Detectives probing if robbers who killed British mother in Greece believed €100,000 was in the home

The heartbroken mother of a British woman murdered in Greece today told of her anguish, saying, ‘there are no words that can express my pain’.

Caroline Crouch, 20, was strangled by masked raiders feared to be members of a violent gang, who held a gun to her 11-month-old daughter’s head. 

Her mother Susan Dela Guesta told MailOnline how she cannot come to terms with Caroline’s brutal killing.

Speaking to MailOnline from her home on the Greek island of Alonissos where they buried her on Friday, she said: ‘So many people have spoken about Caroline and what a lovely person she was. But for me her death is too raw for me speak about her. I am sorry. I am not in a good place.’ 

She spoke as police in Greece confirmed samples taken from Caroline’s fingernails – which show that the martial arts expert fought for her life – are now being examined by investigators.  

Detectives are also investigating whether the robbers believed she had 100,000 Euros (£86,000) hidden at the house because she and husband Charalambos Anagnostopolous were about to buy some land.

Caroline’s widower – known as Babis – has given police a detailed account of the terrifying burglary in which he told them how the robbers surprised him as he lay sleeping next to wife Caroline.

The helicopter pilot described how he immediately directed the criminals to a 10,000 Euros (£8,630) stash of money when the they threatened to kill his baby daughter Lydia.

But it is thought that the robbers believed the father was hiding a larger sum of money intended to pay for a plot of land nearby where the young couple planned to build a home.

According to Greece’s Protothema news website, the 33-year-old, who is known as Babis, told police: ‘The robber shouted at me “where is the money”. I immediately told him “I will tell you, please do not hurt us.”

‘I explained that in the basement among my daughter’s toys there was a monopoly set that contained almost 10,000 Euros.

‘Two members of the gang tied me up with string. They bound my wrists and feet and pulled me into a foetal position. 

‘They wrapped insulating tape around my neck very tightly. And around my mouth, leaving my nose exposed. They also covered my eyes. But there was a small crack through which I could see.

‘I could hear them shouting and threatening Caroline, saying; “We will kill your child if you do not tell us where the money is.” I could not see what was happening because I was facing the other way.’

Babis told how he fell unconscious for up 30 minutes because the tape around his neck was so tight.

However through the hole in his blind-fold he managed to identify the robbers as two six-foot-tall slim, athletic men, and a short, fat man, who appeared be the leader.

The taller men wore black hoods. One carried a silver-coloured revolver, the other a black pistol. The third man wore a balaclava and was unarmed.

The third man, the leader, shouted; ‘where is the money’, Babis told police. The criminal gang spent an hour searching for more cash, as they believed Babis and wife Caroline were holding out on them.

The couple were planning to build their dream home on a plot of land in Drafi, a picturesque suburb of Athens, some 20 minutes away. Caroline also wanted to create a cat sanctuary there.

Detectives are investigating whether the criminals found out that Babis had withdrawn 100,000 Euros (£86,000) from the bank to make this purchase and believed the money was in the house.

But the gang did not know that the sale had gone ahead and the money had already changed hands before the break-in. 

Investigators believe this theory is consistent with the robbers’ continued demands for money even after Babis had directed them to his 10,000 Euros (£8,630) stash.

Detectives investigating the murder on Sunday confirmed they have arrested an unnamed Georgian man on the Bulgarian border.  

He was arrested in Evros, in the far north-east of Greece, which is the main route into Bulgaria, local newspaper Vima reported.

The suspect, who was travelling by car, was held following a routine police stop to cross check his identification when they discovered he was travelling on a fake passport.  

A police source said DNA analysis suggested he was one of five people who tied up an old couple and their cleaning lady in a burglary in Pikermi on March 7.

The home is just 20 minutes drive from the Glyka Nera neighbourhood where Caroline was murdered. 

It was also revealed that Babis has helped police to identify two of the weapons carried by the raiders.

He said the burglars were armed with a silver Colt and a black pistol.

Police said the weapons were unusual to find in Greece and believe tracing them could prove vital in identifying Caroline’s killers.

A £250,000 reward for information has been offered, and investigators are thought to be working on the theory that the gang was well organised, likely surveilled the couple before the raid, and somehow knew they were keeping a large amount of cash at home.  

Caroline was laid to rest yesterday on the island of Alonnisos, where she spent most of her childhood.