Athens Suitcase Murder Suspect Ran Refugee Charity
5th August 2026
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.