US wife of Afghan boxer accused of killing Scottish charity worker and dumping her body in a suitcase breaks silence
Alaina Hall gave details to police before her husband Sharif Ahmadzai was arrested in Athens
The US wife of an Afghan boxer charged over the murder of a Scottish woman found in a suitcase in Athens has broken her silence with a bombshell testimony released in full today.
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Champion fighter Sharif Ahmadzai appeared in court on Thursday charged with homicide with intent - equivalent to a murder charge in Scotland - over the killing of Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38.
The Scottish aid worker, 38, was found dead by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of the Athens on July 18.
Ms Ross reportedly met Ahmadzai and his American wife Alaina Hall while volunteering for a refugee charity in the Greek capital in February 2026.
In a bombshell testimony released in full on Thursday, Ms Hall made some damning claims against her husband as his murder trial continues.
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She described Ms Ross as “a very pleasant and sweet person, kind-hearted, with a good soul” and said the last time she saw her was on July 12.
That was just a few days before the Brit is thought to have been murdered on July 15.
Ms Hall claimed Ms Ross asked her to go on a walk, which Ahmadzai later joined them on. The US mother-of-one says she went home as Ahmadzai and Lisa stayed on.
The pair maintained contact for a few days afterward and exchanged messages about delivering bibles together.
Then on July 15, Ms Hall says she saw a text message sent from Ms Ross to her husband saying: “Thank you for your intention to come with me.”
In her testimony, Ms Hall claimed she woke up and found her husband had left home without telling her.
“I checked his location on my cell phone. I saw that he was inside the apartment on Rethymno Street.
“I was surprised because there was no particular reason for him to be there at that time,” she said.
She rang him up and he said he was watching football in a cafe and entered Lisa's apartment to use the toilet, which she believed as one of his family members had died that day.
It comes after Ahmadzai admitted to entering Lisa's flat on July 15, with his location revealed on Alaina's phone records.
Ahmadzai was seemingly acting his usual self over those next two weeks until it emerged that a woman had been found dead in suitcase near to where they lived.
The victim’s identity had not been revealed at that point but Alaina said she realised in the middle of the night on July 29 and thought it could have been Lisa, who she hadn't spoken to in weeks.
She quickly messaged her and received two alarming responses.
“These messages were not in Lisa’s style both in terms of her level of English and the use of emojis that she never used,” Ms Hall said.
She later said to cops: “All of the above made me feel strange. Especially combining the dates, the messages and my husband’s behavior.
“I have various thoughts that make me feel uncomfortable.”
She added that she became so worried that she and her husband left their home and spent the night in different locations.
Ms Hall also revealed she had received threatening messages including photos of herself and her baby, and chilling threats against her family.
Detectives claim Ahmadzai likely sent these messages from a burner phone to elimante any suspicions she may have had about him.
Ahmadzai was charged with homicide with intent – and he faces allegations that he stole more than 10,000 euro from the victim’s bank accounts using her bank cards, police said.
He was remanded in custody until his trial, which could be a wait as long as 18 months away.
Ahmadzai exercised his right to remain silent when he appeared in court in Athens on Thursday, and did not submit a plea to any of the charges.
Christos Erdas, his lawyer, said his legal team is waiting for further medical evidence to be submitted to the court.
The suspect left Afghanistan after being orphaned as a teenager, and was pictured earlier this week.
A tribute from the parish’s senior pastors, Andrew and Sue Owen, read: "Lisa will always be remembered for her unstoppable passion to help those who were less fortunate than herself.
"This passion and deep sense of calling sometimes took her to challenging places.“Lisa was determined not to leave this world the same way she found it."
They said their thoughts and prayers were with Ms Ross’s family, who had lost a beautiful daughter and sister.Ms Ross had also been a member of City on a Hill church, in Edinburgh, for 20 years.
Peter Anderson, a pastor, previously said she was a “precious” member of the congregation.
It comes as CCTV has emerged of a suspect appearing to walk down the street with a suitcase near where Ms Ross' body was found.
The video, released by Greek outlets, shows a man wheeling a suitcase while wearing a backpack.
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 her using fingerprints.
Ms Ross, who is understood to be from Edinburgh, entered Greece on June 26 and was initially staying with friends in Piraeus.
She is then said to have gone to meet American friends in another part of the Greek capital, but it is unclear if this ever happened.
A replica pistol and a knife were found at the suspect’s home and police have filed a case against him for manslaughter, robbery and violation of weapons laws.