Caroline Crouch murder: Wife-killer Babis Anagnostopoulos' parents lose custody of granddaughter
ATHENS, GREECE: The grandparents of the man who killed Caroline Crouch in front of their little daughter have been unsuccessful in their efforts to obtain custody of their grandchild. The British mother, 20, was strangulated by Babis Anagnostopoulos, 35, in May 2021 in front of the couple's nine-month-old daughter Lydia. He was sentenced to life in prison last year.
While orchestrating a phony break-in at their home in a posh Athens district, the Greek pilot also killed Caroline's beloved dog. After almost two years, an Athens court has denied Anagnostopoulos' parents' request for Lydia, the couple's daughter, to live with them, according to the Sun.
READ MORE
'Because I made THAT movie': Here's why Sharon Stone lost custody of her son after 'Basic Instinct'
Mom loses custody of 12-year-old daughter after questioning if she was really trans
Lydia to live with Caroline's sister and mother
The little girl's Greek grandparents will now only have one hour of contact with her every week "through Skype or other electronic methods," according to the court order. Caroline Crouch's family lawyer Thanassis Haramanis said, "It is what we wanted in every way. The little girl will now live in peace with Caroline's sister and mother, Susan, in the Philippines. Lydia could not be more happy there," as reported by DailyMail.
Anagnostopoulos's request to get sentence reduced
The decision ends the Anagnostopoulos family's efforts to have Lydia returned to Greece. It follows Anagnostopoulos's last month's request to get his 27-year sentence reduced. Caroline's father, David, criticized his son-in-law as his appeal began in Athens, saying, "It is absolutely despicable that my daughter's killer is trying to get his prison sentence reduced because of his 'good behavior."
'This man is beyond contempt'
"The crime committed by the murderer, that of femicide, is a heinous crime that should deserve particularly severe punishment. In my opinion, men who kill their wives, for whatever reason, are the lowest of the low, ranking alongside pedophiles," he added. "I think it will be a sad day for women when the murderer of a defenseless woman who slept with her child will serve less than his full prison sentence. This man is beyond contempt."
The defense team for Anagnostopoulos claims that the initial trial did not consider any mitigating factors and that he only reacted violently because "Caroline had pushed Lydia away" and he was "worried" for their daughter.
Georgia Gobaridou maintains son's innocence
They further claim that he maintained the fictitious break-in pretense for almost six weeks out of concern that Lydia would be taken away and abandoned without anybody to care for her. When Anagnostopoulos was imprisoned last summer for killing the family's cherished dog Roxy, he was also given 11 years. Babis' mother, Georgia Gobaridou, has maintained her son's innocence, according to Caroline's father's statements.
