch’s baby may be temporarily assigned as the custody of either Crouch’s relatives in Alonissos or to Anagnostopoulos’ family.
Investigations to discover where the child will fare best in the long run have already begun. Social services are examining the living conditions the child would receive in both family homes in order to hopefully come to a conclusion of which one is more suitable for a minor.
However, Article 1532 of the Greek Civil Code also highlights that extremely urgent cases, the prosecutor can take any and all measures to safeguard the interests and protection of the child, “until the court decision is issued, which must be addressed within 90 days, with the possibility extension of this deadline by an additional 90 days.”
Anagnostopoulos is currently being held at the Attica General Police Directorate, more commonly referred to as “GADA,” which are the police headquarters in Athens.
He released his first statement to the press since his arrest through his lawyer, Alexandros Papaioannidis. Speaking to Protothema.gr, Papaioannidis relayed the following statement from Anagnostopoulos.
“My concern is for our child, Lydia. I send well wishes to both of our families (meaning his family and Crouch’s family). I am devastated about everything I did, I did it with my child in mind,” claims Anagnostopoulos.
Crouch’s husband confesses to brutal murder
Late on Thursday, Greek police charged Anagnostopoulos for Crouch’s brutal murder on May 11 in Athens. The husband confessed to committing the crime.
Twenty-year-old Crouch was strangled to death in front of her 11-month-old baby at their home near Athens on May 11. Anagnostopoulos initially claimed that the murder was carried out by robbers.
According to sources, the suspect told investigators that he killed Crouch after she threatened to leave him and take their 11-month-old infant with her following an argument.
“We had an argument that night. At one point she threw the child inside the crib and told me to get up and leave the house. She pushed me and punched me. I blurred, I killed her and then I staged the robbery,” he told police investigators.
He confessed to staging the scene of the crime to back his story to police that the 20-year-old was beaten and strangled by three robbers looking for cash and valuables, while he was tied to a chair and unable to help.
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