Family of Brit mum Caroline Crouch murdered in front of her daughter win battle to erase killer husband from baby’s life
THE FAMILY of a Brit mum murdered in front of her baby girl have won a legal victory to finally cut all ties with her killer husband.
Tragic Caroline Crouch, 19, was suffocated by evil Greek pilot Babis Anagnostopoulos as she slept in May 2021.
She was found dead on the bed next to her crying 11-month-old daughter Lydia.
Caroline’s dad has now secured a court bid to legally change Lydia’s surname to Crouch in tribute to her mum – and erase all links to her jailed dad.
David Crouch, who applied for the name change last year, said: “It would be unacceptable for Lydia to bear the name of the man who killed her mother.”
The retired oil executive added: “It has always been my intention for her name to be changed, from the day in June 2021 when it became clear he had murdered my daughter.”
Anagnostopoulos, 35, is serving 27-and-a-half years in prison for Caroline’s horrific murder.
He smothered her with a pillow at their home in Athens before staging a botched robbery in a bid to get away with it.
He handcuffed himself to the floor, covered his mouth with tape and even hanged the family dog from a bannister.
For six weeks, he fooled authorities and even singled out foreign ‘culprits’ from police line-ups.
He even played the part of grieving widower at Caroline-s funeral – holding Lydia in his arms as she was laid to rest.
But Caroline’s smartwatch eventually exposed his lies and revealed her heart had stopped long before he claimed the robbery took place.
Helicopter pilot Anagnostopoulos – described in court as a “controlling narcissist” – eventually confessed.
He claimed he killed Caroline in the heat of the moment.
The British-trained pilot abandoned his appeal last Summer and is now expected to serve out a life prison term.
Caroline’s parents, David and Susana, have been given custody of their granddaughter, Lydia.
Susana, who is of Filipino descent, has already moved with Lydia to Manila, where the girl is being raised with her cousins.
It is understood that Caroline’s remains will be exhumed and also transferred to the Philippines.
It comes after a chilling letter sent by Caroline’s killer husband to her grieving mum came to light last year.
Twisted Anagnostopoulos, penned a seemingly heartfelt note from prison, ranting about getting involved in a sick blackmail plot.
In his letter addressed to Susan Crouch, the Greek pilot presented his version of what happened the night of May, 11, 2021 at his home in Glyka Nera.
He claimed Caroline was not on board with the plan and convinced him to back out – something that infuriated the group.
In the letter, published by Star TV in Greece, Babis writes: “That night they came to the house to take the money they gave me and you already know the rest.
“My whole life was destroyed in front of me, I was left alone at 4 in the morning in tears, seeing my wife gone and being threatened that if I don’t take the blame they will hurt everyone I love, including Lydia.”
He added that at the time he came up with the idea of staging the robbery as he could not reveal the identity of Caroline’s killers.
He continues in his letter: “I know the killers are probably out of the country now, but I couldn’t risk anyone else getting hurt.
“I failed to protect Caroline, but I would rather die than let anything happen to our daughter.”
He proceeded to claim that he was forced to confess to Caroline’s killing “to protect his daughter.”
He wrote: “I gave them what they wanted. I confessed to a crime I didn’t commit, made up a lie and said I was the one who hurt her after a fight. And everyone was happy.
“No one cares that I took the blame for something I didn’t do. You are the only person who really knows how I feel… I am deeply sorry for the unbearable pain you are feeling.”
“No one cares that I took the blame for something I didn’t do. You are the only person who really knows how I feel… I am deeply sorry for the unbearable pain you are feeling.”
The 35-year-old concludes with some notes about his daughter Lydia.
“Lydia has done nothing wrong and we owe it to Caroline to give her everything.
“She can’t go to private schools in Athens, but that’s okay, right now I just want her to be happy, to have a nice childhood in Alonissos.
“I trust you and my parents, I know how much you love her.
“Suzanna I will always love you no matter what. I miss it so much. Just tell her how much I love her next time you visit. Take care of yourself and Lydia.”
Anagnostopoulos, who remains behind bars in the top-security Malandrinos prison in central Greece, was previously attacked by an inmate who wanted to kill him.
His lawyer Alexandros Papaioannidis told The Sun Online that Anagnostopoulos was attacked in an Athens prison.
In one incident, narrowly thwarted by prison guards, Papaioannidis said an inmate had openly admitted he wanted to murder the wife killer.
“Reports that he said ‘I want to kill him. I came from another prison. I’ve been looking for him’” are true,” said Papaioannidis.
Papaioannidis said Anagnostopoulos has been moved from Athens’ Korydallos jail to the Malandrinos prison in central Greece.
The lawyer said petitions to have pilot remain in the Greek capital’s ultra-secure facility have been refused.
“He is very worried the new jail houses around 900 hardened criminals and is very hard, very tough.”