In his incredible testimony in a court in Athens on Wednesday, confessed murderer Babis Anagnostopoulos tried to present himself as the “good guy” and his victim, Caroline Crouch, as an “unstable” and “violent” woman that beat him” and a “bad mother.”
On the anniversary of the murder case that shocked Greece exactly a year ago, the former pilot presented his own narrative and described the couple’s relationship as “ideal fairy tale” saying that they lived a “dram life” and a great love story.
“My absolute priority was her happiness,” Babis claimed, among others, in the first part of his testimony that lasted over six hours. He often had tears in his eyes.
He claimed that if he went back in time a hundred times, he would choose Caroline a hundred times with his eyes closed.
“How many times can I apologize to Caroline who is not here, to our daughter who will not meet her mother, to my mother-in-law who trusted me with what was most valuable to her and I did not protect it, I apologize to Roxy our dog,” the defendant said at point.
During his testimony, he often used the present tense as if Caroline was still alive, until the presiding judge corrected him.
He claimed further that Caroline was a “moody” person with anger outbursts and that she “hit” him, however, without leaving marks.
“What I say is not an excuse. I’m not interested in my career, I do not care that a number of people who do not know me curse me. I only care that I will never see her again,” he said.
On the crucial night of his wife murder in their home in Glyka Nera in East Attica on May 11, 2021, he said that Caroline and he had an argument, claiming that she was very angry and did not want around neither the child nor him and that she went to sleep.
He claimed that she was awake and that he tried to bring her to her senses, climbing on top of her on the bed and grabbing a pillow.
He said that he thought she had passed out. Then the prosecutor reminded him of the coroner’s report that Caroline’s death lasted full 5 minutes.
Babis said that he was initially shocked when he realized that Caroline was dead and after a while he decided to stage a burglery scene so that the couple’s 11-month-old “child won’t grow up without a parent.”
He cynically added that he killed their dog in order to make the burglary claim more convincing.
34-year-old Babis Anagnostopoulos insisted on the claim and to convince judges, prosecutor and jury that he killed his 21-year-old wife Caroline Crouch “in the heat of the moment.” That he lost control during another anger outburst in Caroline, that he feared of his child.
He claimed he climbed on the bed to calm her down.
He received a “rain” of questions by the presiding judge about how he led the “woman he adored” to death, depriving his daughter Lydia of her mother.
“There is no logic and I do not have answers yet, I was trying to calm her down so that the incident would end, to have her apologize to him and the child for what we went through before,” Anagnostopoulos.
“When I realized she was dead, I started pulling my hair,” he said. “I was crying, I was touching her, I was looking at her, I was completely confused… I could not understand how I let this thing happen.”
According to what media reported late on Wednesday, the prosecutor was not convinced that the crime was committed “in the heat of the moment” and spoke of lack of feeling.
His testimony was concluded after ten hours, however, the trial continued with further questioning of the defendant by the judges, the prosecutor and the jury.
The trial has been adjourned for May 16, where the prosecutor’s speech.
Some psychologists on TV channels said that his “apology” was not sincere.
The justice reporter of state broadcaster ERT said that everybody in court had the feeling that he was talking of the crime as if it was committed by somebody else.
Fact is that for 37 days, Babis Anagnostopoulos was going around with the burglary claim on his lips, until forensic evidence proved that there was not any. Police arrested him and he confessed the crime.
He has been charged with two felonies – murder of his wife and killing of the dog- as well as two misdemeanor offenses – false testimony to police, staging a burglary scene.
Fact is also that he was obsessed in having Caroline under full control and that she wanted to leave him and take the child with her.
sources: cnngreece, newsit, thestival, TV channels
Out of all the femicide cases we have been reading about, this is the worse because it was so calculated. In many of the other cases, the men either turn themselves in or commit suicide. This bastard tried to get away with it, and from the looks of things, he is STILL trying to get away with it—as much as he can. Personally, I think he has psychopathic tendencies, a manipulator who entertains delusions.