- Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, an Afghan boxer accused of murdering British woman Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, allegedly used a burner phone to text her friends posing as a jihadist who claimed to have killed her because of her Christian faith, and dumped her body in a suitcase inside a derelict building, police reportedly told local media.
- Closed-circuit television (CCTV) appears to show a man matching Ahmadzai’s description calmly wheeling a large suitcase in Kypseli, near where Ross’s body was discovered; he is due before a judge in Athens on Wednesday charged with murder, robbery and illegal possession of a pistol.
- After allegedly murdering Ross, Ahmadzai is accused of sending messages from her phone to her friends and family before switching it off, and is said to have bought another phone to text friends in Athens, including Hall, claiming an unnamed jihadist had killed the Scottish national because she had been trying to convert people to Christianity, the Greek news website Proto Thema reported.
- Ahmadzai is accused of stealing Ross’s bank cards and withdrawing thousands of euros from her accounts, and had also given his wife €2,550 (£2,200) and a new iPhone 17 Pro she believed had been bought using money stolen from Ross’s bank accounts.
- Hall, Ahmadzai’s wife and a devout Christian who ran an NGO with him in Athens, is said to have given vital evidence to police when she began to suspect he was involved; legal papers state she became suspicious when she woke in the early hours of July 16 and traced him to Ross’s accommodation via the Find My Friends app.
- Ahmadzai, whose family were all killed by the Taliban, travelled to Greece in 2016 via Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, met Hall at the Moria migrant camp, converted to Christianity in 2017, and married in April 2023; the couple set up a ministry helping refugees in Athens called Love Every Nation. A competitive boxer, he won a Greek super-lightweight boxing title in March and ran boxing classes to raise money for the NGO.
Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, faces charges of murder, robbery, and illegal possession of a pistol in Athens after the death of Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38. Ross's body was found in a suitcase on July 18, following her arrival in Athens on June 26 for volunteer work.1278111213
Ahmadzai allegedly sent messages from a burner phone, posing as a jihadist who claimed to have killed Ross for her Christian faith. He reportedly texted her friends and wife, stating he was responsible for her death. “He is accused of stealing Ross’s bank cards and withdrawing thousands of euros from her accounts,” according to a case file.56
CCTV footage captured a man resembling Ahmadzai wheeling a large suitcase near the site where Ross's body was discovered. “Legal papers state that Hall became suspicious of her husband when she woke in the early hours of July 16 to find he had left the home,” leading to police involvement.34910
Ahmadzai, who converted to Christianity in 2017, met Hall while she volunteered at a migrant camp. They married in April 2023 and established a ministry for refugees in Athens. Pastor Peter Anderson remarked on Ross's life, stating it was “all about mission” and her death a “really tragic loss.”
“Ahmadzai also used a burner phone to message Ross's friends, claiming an unnamed jihadist had killed her because of her Christian faith, police allege. His wife, Hall, gave evidence after waking on July 16 and tracing him to Ross's accommodation via the Find My Friends app.”
The Times
