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The parents of Caroline Crouch’s killer husband, who murdered her in front of their infant daughter, have lost their bid to win custody of their grandchild.
Babis Anagnostopoulos, 35, was jailed for life last year for smothering the British mother, 20, in front of the couple’s then nine month old daughter Lydia, in May 2021.
The Greek pilot also killed Caroline’s beloved dog before staging a fake break in at their home in an upmarket Athens suburb.
Nearly two years on, Anagnostopoulos’ parents’ bid for custody of the couple’s daughter, Lydia, has been rejected by an Athens court, the Sun reports.
The little girl’s Greek grandparents will now have just one hour of access to her ‘via Skype or other electronic means’ each week, the court order states.
Babis Anagnostopoulos (right), 34, was jailed for life for suffocating 20-year-old Caroline Crouch (left) to death in front of their daughter (centre) at their home in Athens on May 11 2021
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.’
The ruling ends Anagnostopoulos’ family’s attempts to have Lydia brought back to Greece.
It comes after Anagnostopoulos launched an appeal last month to get his 27-year sentence cut short.
Speaking as his appeal got underway in Athens, Caroline’s father, David, slammed his son-in-law, saying: ‘It is absolutely despicable that my daughter’s killer is trying to get his prison sentence reduced because of his ‘good behaviour.’
‘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 paedophiles.
‘I think it will be a sad day for women when the murderer of a defenceless woman who slept with her child will serve less than his full prison sentence. This man is beyond contempt.’
Anagnostopoulos legal team are arguing that no mitigating circumstances were taken into account at the original trial and that he had only reacted violently because ‘Caroline had pushed Lydia away’ and he was ‘worried’ for their daughter.
Georgia Gobaridou (L) the mother of Babis Anagnostopoulos with Susan Dela Cuesta (fourth from left), the mother of Caroline Crouch at her grave on the island of Alonissos
Caroline’s father, David, slammed his son-in-law said: ‘It is absolutely despicable that my daughter’s killer is trying to get his prison sentence reduced because of his ‘good behaviour’
Anagnostopoulos allegedly transported drugs in his helicopter for a local gang but tried to get out after confessing to Miss Crouch, who threatened to leave him
They also say that he carried on the false pretence of a break in for almost six weeks because he was worried Lydia would be taken away and left without anyone to look after her.
Anagnostopoulos was also given 11 years when he was sentenced last summer for killing the family’s pet dog Roxy.
Caroline’s father previously said that Babis’ mother, Georgia Gobaridou, continues to believe that her son is innocent.
Lydia now lives with Caroline’s sister and mother, Susan, in the Philippines. Susan is picured at her daughter’s grave on the island of Alonissos in Greece
Caroline’s mother Susan Dela Cuesta is said to get ‘comfort’ from seeing her daughter in the eyes of her granddaughter Lydia, according to family lawyer Athanasios Harmanis (right)
He claimed in January that the pilot wrote an explosive confession letter to him admitting to the murder of his British wife to silence her over his drugs racket.
In it, he claims, Anagnostopoulos said he had murdered Caroline as he had confessed to her that he was involved in a drug smuggling operation.
Anagnostopoulos allegedly transported drugs in his helicopter for a local gang but tried to get out after confessing to Caroline, who threatened to leave him.
Greek pilot Babis Anagnostopoulos (pictured centre being escorted by police officers in Athens, May 2022) wrote an explosive confession letter admitting to the murder of his British wife to silence her over his drugs racket, the victim’s father has claimed
The criminals are said to have then told the pilot he would have to silence his wife after he let slip that she knew – so he killed Caroline fearing if he didn’t he too would be killed.
David has admitted that the typed letter was not signed and lawyers for Anagnostopoulos dismissed the claims as ‘fake’ and part of manoeuvres ahead of their client’s appeal of his murder sentence.
Caroline’s father, a retired engineer from Liverpool, said prior to the decision being made on Lydia’s custody: ‘I don’t think it is right that Lydia should grow up with the parents of the man who murdered her mother.’
Anagnostopoulos legal team are arguing that no mitigating circumstances were taken into account at the original trial
Explaining how she is growing up in the Philippines, he said: ‘Oh she is very, very happy there.
‘My stepdaughter has three of her own children and she plays with them continuously.
‘She calls my stepdaughter mummy and her husband daddy and she looks upon the children of my step daughter as brothers and sisters.
‘So it would be ridiculous, in my opinion, to have her stay with the parents of a man that murdered her mother.
‘But Lydia does not yet know what happened to her mother. At the moment she doesn’t think her mother was murdered,’ he said.
When asked what he would tell Lydia about her parents, David said: ‘How will I introduce her to him? ‘That’s your father. He killed your mother by the way and that’s why you don’t see him much. He may look charming but he’s actually a brazen weasel.
”Your mum was a professional kick boxer and he had to wait until she was asleep before attacking her. He is not the kind of man a little girl would be proud to call father.”
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