Migrant suspected of murdering woman found in suitcase attends court | World | News
A man accused of killing a Scottish woman and disposing of her body in a suitcase has appeared in a court in Athens. The 26-year-old is accused of killing Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, who was discovered by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of the Greek capital on July 18. The man arrived at court for a hearing on Wednesday morning in an unmarked grey Hyundai i30 car, alongside a number of police officers.
He left in the same car about an hour later. It is understood he was assigned a court-appointed lawyer during the hearing, which took place in private. He is expected to appear again for a further hearing on Thursday. The court is located on the city’s Evelpidon Street, just a few minutes’ walk from where the charity worker’s body was found.
The suspect is widely reported to be Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, an Afghan boxer who left his home country after being orphaned as a teenager. The authorities have not publicly confirmed his identity. He was was initially detained on illegal weapons possession charges, and is facing a murder charge as well as allegations that he stole more than 10,000 euro from the victim’s bank accounts using her bank cards, police said.
Greek officials said he admitted moving the body, but denied the murder allegations.
Police said the suspect was detained for questioning after investigators reviewed surveillance camera footage recorded near the abandoned building.
After allegedly murdering Ms Ross, Ahmadzai is accused of sending a series of messages from her phone to her friends and family before switching off the device.
He is then said to have bought another phone and texted her friends in Athens, including his wife, impersonating an unnamed jihadist saying he had killed the Scot because of her religion, Greek newspapers Proto Thema and Ta Nea reported.
The newspapers reported that his wife, a US citizen named Alaina Hall, told the police that she suspected her husband’s involvement in the murder when she woke up to find he was not in their apartment and tracked his phone to where Ms Ross was staying.
Ms Ross is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found, during a heatwave in which temperatures reached 36C.
The Hellenic Police, Greece’s national force, were able to identify her using fingerprints.
Ms Ross, who is understood to be from Edinburgh, entered Greece on June 26 and was initially staying with friends in Piraeus, a port area of Athens.
She is then said to have gone to meet American friends in another part of the Greek capital, but it is unclear if this ever happened.
Authorities are awaiting the results of tissue analysis to determine whether she died from suffocation, as suggested by a preliminary assessment by the medical examiner.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said earlier: “Our thoughts are with Elisabeth’s family during this difficult time.
“We are providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson previously said: “We are aware of the death of a Scottish woman in Athens and are liaising with authorities in Greece.
“Officers are providing support to her family in Scotland.”
