Prosecutor throws book at defendant in Caroline Crouch murder trial

Haralambos (Babis) Anagnostopoulos tortured and murdered his 20-year-old wife Caroline Crouch while in a composed state of mind and went on to deliberately mislead police investigators, the prosecutor responsible for the case argued on Thursday in his trial recommendation.

In a lengthy report compiled in just four months after Anagnostopoulos, 33, was arrested and allegedly confessed to the May 11 murder, prosecutor Giorgos Noulis has thrown the book at the defendant, accusing him of murder with intent while in a calm state of mind and of lying to the police by claiming that his wife was killed by thugs who broke into their home in the east Attica suburb of Glyka Near, tied them up and tortured them so they would give up their cash and valuables. He also leveled charges of animal cruelty for the fact that Anagnostopoulos is thought to have killed the family dog as part of his burglary scenario.

That the defendant was in a calm state of mind is supported by the manner in which he carried out the crime, Noulis argues, pointing to the elaborate staging and cover story. 

He also pointed to evidence found at the scene of thre crime, including Crouch’s smartwatch, whose records of her movements challenged Anagnostopoulos’ account and indicated that the young mother was in a state of physical distress for several minutes before her heart stopped beating. This also happened much earlier than Anagnostopoulos claimed.

Noulis also sought to draw attention to the fact that Anagnostopoulos, 13 years Crouch’s senior, started dating her when she was around 15 years old and married her just three days after her 18th birthday. 

The prosecutor further argues that there is insufficient evidence to support speculation that Anagnostopoulos may have had an accomplice or had been in any way provoked to commit such an act.

In a related development, an Athens court granted custody of the couple’s child to Caroline’s mother, stripping Anagnostopoulos of any parental rights and granting his parents limited visitation rights.

Anagnostopoulos is believed to have killed his wife in front of their daughter, who was 11 months old at the time of the crime.