Caroline Crouch: Greek pilot charged with murdering British wife says his life is ‘ruined’
Babis Anagnostopoulos reportedly tells judge he ‘wishes he could go back in time’
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Your support makes all the difference.A Greek helicopter pilot charged with murdering his British wife has reportedly told a judge his life has been "ruined".
Babis Anagnostopoulos, 33, appeared at the prosecutor’s office in Athens yesterday wearing a bullet proof vest and under police guard.
He is accused of killing wife Caroline Crouch, 20, who died of suffocation on 11 May at the couple’s home on the outskirts of the Greek capital
"I really regret this act, I ruined my life and my family,” he is said to have told the judge, according to media reports. "I wish I could go back in time, but unfortunately I cannot."
Domestic violence groups protested outside the building as Anagnostopoulos gave five hours of testimony before being led to prison.
The 33-year-old had been arrested last Thursday and was charged the following day.
For more than a month he had claimed Ms Crouch died during a brutal home robbery at the couple’s home.
Anagnostopoulos said armed robbers broke into their home at night, tying up and gagging him and his wife in their bedroom while their nearly one-year-old daughter slept.
He had claimed that “Albanian and Georgian” men stole cash before escaping.
Authorities said the family dog was found choked to death with its own leash.
The couple had a one-year-old daughter who unharmed during the incident.
The account shocked the nation and prompted authorities to announce a €300,000 (£216,000) reward for information about the crime.
Initially, there was an outpouring of sympathy for the pilot but that has now turned to anger.
One of the pilot’s own lawyers told Greek media on Tuesday that he was quitting the case for “personal reasons”.
The investigation took a dramatic turn last week after officers said analysis of data from a smartwatch worn by Ms Crouch helped revealed inconsistencies in the pilot’s account of events.
He was detained by police just after attending a memorial in honour of his dead wife and officers announced he had confessed to the crime hours later.
Ms Crouch, a statistics student at the University of Piraeus, moved to the island of Alonissos when she was eight. She met her future husband there and the pair were married in July 2019 in Portugal.