A man accused of killing a Scottish woman and disposing of her body in a suitcase in Athens is due to appear before a Greek court. The appearance comes days after harrowing CCTV footage allegedly showed the accused murderer of Edinburgh woman Elisabeth Jane Ross pushing her body through the streets of the Greek capital in a suitcase.
Authorities have not publicly confirmed the suspect's identity, but it has been widely reported that the man accused of the 38-year-old's murder is Sharif Ahmadzai, 26.
CCTV footage shows suspect wheeling suitcase
In the chilling video, a man dressed in a black T-shirt, shorts, and carrying a blue rucksack can be seen lugging a large black case through the city centre. The footage tracks the path of the man, believed to be Ahmadzai, as he slowly made his way towards an abandoned building in Kypseli on July 16.
It was there, in the usually quiet neighbourhood of central Athens, that he allegedly discarded the corpse of the woman, also known as Lisa, before fleeing the scene. Her body was found two days later, on July 18, by a homeless man, who alerted police to his grim find.
Arrest and charges
Police said the suspect was detained for questioning after investigators reviewed surveillance camera footage recorded near the abandoned building. Police have confirmed that the 26-year-old arrested in connection with the crime was initially detained on illegal weapons possession charges. He is now facing a murder charge as well as allegations that he stole more than 10,000 euro from the victim's bank accounts using her bank cards, police said.
Greek officials said he has admitted to moving the body but has denied the murder allegations.
Alleged messages to victim's friends
After allegedly murdering Ms Ross, Ahmadzai is accused of sending a series of messages from her phone to her friends and family before switching off the device. Her loved ones became concerned when they continued receiving text messages that appeared uncharacteristic of her writing style.
In addition to allegedly posing as his murder victim, Ahmadzai is believed to have bought another phone to text Ms Ross' friends in Athens - including his wife - to cover his tracks. Greek newspapers Proto Thema and Ta Nea reported that in the messages, Ahmadzai purported to be an unnamed jihadist who claimed he had killed the Scot because of her religion.
Investigation and support
Ms Ross is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found, during a heatwave in which temperatures reached 36C. Greece's national police, the Hellenic Police, were able to identify Ms Ross using her fingerprints. Authorities are awaiting the results of tissue analysis to determine whether she died from suffocation, as suggested by a preliminary assessment by the medical examiner.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said earlier: “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 Police Scotland spokesperson previously said: “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.”
