Greek husband confesses to murder of British woman

The husband of a young British woman supposedly killed during a robbery at their Greek home and whose body was found next to her baby has confessed to the crime, police said on Thursday.

Babis Anagnostopoulos, a 32-year-old pilot, was taken by police helicopter to Athens on Thursday from the island of Alonissos, where he was attending a memorial service for his wife, Caroline Crouch. He confessed several hours later, the police said in a tweet.

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Police workers at the home of Caroline Crouch in an Athens suburb. Photograph: Eurokinissi/REX/Shutterstock

He had claimed that his wife had been killed by robbers who broke into their home in Glyka Nera, a semi-rural suburb northeast of Athens on 11 May. Crouch, 20, had been found dead in the attic. She had been suffocated on a bed next to her 11-month baby girl. The infant was not harmed.

Police had issued a €300,000 reward for information on the crime. On Thursday, authorities said new evidence had come to light.

At the time of the killing, Greece’s police minister, Michalis Chrisochoidis, said he had been shocked by the “barbarity” of the crime.

Anagnostopoulos had told police that three men had broken into the house, tying him up and killing his wife before making off with €15,000 in cash in addition to valuables.

They also killed the family dog, he said.

But police were unable to find any trace of the gang that allegedly carried out the crime, Greek media reported.