British woman, 20, strangled to death in front of her 11-month-old daughter in Greece
British woman, 20, is tortured and murdered in front of her 11-month-old daughter after burglars tie up her husband at their home in Greece
- Burglars broke into family home in suburb of Athens early Tuesday morning
- They killed the family dog, tied up woman’s 33-year-old husband, then went to attic where 20-year-old was sleeping alongside her daughter, 11 months
- Men tortured her to reveal location of valuables then strangled her, police say
- Husband eventually untied himself, found his wife’s body and called police
A British woman has been murdered in front of her 11-month-old daughter after thieves broke into the home she shared with her husband in Greece.
The 20-year-old, who lived in the Glyka Nera suburb of Athens, was first tortured and then strangled to death in the raid which began around 5am Tuesday, police said.
Thieves first tied up the woman’s 33-year-old husband – a pilot – then went to another room where she was sleeping next to her daughter, tied her up, then killed her.
The burglars took jewellery worth £21,500 and cash worth £13,000 before fleeing, officers added.
A 20-year-old British woman has been strangled to death in front of her 11-month-old daughter during a horrifying home invasion near Athens (street pictured)
In total, four men were involved in the raid – three of whom broke into the house and one of whom stood guard, police sources told Greek news site Proto Thema.
The gang first strangled the family dog, likely to stop it raising the alarm, hanged its body from a fence post and then broke a ground floor window to get into the house.
Once in, they made their way to a bedroom where the husband was asleep, tied him up, and then went to an attic room.
In there, they found the 20-year-old – who was born in Greece but has a British passport – sleeping alongside the couple’s daughter.
The thieves tied the woman up, and then tortured her to get the location of the family’s money and valuables.
According to the Ta Nea website, the robbers were armed and pointed a gun at the woman’s baby – at which point she began screaming.
The robbers then strangled the woman in order to silence her, the site reports.
Around 6am the husband managed to untie himself and went up to the attic, where he found his wife’s body next to the crying baby.
Police say hooded men broke into the home in the Glyka Nera suburb while one stood guard, strangled the family dog, tied up the husband, then tortured and strangled his wife
He called police, who rushed to the scene. The man and his daughter were taken to hospital, while officers began examining the house for evidence.
When questioned, the man told officers that three hooded men had broken in to the house, threatened him in broken Greek, attacked his wife and then left.
Police say it appears the robbers were experienced, and likely surveilled the couple for some time before the raid.
Investigators are now reviewing local CCTV cameras to see how the burglars got away and whether they were in the area before the raid.
They are also interviewing the couple’s neighbours and friends to see if anyone gave away information about the pair keeping large amounts of cash in the house.
More to follow…
