Young British woman strangled to death in front of child during Athens burglary

A young British mother has been strangled to death next to her baby during a burglary in Greece.

A Greek minister described the killing of the woman as “barbarity” that “rarely” occurs in the country.

Police said three thieves strangled the 20-year-old mother – who has a British passport – in front of her 11-month-old baby after breaking into her home in the suburbs of Athens and making off with cash and jewelry.

They said her husband, who is believed to be a civil aviation pilot, had been bound and gagged. He managed to call police after loosening his bonds.

While the woman has not been formally identified by Greek authorities, she has been named in media reports as Caroline Crouch.

Police said the victim was a British national who was married to a Greek man.

According to local media, the husband told journalists: “They will be caught. The police know how to do their job.”

“We begged them not to hurt us,” he said, Greek newspaper Protothema reported. “What I, my family and my wife’s family went through, let no one go through it again.”

Her husband told police the thieves pointed a gun to their baby’s head during burglary, according to local media.

He said he was tied to the floor and his wife was tied to the bed, and both pleaded not to be hurt, newspaper Dawn reported.

The husband told police he told thieves where money was hidden, according to the newspaper.

The thieves killed the family’s dog and left it hanging on the fence of the house in the suburb of Glyka Nera, police said.

The baby was not harmed.

The Greek minister responsible for public order, Michalis Chrisochoidis, said the killing of the young mother was “particularly heinous”.

“One rarely encounters such barbarity in Greece, in Greek society, even among criminals,” he said.

Two teams of detectives had been set up to handle the investigation, the minister added.

Authorities have offered a €300,000 (£260,000) cash reward for information that leads to arrests.

The intruders are believed to have broken into the property in the early hours while the couple were sleeping, according to Greek media.

Additional reporting by agencies