A 26-year-old man from Afghanistan has been arrested and charged with killing Elisabeth Jane Ross, the 38-year-old Scot whose remains were found stuffed inside a suitcase in an abandoned building in Athens. The body of Ross, known as Lisa and originally from Edinburgh, was discovered in the district of Kypseli on Saturday, July 18. Greek police have confirmed the arrest, and local media report that the suspect faces charges of intentional homicide, robbery and weapons offences.
Ross, who reportedly arrived in Greece on June 26, stayed at several locations before renting a ground-floor apartment in Exarchia. Investigators determined that the accused had access to her apartment through a set of keys. She was last known to have contacted a friend three days before her body was found.
Emma Caldwell inquiry must avoid 'whitewash'
The Sunday Mail has named senior police officers and prosecutors who must give evidence to the public inquiry into the murder of Emma Caldwell. It comes amid fears the probe will become "part of the cover-up" by failing to examine the years that killer Iain Packer walked free while overwhelming evidence of his guilt was suppressed at the highest level.
Caldwell's body was discovered in woods outside Glasgow in May 2005, but it took another 19 years for Packer to be convicted. During that time he continued to rape and abuse women. Even after the paper published his picture on its front page in 2015 branding him the "Forgotten Suspect", senior officers launched an illegal molehunt for sources rather than pursuing Packer. A public inquiry was ordered after Packer's conviction in 2024, but its terms of reference suggest it will only investigate the actions of Strathclyde Police during an initial botched investigation into four innocent Turkish men, which collapsed in 2008.
Woman punched and tried to bite staff in hospital rammy
Aileen Hunter, 49, carried out attacks on two healthcare workers at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh while she was awaiting treatment. The incident took place on May 21, 2025, around 2.30pm near a nurse's station where Hunter was a patient. She asked for another patient's personal data, according to a fiscal depute. Clinical support worker Amber Ali declined, telling her such a disclosure would violate privacy laws. Hunter responded by shouting, "F*** off, I wasn't talking to you". When Ms Ali asked her to return to her room, she retorted: "Go back to your f****** jungle."
Hunter appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday, June 31, and pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including assault and threatening and abusive behaviour aggravated by prejudice relating to race, colour, nationality, or ethnic/national origin.
EncroChat dealer behind 'Wonka' chocolate bars jailed
Aaron Bradford, 35, from Dundee, has become the first person in Scotland to be convicted following a trial using EncroChat evidence. Operating under the handle "Elpazzo", he was caught flooding the country with cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis-laced 'Wonka' chocolate bars. He believed his conversations about his drugs empire were hidden from law enforcement on the encrypted platform, but French authorities had infiltrated the messaging service.
The breakthrough triggered Operation Venetic, a UK-wide investigation that exposed organised crime groups operating across Europe. Bradford was jailed for eight years at the High Court in Aberdeen after being found guilty of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.
First Minister pledges 'strongest personal leadership' on male violence
John Swinney has pledged his "strongest personal leadership" to tackling male violence against women, saying the scale of the issue had been "laid bare" after two women were killed within days of each other. Vikki Soloman, 44, was fatally stabbed in her own home in Edinburgh before her body was found on July 20. Her ex-partner Lee Greenan was arrested and later found dead in his cell after being charged with murder. On July 27, 35-year-old Stacy Mair was murdered in Renfrewshire; her husband Jim Mair was found dead at the scene.
The First Minister wrote an article in the Sunday Post after meeting with domestic abuse survivor Danielle MacDonald at Bute House.
