Life in prison for the murder of Caroline Crouch plus 10 years for the murder of the family dog - pilot Babis Anagnostopoulos was sentenced on Monday by the Athens Criminal Court.
In addition, the 34-year-old defendant received a fine of 21,000 euros – 20,000 euros for killing an animal and 1,000 euros for giving false evidence to the police.
For misdemeanors, he was sentenced to one year in prison for “false testimony” to the police, and three years’ probation and a €3,500 fine for “falsely reporting to the authorities”. The amount of the life sentence and the fines amounted to 11.5 and 21,000 euros.
Earlier Monday, a mixed jury in Athens unanimously found helicopter pilot Babis Anagnostopoulos “guilty” of killing his young wife, British-born Caroline Crouch. The murder was committed “in cold blood” and on intent, such is the verdict of the court.
The judges and jury unanimously found the defendant “guilty” of one more serious criminal offense, namely the murder of a domestic dog, and two misdemeanors.
The jury also unanimously refused to recognize any attempts by the defendant to seek extenuating circumstances such as “a crime committed in the heat of passion” or his previous “lawful life” and “good behavior” while in custody pending trial.
The jury found the defendant also guilty of misdemeanors of “false testimony” to the police and “false denunciation” that Caroline was killed in a burglary.
Earlier Monday, a prosecutor recommended a life sentence for Anagnostopoulos, who strangled his 20-year-old wife Caroline and killed the family dog on May 11, 2021. He confessed to the murder 40 days later, when police analyzed the forensic evidence and found that there had been no burglary. He was arrested and confessed to the murder a few hours later.
PS Welcome to the new reality. 10 years in prison and a fine of 20,000 euros for killing an animal, this is a record term and a very significant punishment for Greece. In fact, the court and jury valued human life as less important than the life of a petsince for similar murders of a person, criminals often received noticeably shorter sentences, moreover, without fines.
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