Greek pilot who claimed his British wife was killed by intruders convicted of her murder

A Greek helicopter pilot who tried to claim his British wife was killed by armed robbers at their Athens home has been convicted of her murder.

A court in the Greek capital found 34-year-old Babis Anagnostopoulos guilty of murdering 20-year-old Caroline Crouch in May 2021 as the couple's 11-month-old daughter slept in the house.

For weeks, he misled police by claiming she was killed in a brutal house invasion, courts heard.

The UK-trained pilot has also been convicted of strangling the couple's dog, to lend to his claim that the family was the victim of a break-in.

A sentencing hearing is expected to take place later today.

After abandoning the home invasion scenario, the defendant claimed Ms Crouch died following an altercation over child care.

Prosecutors maintained that he intentionally suffocated her while she was sleeping.

Anagnostopoulos initially told police that burglars broke into the house at night, binding and gagging the couple in their bedroom.

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Authorities initially announced a €300,000 (£254,000) reward for information, and police arrested Anagnostopoulos more than a month after Ms Crouch's death.

He was seen attending a memorial service for her near her family home on the Aegean Sea Island of Alonissos and was seen hugging the victim's mother before being led away.