Residents of the Athens neighbourhood where the body of a Scottish woman was found stuffed inside a suitcase have described the “devastating” impact on their community. The body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, was discovered by a homeless man inside a derelict building in Kypseli on July 18.
Court Appearance
Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, appeared in court in the Greek capital on Wednesday on suspicion of killing the aid worker, along with weapons offences and robbery charges. Following his arrest last week, Greek police released CCTV footage allegedly showing Ahmadzai wheeling a large suitcase and carrying a bag along Aiginis Street, where he is reported to have lived with his wife and young child. The figure in the clip is walking towards the abandoned building at 7 Evelpodin Street, where the body was found days later.
Community Shock
Khalil Jebali, 29, who has lived on Aiginis Street for four years after moving from Tunisia, told the Press Association: “It was pretty devastating when the crime took place and we heard that they found a dead body there, because I play tennis right across from where they found the body.” He added: “I was extremely devastated for the death of the woman, and every time I hear about these tragic events all I think of is the fear that that person was feeling when it took place. They’re dead. They’re not going to come back. But the fear is the worst part of someone being murdered.”
Mr Jebali, who works in a restaurant and a call centre, said many in the community feared the culprit would strike again. “Many people were very scared when the crime happened and the criminal was not apprehended yet,” he said. “My female friends at work were kind of scared to come to downtown, they’re like, ‘we don’t know where (the killer) lives’.”
Neighbourhood of Immigrants
He described Kypseli as a “neighbourhood of immigrants” and said many worried about an anti-immigration backlash after it emerged the suspect had come to Greece as an Afghan refugee. “It’s actually a very calm neighbourhood,” he explained. “I lived here at first mainly because it was a neighbourhood of immigrants. It has a lot of nationalities mixed, like we’re Albanians, North Africans, Sub-Saharan Africans, Asians from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and everything. Life is pretty peaceful. This type of crime is extremely rare because in Kypseli, maybe the biggest crime that you might hear or see is drug dealing, which exists on any street on the planet.”
Alex, 30, who works close to where the body was found, said it had been “disturbing” for the community. “We were all shocked because we know the place, we are really close to it, I work in the area,” he said. “I’ve actually been inside the area (where the body was found). It’s shocking because you don’t know who you’re talking to. Everyone can be anything, really. And now, a murderer just coming by. It’s scary.”
