In a murder case that has captivated the nation, the Greek husband of a young British woman who was murdered in their home in suburban Athens, took a drastic turn on June 17.
While television cameras were focused on the 40 day memorial service for Caroline Crouch that was taking place in a church on the island of Alonisos with family and friends of the couple present, police were outside the church ready to apprehend their suspect– Crouch’s pilot husband, Haralambos “Babis” Anagnostopoulos.
Officers flew Anagnostopoulos back to Athens.
Following hours of interrogation at police headquarters in Athens, he eventually confessed to the murder of his 20-year-old wife. Also a victim in the crime was the family dog, which was found hung from the home in Glyka Nera, 45 minutes outside Athens.
After the horrific crime, Anagnostopoulos had claimed that his wife was murdered by foreigners– robbers who broke into their home on May 11. Crouch, 20, was suffocated to death on a bed next to her 11-month baby girl, who was not harmed.
The media went into an anti-immigrant frenzy with dozens of reports of Albanian, Georgian and Pakistani gangs roaming the city. Crouch’s murder was the top trending news story for weeks, leading up to the apprehension of the husband.
In the end, it was technology that led the police to the real perpetrator.
Various clues, including the use of iPhone apps during the time the husband claimed he had been tied up and immobile, as well as heartbeat readings from the Apple Watch of the victim helped take apart the husband’s initial account of how he claimed things played out in the house.
Caroline Crouch’s smart watch showed that her heart was still beating at the time her husband claimed she was murdered. The activity tracker on his phone showed him moving around the house while he said he was tied up; and the recorded time at which data cards were removed from the home security camera also told a different story to his version of events.
News channels in Greece broke into regular programming to announce the husband’s confession.
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