Caroline's acquaintance with Babis Anagnostopoulos, her horrific murder, but also the growing up of little Lydia was mentioned in an exclusive interview given to the Daily Mail by her father.
The 20-year-old's father gave an exclusive interview to the Daily Mail about the murder of Caroline's daughter by her husband Babi Anagnostopoulos in Glyka Nera, but also about the upbringing of little Lydia.
Everyday life with little Lydia
David Crouch said his granddaughter is the one who keeps him and his wife, Susan, awake so that they do not sink into despair after the murder of their beloved daughter.
"The consolation that Lydia's presence at home offers us is a mitigating factor in this whole tragic case. But I'm not young and we are all mortal. I have a deep concern that I may not be able to care for Lydia in those years when she needs the most support. My only goal now is to give the best life to my wonderful daughter's child ".
Mr Krauts also said he and his wife were managing their grief differently.
"For Susan, the thought of killing Caroline is very painful. Unlike me, she seems to have closed her mind to everything and is now fully focused on raising Lydia. He does not read the media or listen to the news. "He has ruled them all out," he said characteristically.
At the same time, he referred to the parents of Babis Anagnostopoulos. Although he knows that they are innocent, even though he and Caroline's mother ask for Lydia's exclusive care, she knows that the little one "needs all the love she can get".
"We have a good relationship with Babi's parents, especially with his mother. He calls almost every day and asks about Lydia and, of course, she is quite free to visit her whenever she chooses. However, they know her on the island and everyone's feelings are still intense and mixed. "She is not to blame, but she seems to be carrying her son's sins," she said.
When they learned that Caroline had been murdered
David Crouch recalled the black morning in May when they were informed that their daughter had been murdered by robbers inside her house.
"We had just finished our breakfast when they started knocking on the front door of the house. Many of our Greek friends had come and were very sad. At first it was difficult to understand what they were telling us, but eventually we understood. It was as if an icy hand had reached my chest and snatched my heart. I have been almost paralyzed ever since. Susan immediately arranged to go to Athens and I stayed here with her brother. I still remember a huge man sitting across from me, tears running down his face and saying "Bastards, bastards". "At the time, we thought Caroline had been murdered by robbers," Krauts said.
"I do not want to guess what his motive was, this must be determined by the police. I just want justice for my beautiful daughter who was killed in a cowardly act. Babis knew he could not face her. She was young, strong and had kickboxing knowledge, so she decided to remove the memory card from the internal CCTV system and drown it in her sleep. "I imagine he will have many moments to explain how he killed her to the other murderers with whom he is being held in Korydallos prison, which is rumored to be one of the worst prisons in Europe."
The happy and active Caroline
Speaking of Caroline, her father describes how lively and active she has been since childhood.
"He learned to swim at the age of three in the Aegean and qualified as a diver. He ran like the wind, took part in 10 km road races and overcame most of the boys. She was fearless, bold, unstoppable. She knew Greek, French and her mother tongue fluently. "He also spoke perfect English," he said.
David Crouch says that as Caroline grew older, her talents flourished. As he mentioned, he was involved in theater, learned kayaking and participated in dance performances.
Remembering her birth, she said: "Although I was 58 years old when she was born, I never felt that age. "I always felt like I was in my 40s."
The acquaintance with Babis Anagnostopoulos
Caroline's father also referred to his daughter's relationship with the 32-year-old woman killer, but also to his acquaintance with her parents.
He himself stated: “She spent most of her time reading about the Panhellenic Games. "It was a surprise when he said he wanted to go on holiday to Portugal."
The two were married in a small ceremony, without their parents, and when Caroline returned married, her father met him for the first time.
"I was quite impressed, as was Susan: she seemed calm, shy and confident. Characteristics commonly found in Greek men. And even though he was 13 years older than Caroline, their difference did not seem special ".
After the wedding, Susan visited them at their home in Glyka Nera, Athens, as she says, and they seemed to have settled down. Then, when Lydia was born in June 2020, Babis and Caroline returned to her paternal home to see their grandchildren.
It is noted that Caroline's parents had stated that her killer asked them to cover all the funeral expenses.
As David Krauts recalls: "Babis did not accompany Caroline's body back to Alonissos for the funeral. Instead, a fellow pilot brought him to the island. Rarely have I seen such a sad person as he was that day. He was standing in the church holding Lydia, it was an image of misery. Despite my pain, I felt sympathy for him. When I spoke to him later, I felt that for him it was a great tragedy from which he could never recover. What a good actor he turned out to be ".
"The next time I saw him, we were at the memorial. He gave me a huge photo of Caroline from their wedding in Portugal. He knew it was my favorite photo. "He was still very upset, tears were running down his face when he was talking about Caroline", he said about the day that the police took him from Alonissos to Athens.
"When we left the church, two strangers were waiting. Susan burst into tears and Babis hugged her to comfort her. Then one of the strangers came out in front and hit Babi on the shoulder, he was a policeman. I believe that at that moment Babis realized that the game is over ".
"I had stated that I would break his head and take the consequences, if I knew then that he was the murderer of my daughter. I still feel the same. "Sometimes you understand those who take the law into their own hands," Krauts added.
The house and the contract
Mr Krauts spoke of his and his wife's legal action to recover the 60.000 euros they had given Caroline for the plot they would buy with Babis.
In December 2020, Caroline asked her parents for help because she and the 32-year-old pilot wanted to buy land to build a house.
"Susan sold some land she inherited from her parents in the Philippines and I paid off some of my investments. "At the end of January, each of us transferred 30.000 euros to Caroline's bank account in Athens," he said.
"The plot was bought and to our great surprise after Caroline's death, we found out that the land had been registered only in the name of Babi. At the moment, we are taking legal action to register this land in the name of Lydia ", he added.
Finally, Caroline's father referred to the future, saying:
"Both Susan and I will spend the rest of our lives ensuring that justice is done and that little Lydia will have all the benefits we can offer her and that her mother's memories will live on forever."