{"id":28006,"date":"2026-08-05T02:12:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T21:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=28006"},"modified":"2026-08-05T02:12:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T21:12:07","slug":"afghan-boxer-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of-scottish-woman-in-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=28006","title":{"rendered":"Afghan boxer arrested in connection with death of Scottish woman in Greece"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-article-body=\"true\" data-body-type=\"bodyblocks\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The man suspected of killing Scottish aid worker Elisabeth Jane Ross in Greece is 26-year-old Sharif Ahmadzai, the BBC understands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He was arrested after the body of the 38-year-old was found in a suitcase in an abandoned building in the Kypseli district of Athens on 18 July, several days after she was reported missing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ahmadzai, who was born in Afghanistan and is a champion boxer, settled in Greece after travelling there as a teenager.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Both Ross and Ahmadzai had worked with refugees and Greek police are investigating whether the pair knew each other through the charity sector.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ahmadzai was arrested on suspicion of homicide with intent, robbery and weapons offences, and is expected to appear in court in Athens on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Police said the coroner&#8217;s initial report failed to determine a cause of death, but more detailed examinations concluded it was an &#8220;obvious criminal act, likely asphyxiation&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The BBC understands Ahmadzai, who left Afghanistan after being orphaned aged 15, lives in Greece with his American wife, Alaina Hall, and their child.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">His father, a commander in the Afghan army, was shot dead and his mother and siblings were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He travelled to Greece via Iran and Turkey, <a data-ylk=\"slk:according to a video telling his story;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YDneVMh8nCs\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">according to a video telling his story<\/a> which was published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), before settling in a refugee camp on the island of Lesbos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It is understood this is where he met his wife and converted to Christianity. The couple then set up the charity Love Every Nation Athens to help other refugees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Police said Elisabeth Jane Ross &#8211; who is from Edinburgh and is known to family and friends as Lisa &#8211; arrived in Greece on 26 June and stayed in the Kertasini area of Piraeus until 10 July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She had been volunteering with a refugee support group based in Athens.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"A woman with long brown hair, tied back in a ponytail, smiling at the camera. She is wearing pearl-like earrings and a scoop neck grey top.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/b62b8514a768cf7991b75366c5b974b6af477437919ec7641e0467021e51129b\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbbc_us_articles_995%2F884cb6f852b773f2c0cfb91251304b7d\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><default:path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/default:svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\"><\/p>\n<p>This photo of Elisabeth Jane Ross &#8211; known by friends as Lisa &#8211; is believed to date from 2015 [Facebook]<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ross told Greek friends that she was going to Kypseli to meet &#8220;American friends&#8221; on 15 July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The president of the Union of Police Officers of Southeast Attica, George Kalliakmanis, said they were investigating whether Ahmadzai had a key to the apartment Ross was staying in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The police union said it had verified footage appearing to show Ahmadzai carrying a suitcase which is believed to have contained the body.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It added that a location sharing app, used by Ahmadzai&#8217;s wife, showed that the suspect was at 9 Rethymnou Street \u2013 the place where Ross is thought to have died \u2013 in the days before.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Police also said the suspect had used the dead woman&#8217;s bank cards to withdraw money.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The building the body was found in is about 20 minutes from where Ross had been staying.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"A map showing the locations of Elisabeth Jane Ross's apartment in Athens, the place where her body was found and the street where Sharif Ahmadzai lived\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"926\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/efd7263b89c9bd2c373d88326256fdf19f9a856166954924d9c830fb32dd6bd6\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbbc_us_articles_995%2Fca73ed9a32e10a2f05fcf82e73d23d46\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><default:path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/default:svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In an interview with BBC News, Kalliakmanis said: &#8220;They [police investigators] are looking into whether he [Ahmadzai] had met her [Ross] previously through his involvement in boxing or an NGO working with refugees, as she also worked for an NGO.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Could they have crossed paths in the past? Yes, it&#8217;s possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kalliakmanis said Ahmadzai had denied murder but admitted to moving the body.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;He claims he found her dead in the bathroom and panicked, fearing he would be blamed,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kalliakmanis said police believed the suspect took the victim&#8217;s bank card and phone, and &#8220;made sure&#8221; to send text messages to her family and friends to &#8220;make it seem like she was still alive&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He said the police also believed the suspect used the victim&#8217;s bank card to make withdrawals totalling &#8220;around \u20ac10,000&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kalliakmanis added that Ahmadzai&#8217;s wife had no involvement or prior knowledge of the alleged crime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Flowers have been laid near to where her body was discovered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">One message reads: &#8220;For Elisabeth, May you rest in peace and may your memory live on in the hearts of us all. With deepest sympathy and respect. You will not be forgotten.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">&#8216;Passion for missionary work&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In Edinburgh, Pastor Peter Anderson said Ross had been a &#8220;precious&#8221; member of the congregation at City on a Hill church for 20 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He described her as having a &#8220;big passion&#8221; for missionary work and &#8220;cared for people all over the world&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In a video posted on the City on a Hill Facebook page, the pastor said: &#8220;She had been to many places and served people. She was a very precious girl and it is a tragic loss.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During searches of Ahmadzai&#8217;s home, officers claimed to have recovered and seized a replica pistol and a knife.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Police said they were also looking to trace Ross&#8217;s American friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Additional reporting by Daphne Toli in Athens and Georgina Hayes in Scotland.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The man suspected of killing Scottish aid worker Elisabeth Jane Ross in Greece is 26-year-old Sharif Ahmadzai, the BBC understands. He was arrested after the body of the 38-year-old was found in a suitcase in an abandoned building in the Kypseli district of Athens on 18 July, several days after she was reported missing. Ahmadzai,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/2e041334322cd40a844df072963d6291fdd58dac2bf361a14d62c3a76142434d\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w976_h549;quality_80;format_jpg\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbbc_us_articles_995%2F8d39662d8ee2b53f3f3788dea4a3e356","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}