Mom Tortured, Strangled To Death In Front Of Baby During Home Invasion

A 20-year-old mother has been tortured and strangled to death in front of her 11-month-old daughter by three armed men during a home invasion. The robbers have also tied up her husband and hanged their family dog before fleeing with valuables.

The shocking incident happened in Greece Tuesday evening, reported LBC. The victim was identified as Caroline Crouch, a U.K. national.

Police said three had broken in through a small window on the ground floor of the house in the affluent Glyka Nera suburb of Athens, while another had stood guard outside.

They tied up the woman's husband, Babis Anagnostopoulos, a 32-year-old helicopter pilot, before moving to the room where Crouch was sleeping next to her daughter.

"They were wearing hoods. I do not know how many people there were, I was tied up. There were at least three," Proto Thema quoted Anagnostopoulos as saying.

The armed men tied up Crouch and started torturing her, even threatening her to shoot the baby if she did not reveal where the valuables were. The men reportedly knew that Crouch was a kick-boxer, hence they tied her up. They also muzzled her mouth.

"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 as per 7 News.

Before escaping with cash and jewelry worth around $18,250, the robbers reportedly killed the family dog by hanging him on the railings of the two-story house.

It is believed that the gang knew about the money hidden in the safe. They watched the family for days, recording their details, before finally deciding to break in.

Theodoros Chronopoulos, a spokesman for Greek police, said the attack was "a heinous crime, committed with extreme ferocity." "Such barbarism is rare for Greece," he added.

"The woman appears to have been strangled by the robbers in their bid to locate jewelry and cash the couple may have had in their home. We are waiting for the coroner's report to establish if there was any other type of assault," a senior police officer told The Times.

The officers are interviewing locals to track down the group. Meanwhile, Anagnostopoulos and the baby have been taken to the hospital.

Crouch, who was born in Greece, had a British father and a Filipino mother.