Greece - Caroline Crouch, 20, Murdered, Athens, May 11, 2021

[elliefant]

Perhaps there is CCTV of the intruders or some evidence independent of the husband's testimony?.

RSBM

I hope so. Most of all I do hope they weren’t expected.

Horrific. Poor Caroline, and the poor dog.

 

[Satchie]

There is the 'In Cold Blood' scenario, where the robbers had been informed there was a lot more money in the home than what they found. Attacking the wife could have been a way to try to force the husband to reveal where extra cash was (and they might have just gone crazy aggressive, as in many home invasions).

But I agree: why, after she was killed, didn't they start torturing him...

 

[dormouse]

She was approximately 16 when they got together, and he was nearly 30? Creepy as hell.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more to this story.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Hmmm...

 

[Wowno17]

I don't understand how they supposedly tortured her for an hour to get any valuables. Besides the husband giving them the info and being forthcoming apparently she wasn't?

This is very cruel to say and I don't like to write it, but surely if you had a mother there with her baby, much easier to threaten harm to the baby to get information from the mum than torturing her for an hour?

Very strange one this.

MOO

 

[musicaljoke]

Such an odd and sad occurrence.

There was quite a bit of cash in that home, was there not? Is it common for people to keep that much cash around?

My mind is wondering about the source of the money, and if it could be related to the murder. But, we don't have any of those details yet.

 

[Cryptic]

There is the 'In Cold Blood' scenario, where the robbers had been informed there was a lot more money in the home than what they found.

I am thinking more of a Fatal Vision scenario where a family is said to have been brutally murdered by Manson Family type hippies (the common boogeyman to US conservatives in the 1970s), yet the husband escapes with very superficial wounds- then quickly moves on to a new life. The story then starts to unravel.

The claim in eerily similar: Spouse is horribly murdered, yet husband escapes with minor injuries (if that). The assailants are suggested to be foreigners (spoke in broken Greek). Greece has been hit by an economic crisis and an endless influx of migrants. Like Hippies in the USA 1970s, murderously inclined migrants could be the boogeymen of Greece in 2021.

 

[Cryptic]

There was quite a bit of cash in that home, was there not? Is it common for people to keep that much cash around?

Good point. The husband's stated profession is Instructor Helicopter pilot (civilian or military?).

In either case, his profession is not say, owner of a large, successful night club, a chain or pawn shops or other business where it would be reasonable for an owner to have large amounts of cash from sales or proceeds on hand.

Did the 15,000 Euros in cash even exist? As other posters have mentioned, some things just dont seem right.....

 

[Gibbo214]

Such an odd and sad occurrence.

There was quite a bit of cash in that home, was there not? Is it common for people to keep that much cash around?

My mind is wondering about the source of the money, and if it could be related to the murder. But, we don't have any of those details yet.

It was not that long ago that the GFC led to banks not allowing customers to withdraw money because of panic. Maybe there is some distrust of banks in Greece.

 

[dotr]

It was not that long ago that the GFC led to banks not allowing customers to withdraw money because of panic. Maybe there is some distrust of banks in Greece.

True, also..
https://7news.com.au/news/world/you...in-front-of-her-baby-in-athens-home-c-2818636
''The father claims the young family had cash at the property for renovation works.''

 

[Gibbo214]

True, also..
https://7news.com.au/news/world/you...in-front-of-her-baby-in-athens-home-c-2818636
''The father claims the young family had cash at the property for renovation works.''

And that is a thing too. Lots of workers will only work for cash. It is well known that some of Greece's financial collapse came because of not enough people paying taxes.

 

[Honey_West]

True, also..
https://7news.com.au/news/world/you...in-front-of-her-baby-in-athens-home-c-2818636
''The father claims the young family had cash at the property for renovation works.''

I wonder if one of the renovation contractors/workers knew of the cash? And if so, how?

 

[Polly Graf]

Hi everyone

It’s the first I’ve heard of this case but it sounds more like someone sending a message than a burglary to me!?
A helicopter pilot could come in useful to all sorts of criminals and Greece has many islands to fly to!

Also immediately made me think of Jennifer Pan though

 

[dotr]

Mother Tortured, Brutally Murdered Next To Baby By Burglars That Tied Her Husband, Hanged Their Dog
''Traces of fingerprints were recovered by the police from a small window on the ground floor where the thieves broke in. Genetic material samples and security camera footage from the premises have also been collected by law enforcement.

It is believed that the thieves observed the family’s go-abouts for days and documented details of their lives to devise their horrendous heist.

The 20-year-old Crouch was a martial arts expert which may have led the thieves to tie her down so she could not fight back. Authorities confirm the victim was strangled to death with her hands tied behind her back.''

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

If these thieves were clever enough to spend days studying the family's movements, why were they not clever enough to pull this off w/o killing anyone?

 

[HollyHunter9]

What a brutal, horrific crime. But it seems like overkill for a burglary. Usually the man in these situations would be seen as more of a threat to them (physically men are bigger, stronger than women) but it seems to me the wife was specifically targeted. Why kill her and the poor dog and leave the husband as a witness? I've not fully caught up on the media reports yet but did they manage to get the money/valuables they 'wanted'? It says tortured for an hour, in front of her baby. I cannot see any mother putting themselves and their baby through that for the sake of some money....something just doesn't add up about all this. ALL MOO on what I've read so far.

 

[Lod76]

Just waking up to this shocking news. The level of violence here seems completely unnecessary, if she was shot in the middle of a robbery that would be one thing but strangulation? That must be almost unheard of. I am not aware that robberies like this are common in Greece or anywhere else for that matter. I think police need to first establish what made these people targets and if there is nothing in their background that stands out, like a link to organised crime or something then you really have to look at the relationship and how the husband seems relatively unscathed despite the horrors inflicted on his wife and the dog.

 

[PhoebeTries]

I know things don't always add up, and I should keep an open mind, but this sounds so wrong to me.

1. She was asleep in another room than the master br
2. He gave up the location of the money "immediately" however his wife was tortured for an hour. Did he sleep through that? Did they not come to him for info until after an hour? Did they continue torturing her after they had the money?
3. I don't think I ever heard of a case where the wife was killed in a home invasion but the husband left relatively unscathed
4. Perps spoke "broken Greek" plays into xenophobia. Greece is being flooded with refugees and immigrants which brings a lot of problems but also leaves fertile ground for racist/extreme right parties

I won't be surprised if this turns out to be an escalated paid hit on the wife.
MOO

 

[gregjrichards]

Husband of British woman murdered in Greek burglary says he 'begged the thieves not to harm us' and 'to stop the torture' as they put a GUN to his baby daughter's temple before killing his wife

Greece burglary murder: Husband 'begged' thieves not to hurt his family | Daily Mail Online

This article gives Caroline’s husband’s account of what happened. This terrible tragedy is a horrifying and extremely distressing crime. I am so sorry that Caroline was murdered and I cannot imagine how terrified she must have been. I’m glad her little girl survived and that she still has her Father. It is horrific Caroline was murdered and was in the same room as her daughter. It is despicable that they also murdered the family’s dog. I really hope they find these monsters because they are clearly extremely dangerous individuals who are capable of anything and they need to be found and incarcerated ASAP.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I thought he was in a different room to his wife and baby. How could he have seen the gun to the babys head ?

Husband of British woman murdered in Greek burglary says he 'begged the thieves not to harm us' and 'to stop the torture' as they put a GUN to his baby daughter's temple before killing his wife