Greek police investigating the death of British charity worker Elisabeth-Jane Ross, whose body was found in a suitcase in Athens, say 'nothing can be ruled out' as they probe a possible motive.
Suspect charged with murder
Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, a migrant who trained at the same gym as Ross, has been charged with her murder, robbery and illegal possession of a weapon. Ross, 38, disappeared from her Athens flat on July 15. Three days later, a homeless man found her body in a black suitcase inside an abandoned building in the Kypseli district, opposite the Panellinios Boxing Club.
Investigators now suspect there was a confrontation at her flat on the night she vanished. Ahmadzai's wife Alaina told police she woke in the early hours of July 15 to find her husband missing. Using a location-tracking app, she saw he was at Elisabeth's apartment. The flat had been provided by the refugee charity where both women volunteered, and Ahmadzai had a key.
Possible rejected advance
George Kalliakmanis, former police officer and head of the Athens police union, said: "He went to the flat where she was staying for a reason and it's not thought that reason is because he wanted to commit robbery and steal her cards. What was it? Nothing can be ruled out. Did she reject him? Nothing can be ruled out."
A source close to the inquiry added that while Ahmadzai has not confessed to the killing, "it can't be excluded that he had feelings for Ross who rejected him." The same source noted Elisabeth was deeply religious and friends with Ahmadzai's wife: "We don't think she would have gone there. Was that the source of a row that took place in the flat on the night of the 15th?"
Evidence and testimony
Ahmadzai has admitted dumping the body and taking Elisabeth's bank cards, but claims she was already dead when he arrived. CCTV captured a man matching his description wheeling a suitcase through Athens streets on July 16. He had earlier posted an Instagram selfie wearing the same shorts visible in the footage.
His wife grew suspicious after he gave her €2,550 and a new iPhone, gifts she feared were bought with the stolen cards. Greek police told The Times that her testimony, combined with the CCTV, was crucial: "Without her and CCTV evidence, we would not have been able to find this man."
Victim's legacy
Elisabeth, known as Lisa to friends, had travelled to Greece to help refugees. Pastors at her Scottish church described her "unstoppable passion to help those who were less fortunate" and her determination "not to leave this world the same way she found it."
Ahmadzai fled Afghanistan in 2016, travelling through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey before settling in Greece. He met American Alaina Hall while working as a translator at a migrant camp, converted to Christianity, and married her in 2023. Her parents had opposed the match; her aunt told the Daily Mail that the family "never wanted them to get married."
Police continue to examine whether a rejected advance escalated into the fatal fight that left a British aid worker packed into a suitcase and abandoned across the city.
