Greek police arrest boxer over death of Scottish c…
Greek authorities have arrested a 26 year old former boxer in connection with the death of a Scottish aid worker whose body was discovered in a suitcase in Athens, according to a British broadcaster.
The suspect, identified as Sharif Ahmadzai, was taken into custody after officers found the remains of 38 year old Elisabeth Jane Ross in an abandoned building in the Kypseli district of the Greek capital on July 18, several days after she had been reported missing. Ahmadzai is scheduled to appear in court in Athens on Wednesday.
Ahmadzai was born in Afghanistan and later became a champion boxer before settling permanently in Greece, where he currently lives with his American wife and their child. He left Afghanistan as a teenager after losing both parents to the conflict there. His father, who served as a commander in the Afghan army, was shot dead, while his mother and siblings died in a suicide bombing in Kabul when he was 15 years old.
According to a video account published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Ahmadzai made his way to Greece by traveling through Iran and Turkey before eventually reaching a refugee camp on the island of Lesbos. It was there that he is understood to have met his future wife and converted to Christianity. The couple went on to found a charity called Love Every Nation Athens, which works to support other refugees arriving in the country.
Police say Ross, who was from Edinburgh and known to friends and family as Lisa, entered Greece on June 26 and initially stayed in the Kertasini area of Piraeus until July 10. She had traveled to volunteer with an Athens based refugee support organization. She later told friends in Greece that she planned to travel to Kypseli on July 15 to meet up with American acquaintances.
A police union in Greece said investigators confirmed that Ahmadzai held a key to the apartment where Ross had been staying. The union also said officers verified surveillance footage that appears to show him carrying a suitcase believed to have contained her body. Data from a location sharing application used by Ahmadzai’s wife reportedly placed the suspect at an address on Rethymnou Street, the location where Ross is believed to have died, in the days leading up to her death. Authorities said the suspect also used the victim’s bank cards to withdraw cash after her death.
The building where her body was ultimately found sits roughly twenty minutes away from the area where Ross had originally been staying during her time in the city.
Mourners have since left flowers at the site where her remains were discovered. One handwritten note left among the tributes expressed hope that her memory would live on and that she would not be forgotten.
In Edinburgh, Pastor Peter Anderson said Ross had belonged to the congregation at City on a Hill church for two decades. He described her as someone with a strong commitment to missionary work who had traveled widely to help others. Speaking in a video shared on the church’s social media page, Anderson called her a deeply valued member of the community and said her loss had been felt profoundly by those who knew her.
During a search of Ahmadzai’s residence, police said officers seized a replica pistol along with a knife. Authorities have also fast tracked a toxicology examination in an effort to determine the exact cause of Ross’s death. Investigators say they are additionally trying to locate the American friends Ross had mentioned to acquaintances shortly before her disappearance.
The case has drawn significant attention both in Greece and in the United Kingdom, where Ross’s church community and friends have publicly mourned her loss while the investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death continues.
