A man charged with murdering a Scottish woman and concealing her remains in a suitcase in Athens is set to face a Greek court.
Victim identified
The victim, identified as 38-year-old Elisabeth-Jane Ross – known as Lisa – was found by a homeless individual in an abandoned property in Athens's Kypseli district on July 18.
The accused is widely reported to be Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, an Afghan boxer who fled his homeland after losing his parents as a teenager. Authorities have not officially confirmed his identity.
Charges and confession
The 26-year-old, who was originally arrested on unlawful firearms possession charges, now faces a murder charge alongside accusations of stealing over 10,000 euros from the victim's bank accounts using her cards, according to police.
Greek officials stated he confessed to moving the body but refuted the murder accusations.
Police said the suspect was taken in for questioning after detectives examined CCTV footage captured near the derelict building.
Alleged messages and wife's suspicions
Following the alleged killing of Ms Ross, Ahmadzai is accused of dispatching multiple messages from her mobile to her friends and relatives before turning off the handset.
He is then alleged to have purchased another phone and messaged her Athens contacts, including his wife, posing as an unidentified jihadist claiming he had killed the Scottish woman due to her faith, Greek publications Proto Thema and Ta Nea reported.
According to newspaper reports, his wife, Alaina Hall, a United States citizen, informed police that she grew suspicious of her husband's role in the killing after waking up to find he was not in their flat and tracking his phone to Ms Ross's accommodation.
Discovery and investigation
Ms Ross is thought to have been dead for between five and seven days before her body was discovered, coinciding with a period of extreme heat where temperatures soared to 36C.
Greece's national police force, the Hellenic Police, were able to confirm her identity through fingerprint analysis.
Ms Ross, believed to be originally from Edinburgh, arrived in Greece on 26 June and initially lodged with friends in Piraeus, the port district of Athens. She subsequently arranged to meet American acquaintances in a different area of the Greek capital, though whether this meeting took place remains uncertain.
Officials are awaiting tissue analysis results to establish whether death occurred by suffocation, as indicated by initial findings from the medical examiner.
Official responses
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated previously: "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 spokesperson for Police Scotland said earlier: "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."
