Mother Tortured, Brutally Murdered Next To Baby By Burglars That Tied Her Husband, Hanged Their Dog

A British mother was brutally murdered in front of her 11-month-old daughter in Greece, after thieves tied up her husband and hanged their family dog during a home invasion, police reported on Tuesday.

According to the New York Post, Caroline Crouch, 20, was tortured and strangled to death around 5 a.m. May 11, after three unidentified men broke into their house in the Athens neighborhood of Glyka Nera.

The victim's husband Babis Anagnostopoulos, a 32-year-old helicopter pilot, said at least three men wearing hoods forcibly entered their home and mobbed him before tying him to a chair in their living room, Proto Thema reported.

The family's dog was reportedly also killed as the burglars strangled and hanged the pet by its neck on the railings of the couple's two-story house.

As the perpetrators headed upstairs to look for valuables, the assailants found Crouch hiding in the attic with her newborn. The suspects proceeded to threaten and torture the victim to get her to reveal where the family hid their cash and jewelry.

At one point the burglars allegedly tried to coax Crouch into talking by pointing a gun at the baby's head. From downstairs Anagnostopoulos heard one of the killers shout “Tell us where the money is, [or] we will kill the baby,” the police report revealed.

By the time her husband managed to untie himself and alert authorities, Crouch was found badly beaten and strangled beside her wailing newborn daughter. The suspects had already fled the scene with money and valuables in tow.

“When I managed to break free, I rushed upstairs to the attic to find my wife on the floor facing down, and the baby next to her wailing,” Anagnostopoulos told the police in his testimony.

Police told the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency that the crooks managed to steal around $18,250 (15,000 euros) in cash and around $21,855 (25,000 euros) worth of jewelry, Local news site Ta Nea reported.

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.

A preliminary investigation on the brutal murder and robbery case is being performed by the Homicide Department of the Attica Security Directorate.