Greek police investigate motive in murder of Scottish charity worker Elisabeth-Jane Ross

Greek authorities are investigating what may have motivated a 26-year-old Afghan man to kill a Scottish charity worker found dead in a suitcase in an abandoned building in Athens last month.

Inquiries have focused increasingly on Elisabeth-Jane Ross’s last few hours alive and police believe they hold the key to revealing why the 38-year-old was targeted.

On Sunday the suspect, identified as Sharif Ahmadzai, was accused of intentional homicide after three days of questioning. He will appear before an investigating magistrate to be formally charged on Wednesday.

George Kalliakmanis, the honorary president of the police officers’ association in Athens, told the Guardian the homicide division was now intent on discovering the motive behind “the murder” because the Afghan was continuing to deny any role in it, although he had confessed to hiding Ross in a suitcase.

“He has admitted to carrying her body to the site. Police have CCTV footage of him doing this on the night of 16 July. He has also confessed to withdrawing €10,000 from ATMs using credit cards that belonged to her. But he has denied murder which police do not believe,” Kalliakmanis said.

The Afghan, a professional boxer in the lightweight division, is believed to have arrived in Greece via the island of Lesbos as a child refugee at the height of Europe’s migration crisis 10 years ago.

He has been quoted as telling police he discovered Ross’s lifeless body in the first floor flat of an apartment block he helped manage in Exarchia, a bohemian district in downtown Athens popular among leftists, foreigners and NGOs.

Ahmadzai, who married a US citizen and devout Christian, Alaina Hall, in 2023, had keys to the flat where their own refugee solidarity group, Love Every Nation, regularly met.

Investigators have confirmed that Ross, a friend of Hall’s with similar volunteering experience and religious views, had moved to the apartment on 10 July after staying with Greek friends when she arrived in the Athens from Edinburgh on 26 June.

Her last telephone call was made from her mobile phone on the night of 15 July – three days before her body was discovered by a homeless man in an abandoned building in Kypseli, about two miles away.

Two possible scenarios in the run up to Ross’s death were being studied, police said. “We believe there was a confrontation,” said one source. “But was that spurred by Ross discovering the Afghan rummaging through her things and stealing her credit cards, or was it a case of sexual assault or the Briton spurning his advances?”

Forensic scientists believe Ross was “likely asphyxiated” after an initial on-site postmortem, which showed there were no evident signs of injuries on her body. However, the autopsy was also deemed inconclusive because of advanced decay.

Further toxicological tests and analysis of vital organs are expected to determine the exact cause of death in the coming days.

Hall, who met Ahmadzai on Lesbos, is widely described as having played a “significant role” in the investigation.

After allegedly becoming suspicious of Ahmadzai’s movements – and newfound wealth, the result of making cash withdrawals with Ross’s credit cards – she reportedly contacted the police, handed over cash he had given her and moved into a hotel.

Adding to the mystery that has engulfed the inquiry, Ross’s phone was used for several days after her death, with text messages sent to family and friends. The messages were described as “deliberately misleading” by police, who believe they were sent in a bid to delay Ross being declared missing. One spoke of her “need to be alone”.

“The Afghan’s partner was very helpful,” said Kalliakmanis. “From the day the victim was identified the investigation faced several challenges but thanks to the homicide division being so thorough they cracked it.”

Police, who collaborated with the UK’s National Crime Agency and the Scottish service, combed through CCTV footage from cameras in the area where the suitcase was found and from banks where cash withdrawals were made before identifying the suspect.