COPS allegedly refused to transport Caroline Crouch’s pilot husband by police chopper, in case he tried to crash it in a suicide bid.
One police officer told the Sun Online that while the logistics of the operation could not be divulged, investigators realised they were dealing with a “dangerous man”.
"It was planned down to the last detail," they said.
"We weren't going to take any risks. Our relationship had been built on trust and we knew at that point that this individual was a dangerous man. He was capable of anything."
Caroline Crouch, 20, was smothered to death by husband Charalambos “Babis” Anagnostopoulos as their one-year-old daughter Lydia lay nearby, before he staged an elaborate fake robbery scene at her home in Greece.
A police spokesman said Babis was discovered handcuffed to the floor near Caroline’s body and had duct tape over his eyes and mouth when they entered the scene.
But the 33-year-old later confessed to strangling his wife last month and he has since apologised for his crime – admitting he "lost his temper."
The copper’s comments to the Sun backed up remarks made to Protothema by Captain Dimitiris Anthimos – who typically works at the Natural Boutique Hotel on Skopelos.
Anthimos told the news outlets of how he got the highly unusual request to transport an unknown VIP from Alonissos to Skiathos, from where the pilot was flown in cuffs to police HQ in Athens.
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, where you call 999 and press ‘55’ if you can’t safely speak.
- Always keep some money or a bank card on you, including change in case you need a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to move towards an exit if you are inside the house and get your phone in case you need to call for help.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other potential weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available every day from 10am-6pm or email [email protected]
SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Police asked him to get to the port of Votsi in Alonissos, to pick up a VIP and transport him to Skiathos, to the main offloading commercial port on the island.
He claimed the man’s identity was never revealed.
Neither Anthimos nor any of his crew had any idea what was at stake, or that the job was part of a stealth police operation.
The sea captain and his crew only realised it was Babis Anagnostopoulos when they saw two beefy bodyguards walking him briskly to the boat.
The UK-trained pilot was reportedly not transported to Athens by chopper – as had been previously reported – but instead by boat, then by a special transport plane.
This was due to fears that he might bring the helicopter down, fearing police were finally onto him and his time was up.
"I have never seen a better actor," Anthimos said.
“He was smiling as if he was going on a cruise.”
He proceeded to point out the speedboat's red-covered seat where the self-confessed killer sat, squeezed between the two body guards for the duration of the trip.
"I can't take it in that this man had killed his wife and only minutes before had been at her memorial,” the captain said.
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