Pictured: Afghan champion boxer and Christian volunteer arrested over killing of British woman found in suitcase
Sharif Ahmadzai reportedly arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016.
The man arrested over the murder of a British woman found in a suitcase in Athens is an Afghan national and champion boxer who arrived in Greece on a small boat, it has been revealed.
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Elisabeth Jane Ross, 38, from Edinburgh, was found by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of Athens on July 18.
Greek police launched an investigation along with UK and US authorities and announced that a 26-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, robbery and weapons offences.
The suspect has now been revealed as Sharif Ahmadzai, 26.
The boxer’s website says that his father was a military commander in Kabul and was shot dead by the Taliban when he was just four.
His brother was kidnapped by the Taliban five years later and the rest of his family was killed in a suicide car bomb when he was 15.
Read more: Man, 26, arrested over death of British woman found in suitcase in Athens
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Ahmadzai is believed to have arrived on the island of Lesbos in 2016. He later converted to Christianity to marry US-born Alaina Hall in 2023.
The pair then set up a ministry helping refugees in the Greek capital.
The couple are believed to have known Ms Ross, also a Christian volunteer, through their charity work.
They reportedly had a key to a flat owned by their organisation, Love Every Nation Athens, police sources say.
Officers started looking into Ahmadzai after his wife allegedly grew suspicious of his behaviour on July 30, according to legal documents seen by The Times.
She reportedly claimed she woke to find him missing on July 15, with his shared location showing him at Ms Ross's apartment.
He was also allegedly caught on CCTV arriving by car at Ms Ross’s address before leaving with a large suitcase, a case file shows.
A security camera allegedly filmed him walking on the street where Ms Ross’ body was then left in the suitcase inside a building.
He was later allegedly seen on CCTV withdrawing cash.
His wife became even more suspicious when the discovery of Ms Ross’s body became public.
She left the family home with their child and checked into a hotel.
Ahmadzai handed her around 2,550 euros and a new Apple iPhone 17 Pro.
She then gave them to police suspecting they were purchased with Ms Ross’s money.
Officers raided the family home on August 1 and found a replica pistol and a knife, sources say.
Ms Ross is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found, though someone was reportedly using her mobile phone to send messages purporting to be from Ms Ross.
The Hellenic Police, Greece’s national force, were able to identify the victim using fingerprints. Ms Ross entered Greece on June 26 and was initially staying with friends in Piraeus.
She is then said to have gone to meet with American friends in another part of the Greek capital, but it is unclear if this ever happened.