The Afghan man accused of killing a British charity worker and wheeling her body through Athens in a suitcase entered Europe illegally by small boat before becoming a champion boxer and co-founding a refugee charity.
Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016 after travelling through Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey, according to an account of his journey published online.
He is now accused of murdering 38-year-old Elisabeth-Jane Ross, a Christian volunteer from Edinburgh whose decomposing body was discovered inside a suitcase in a derelict building in Athens’ Kypseli district on July 18.
Medical evidence reportedly suggests Ross died from asphyxiation.
CCTV footage released by Greek media appears to show Ahmadzai calmly wheeling the suitcase through the streets while dressed in a black T-shirt and shorts and carrying a blue rucksack.
Ahmadzai has admitted moving and disposing of Ross’s body but denies killing her. He initially claimed that he had found her dead in her bathroom.
He is also accused of withdrawing thousands of euros using her bank card and sending messages from her phone in an attempt to convince her friends and family that she was still alive.
The Afghan reportedly became the prime suspect after his American wife, Alaina Hall, contacted police about his suspicious behaviour.
Hall discovered that her husband’s shared location placed him at Ross’s flat on July 15. He later allegedly tried to give her €2,550 in cash and a new iPhone, which she handed to investigators because she suspected they had been bought using Ross’s money.
The couple knew Ross through Love Every Nation Athens, the refugee charity Ahmadzai and Hall had established together. Ross, known to friends as Lisa, had travelled internationally undertaking Christian charitable work, including helping Syrian refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Ahmadzai met Hall while she was volunteering at the notorious Moria migrant camp on Lesbos. He converted to Christianity in 2017 and married her in April 2023.
In an account entitled “Sharif’s Story,” Ahmadzai claimed he fled Afghanistan at the age of 15 after the Taliban killed his family. His journey to Europe was subsequently turned into a short film by a British cartoonist and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
He went on to win a Greek national boxing title in March this year.
Police searching Ahmadzai’s home on August 1 reportedly discovered a replica pistol and a military-style knife. He is due to appear before an Athens magistrates’ court on Wednesday.
