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Sharif Ahmadzai arrived at an Athens courthouse in an unmarked grey car early Thursday for his second court appearance in the case Reuters reported with judges set to decide on pre-trial detention after granting the 26-year-old time to prepare his defence the previous day. Greek officials assigned him a court-appointed lawyer during the initial closed hearing on Wednesday and presented him with the full array of charges that include homicide with intent robbery and weapons offences according to AP News. The suspect who lives in the Greek capital with his American wife and child has denied the homicide allegation while admitting he moved the body police union officials stated.
The body of Elisabeth Ross a 38-year-old from Edinburgh known to friends as Lisa was found inside a suitcase at an abandoned building in the Kypseli district on July 18 several days after she had last been seen Greek police told reporters. Ross had arrived in the country on June 26 to volunteer with a refugee support group and a Christian organisation where she worked as a certified psychotherapist after spending time in the Keratsini area of Piraeus. A church tribute described the missionary as precious and highlighted her commitment to aiding immigrants in Greece according to BBC coverage of community responses.
Ahmadzai who won the Greek super lightweight boxing title earlier this year left Afghanistan as a teenager after being orphaned and reached Greece by small boat before gaining asylum STV News and The Telegraph reported. He and his wife Alaina Hall a 28-year-old US citizen had founded the Love Every Nation Athens charity to assist other refugees and the couple held keys to the apartment where Ross was staying in central Athens according to two Greek officials cited by Reuters. Police said the suspect’s wife alerted authorities after she woke to find him absent from their nearby home and tracked his phone to the location where the victim’s body was later discovered.
Investigators recovered a replica pistol and a black military-style knife from Ahmadzai’s apartment during the arrest on August 1 while alleging he withdrew more than €10000 from Ross’s accounts using her bank cards after her death. Greek newspapers Proto Thema and Ta Nea reported that the suspect bought a new phone and sent messages to the victim’s friends in Athens impersonating a jihadist and claiming he had killed her because of her religion before switching off the device. The post-mortem examination proved inconclusive on the exact cause due to decomposition though asphyxiation has not been ruled out a police official told AP News.
UK authorities including Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency have assisted the Greek investigation alongside US law enforcement focusing on mobile phone data CCTV footage and financial records from the period between Ross’s disappearance on July 15 and the body’s discovery three days later. Ahmadzai told police he found the body in an apartment bathroom panicked and placed it in the suitcase in an attempt to dispose of it according to a Reuters account of his statement. The case has drawn attention to the operations of volunteer networks supporting refugees in Athens where both the victim and the suspect had been active.
Prosecutors are expected to seek remand in custody for Ahmadzai as the inquiry continues with the court hearing scheduled to conclude later Thursday or early Friday Greek judicial sources indicated. Ross had been due to return to her accommodation in Piraeus on the day she went missing and had been volunteering with groups focused on migrant integration and mental health support. The developments follow initial detention on weapons charges that later expanded to encompass the full scope of the homicide and robbery allegations detailed in official briefings.
