CCTV footage has emerged showing the moment a man arrested over the death of a Scottish woman allegedly wheels a suitcase containing her remains through the streets of Athens. The chilling video reportedly shows Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, lugging a large black case through the centre of the Greek capital.
Dressed in a black T-shirt and shorts and carrying a blue rucksack, Ahmadzai allegedly dumped the bag in an abandoned building in the Kypseli district before fleeing the scene. The horror clip appears to show his movements on July 16, two days before Elisabeth Jane Ross's body was discovered by a homeless man.
Discovery and Arrest
Elisabeth, also known as Lisa, 38, from Edinburgh, was found dead inside a suitcase by a homeless man in an abandoned building in Kypseli on Saturday, July 18. Ahmadzai has since been arrested and charged in connection with her death.
Local media report that he faces charges of intentional homicide, robbery and weapons offences. He reportedly confessed to transporting Lisa's body in the suitcase to police but denies murder, according to the Guardian.
Confession and Evidence
George Kalliakmanis, the honorary president of the police officers' association in Athens, told the Guardian: “He has admitted to carrying her body in a trolley to the site. Police have CCTV footage of him doing this on the night of 16 July. He has also confessed to withdrawing €10,000 from ATMs using credit cards that belonged to her. But he has denied murder which police do not believe.”
Ahmadzai, a champion boxer from Afghanistan, ran a refugee charity in the Greek capital. He arrived in Lesvos in 2016 as a migrant and later married US-born Alaina Hall in 2023. The couple set up a ministry to help refugees in Athens and are believed to have known Elisabeth through their work, the Daily Mail reports. They had a key to the flat she was staying in, which was owned by their organisation, Love Every Nation Athens.
Investigation Details
Initial medical reports suggest Elisabeth died from asphyxiation, according to The Times. An autopsy is currently underway, with Lisa's official cause of death unknown until toxicology reports are released.
Investigators determined that Lisa arrived in Greece in late June and stayed at several locations before renting a ground-floor apartment in Exarchia. The Daily Mail reports police said the accused had access to her apartment through a set of keys. Lisa was last known to have contacted a friend three days before she was found dead. Her loved ones became concerned when they continued receiving text messages that appeared uncharacteristic of her writing style.
Ahmadzai's wife Alaina is understood to have provided key evidence to the probe, including a location-sharing application showing her husband at Lisa's apartment during the night of July 15 and into July 16. After Lisa's identity became public, she reportedly suspected Ahmadzai's involvement and left their home with her child.
Alaina is understood to have handed police a mobile phone and €2,550 in cash that she believed may have belonged to the victim. During questioning, Ahmadzai allegedly claimed he found Lisa dead in the apartment bathroom before placing her body in a suitcase and disposing of it the following night. But police reportedly allege he later admitted to using the victim's mobile phone to impersonate her in messages sent to relatives and friends, while also withdrawing money using her bank cards.
Weapons and Background
A search of the suspect's home on August 1 uncovered a replica Glock-style pistol and a military-style knife, leading to additional weapons charges. Ahmadzai's website states his father, a military commander in Kabul, was shot dead in a Taliban ambush when he was four. His older brother was kidnapped by the Taliban five years later. The rest of his family died in a suicide car bomb when he was 15, the website adds.
Ahmadzai travelled to Greece in a small boat and went on to win the Greek super lightweight boxing title in March 2023. He has been referred to the competent prosecuting authority to face the charges and is reportedly due to appear before magistrates in Athens on Wednesday.
