FACE REVEALED — First Image of Man Charged in Athens Suitcase Murd3:r Shocks Public

First picture of man charged in connection with Athens suitcase murder investigation

Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, was found dead inside a suitcase in an abandoned building in Athens, Greece, on July 18, and Sharif Ahmadzai has since been arrested and charged in connection with the Scottish woman’s death

Sharif Ahmadzai, who is suspected of killing Elisabeth-Jane Ross

A man detained in connection with the death of a Scottish woman whose body was discovered in a suitcase in Athens has been identified and photographed.

Afghan Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, is suspected of murdering Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, before placing her body in a suitcase and abandoning it in a derelict building on July 16, according to reports.

The suspect, who is a champion boxer from Afghanistan and ran a refugee charity in the Greek capital, is understood to have arrived in Lesvos in 2016 as a migrant, subsequently marrying US-born Alaina Hall in 2023.

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Lisa Jane Ross(Image: Facebook)

The pair established a ministry supporting refugees in Athens and are believed to have been acquainted with Elisabeth through their charitable work, the Daily Mail reports. They possessed a key to the flat where she was residing – which was owned by their organisation, Love Every Nation Athens.

This development follows preliminary medical reports suggesting Elisabeth died from asphyxiation, according to The Times. A post-mortem examination is currently being conducted, with Lisa’s official cause of death remaining unconfirmed pending toxicology results, reports the Daily Record.

Elisabeth Jane Ross, also known as Lisa, 38, was discovered deceased inside a suitcase by a homeless individual in a derelict building in the Kypseli district on Saturday, July 18.

Ahmadzai has since been arrested and charged in relation to Lisa’s death. Local media reports indicate he faces charges of intentional homicide, robbery and weapons offences.

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Her remains were discovered in an abandoned building(Image: cretalive.gr)

He allegedly admitted to police that he transported Lisa’s body in the suitcase. Investigators have established that Lisa, originally from Edinburgh, touched down in Greece towards the end of June and moved between various accommodations before settling into a ground-floor flat in Exarchia.

According to The Daily Mail, police revealed the suspect had obtained keys granting him entry to her residence. Lisa’s final known communication with a friend occurred three days prior to the discovery of her body.

Alarm bells rang amongst her nearest and dearest when they began receiving text messages that seemed out of character for her usual manner of writing. Officers are believed to have subsequently obtained CCTV footage depicting Ahmadzai moving a substantial suitcase from the Exarchia flat to a derelict property in Kypseli on the evening of July 16.

Shortly afterwards, he was filmed departing the vicinity with merely a rucksack. His spouse Alaina is believed to have furnished crucial evidence to the investigation, including data from a location-sharing app which placed her husband at Lisa’s flat throughout the night of July 15 extending into July 16.

Following the public identification of Lisa, she reportedly grew suspicious of Ahmadzai’s involvement and departed their residence with their child.

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Ahmadzai is reportedly a professional boxer from Afghanistan who arrived in Greece in 2016

Alaina is believed to have surrendered to police a mobile telephone and €2,550 in cash which she thought might have been the victim’s property. Under interrogation, Ahmadzai purportedly maintained he discovered Lisa deceased in the apartment’s bathroom before transferring her remains into a suitcase and discarding it the subsequent evening.

However, police reportedly claim he subsequently confessed to using the victim’s mobile phone to impersonate her in messages sent to family and friends, while also making withdrawals using her bank cards. A search of the suspect’s residence on 1st August revealed a replica Glock-style pistol and a military-style knife, resulting in further 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 elder brother was kidnapped by the Taliban five years afterwards.

The remainder of his family perished in a suicide car bomb when he was 15, the website adds. Ahmadzai travelled to Greece in a small boat and subsequently won the Greek super lightweight boxing title in March 2023.

Ahmadzai has been referred to the appropriate prosecuting authority to face the charges and is reportedly scheduled to appear before magistrates in Athens on Wednesday.

Lead pastor of City on a Hill church in Edinburgh, Peter Anderson, has since paid heartfelt tribute to Lisa, who had been a member of the congregation for 20 years and “helped and cared” for people across the globe, reports STV.

He said: “We have lost a precious church member Lisa.

“She was a member of our church for 20 years, and a very precious, precious girl.

“It was a real tragic loss.”

Mr Anderson said Elisabeth possessed a “big passion for missions” and had travelled to several countries.