She traveled to Greece to help people fleeing danger. A few weeks later, the 38-year-old Scottish woman was found murdered in a suitcase in an abandoned house in Athens. Now, a 26-year-old Afghan boxer stands accused of the murder—a case in which the police investigation, surveillance footage, bank transactions, and witness statements paint a picture of a disturbing sequence of events. The suspect, however, denies killing her but admits to dumping the body and stealing the victim’s money.
When Elisabeth-Jane Ross arrived in Greece at the end of June, she had a clear purpose. The 38-year-old woman from Edinburgh had been actively volunteering for many years through churches and aid organizations, both in the UK and abroad. She traveled to Athens to continue her volunteer work among migrants and others she considered “vulnerable” people.
During the first few days, she stayed in an Airbnb before moving between various temporary accommodations. From the beginning of July, she lived in an apartment in Exarchia, a central Athens neighborhood where people connected to a religious or charitable organization reportedly used to gather. It was also there that the suspected man is said to have had access to the residence.
From Migrant to Professional Boxer
The man now suspected of the murder is a 26-year-old Afghan national, Sharif Ahmadzai, who according to Greek and British media, left his homeland as a teenager after losing his parents. His journey took him through Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey before he arrived in 2016 on the Greek island of Lesbos as an unaccompanied minor.
READ ALSO: Afghan Massoud Convicted of Rape of Goats: “I am a normal person”
After his time in Lesbos, Sharif settled in Athens. There, he began to build a new life, got involved socially, and focused on boxing. Over time, he became a professional boxer in the super-lightweight division and participated in matches in the Greek capital. At the same time, he worked together with his wife in initiatives that supported migrants and other allegedly “vulnerable” groups.
It was through this volunteer work that Sharif, according to the investigation, came to know Elisabeth-Jane Ross. They moved in the same circles and had mutual acquaintances through their aid work.
Covered Up the Murder with Fake Texts to Relatives
Ross’s last confirmed contact with someone close to her occurred on the evening of July 15. After that, all direct contact ceased. Despite this, messages continued to be sent from her mobile phone to family and friends. This is reported by Greek media.
Initially, her loved ones thought everything was normal, but over time several began to notice something was off. The language differed from how Ross usually expressed herself, the tone was unusual, and the replies grew increasingly odd. Suspicion grew that someone else was using her phone to give the impression that she was still alive.
At the same time, money began disappearing from her bank accounts. According to the police investigation, repeated withdrawals were made with her bank card, often for the maximum permitted amount per day. Greek media have reported differing totals, ranging from about €10,000 to €12,000.
Macabre Find in Abandoned Building
Two days later, on July 18, a homeless man made a gruesome discovery in an abandoned building complex in the Kypseli district. Local residents had already alerted authorities to a strong smell coming from the building. When the suitcase was opened, a woman’s body was found, wrapped in black cloth and in an advanced state of decomposition. According to several articles, the body was dismembered.
The woman had no identification, and the high summer temperatures had made identification more difficult. Despite this, forensic technicians managed to secure usable fingerprints from the body. Through Interpol and international police cooperation, they were ultimately able to determine that the deceased woman was Elisabeth-Jane Ross from Scotland.
Surveillance Footage Was Crucial
The investigation gained new momentum when police began analyzing surveillance cameras from the area. In the footage, according to authorities, the suspect Sharif is seen carrying a large suitcase through central Athens on the evening of July 16. He is also carrying a backpack.
The cameras track him to the abandoned house in Kypseli. A few minutes later, he leaves the location—but now without the suitcase. Only the backpack remains. When police later found Ross’s body, it was in the same building.
READ ALSO: Syrian and Afghan serial-raped a disabled girl in public toilets
The digital evidence was supplemented by analysis of mobile phones, bank transactions, and other technical evidence, which according to Greek police, increasingly tied Sharif to the events.
Witness Testimony Shifted the Investigation
One of the most important breakthroughs did not come from technical evidence, but from information provided by people close to Sharif. A British woman contacted the police and revealed that her partner had confided he killed Ross. This information led investigators further toward Sharif, who had already come up in the police investigation.
Sharif’s wife also played an important role in the investigation. According to her account, she saw through a location-sharing function in a mobile app that her husband was at the apartment where Ross stayed during the night between July 15 and 16. When the victim’s identity was later revealed, she began to suspect that he might be involved.
She left the family home, handed over a mobile phone and about €2,550 to the police, and stated that the money could be linked to the crime. Greek media also report that the wife said Sharif admitted to her that he had killed Ross.
Suspected Religious Motive
Investigators have also examined a possible motive for the murder. According to testimony given to police, Sharif is said to have claimed he believed Ross was trying to convert his partner to Christianity. For this reason, he saw her as a threat to his family.
READ ALSO: Home care Afghan convicted of robbery against 96-year-old in her home—here’s the verdict
Another circumstance that attracted attention is that after Ross disappeared, someone sent messages from a new phone to individuals close to her. According to Greek media, the sender claimed to be a jihadist and alleged that Ross had been killed for religious reasons. Police believe these messages were sent in an attempt to mislead both her relatives and investigators.
Partial Confession—but Denies Murder
When Sharif was arrested, police had already gathered a substantial amount of technical evidence. He was charged with murder, robbery, and violation of Greek weapons laws after a knife and a replica Glock pistol were found during a search of his residence.
During questioning, Sharif admitted to several actions related to the case but denied committing the murder itself. According to his own story, he went to Ross’s apartment and found her already dead in the bathroom. Out of fear of being suspected, he allegedly placed the body in a suitcase and transported it to the abandoned building in Kypseli.
Sharif has also confessed that he used the dead woman’s mobile to send messages to family and friends while pretending to be Ross, and that he used her bank card to withdraw money. However, he strongly denies being the one who killed her.
The police consider the accumulated evidence—the surveillance footage, phone records, bank withdrawals, and witness statements—as contradicting his explanation. Everything points to him also being the person who committed the murder.
A Case That Has Shocked Both Greece and the UK
The murder of Elisabeth-Jane Ross has sparked strong reactions in both Greece and the UK. The 38-year-old Scottish woman had traveled to Athens to help others, but instead became a victim of one of the year’s most high-profile violent crimes in the country—and at the hands of someone from the very migrant group she set out to help.
????BREAKING: An Afghan immigrant has been charged with the murder of a British woman who was found dead in a suitcase in Athens, Greece
She was a worker of One Heart, an NGO who specialise in providing support to refugees from Afghanistan.
She was brainwashed by the left. ???? pic.twitter.com/a7bZegqvf0
— Inevitable West (@Inevitablewest) August 2, 2026
Her body was found just a few kilometers from central Athens, and the investigation has since been followed closely by both Greek and British media. At the same time, several questions remain unanswered. Exactly what happened in the apartment on the night between July 15 and 16 has not yet been publicly clarified, and the motive remains controversial.
The accused man maintains that he only concealed the body and used the victim’s belongings after her death, while the prosecution argues that the evidence shows he is also responsible for the murder itself. It is now up to the Greek justice system to assess the evidence and determine which sequence of events can be proven.