Suspect appears in court after Scottish woman's body found in suitcase in Greece

A man accused of killing a British woman and disposing of her body in a suitcase has appeared in a court in Athens.

The body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, was discovered by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of the Greek capital on 18 July.

The suspect is widely reported to be Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, an Afghan boxer who left his home country after being orphaned as a teenager.

The authorities are yet to publicly confirm his identity.

He arrived at court for a hearing on Wednesday morning in an unmarked grey Hyundai i30 car, alongside a number of police officers, and left in the same vehicle about an hour later.

It is understood he was assigned a court-appointed lawyer during the hearing, which took place in private.

He is expected to appear again for a further hearing on Thursday.

The court is located on the city's Evelpidon Street, just a few minutes' walk from where the charity worker's body was found.

Ahmadzai, who was initially detained on illegal weapons possession charges, is facing a murder charge as well as accusations that he stole more than €10,000 (£8,573) from the victim's bank accounts using her bank cards, police said.

Greek officials said he admitted moving the body but has denied the murder allegations.

Police said the suspect was detained for questioning after investigators reviewed surveillance camera footage recorded near the abandoned building.

After allegedly murdering Ms Ross, who is understood to be from Edinburgh in Scotland, Ahmadzai is accused of sending a series of messages from her phone to her friends and family before switching off the device.

He is then said to have bought another phone and texted her friends in Athens, including his wife, impersonating an unnamed jihadist saying he had killed the Scot because of her religion, Greek newspapers Proto Thema and Ta Nea reported.

The newspapers reported that his wife told the police that she suspected her husband's involvement in the murder when she woke up to find he was not in their apartment and tracked his phone to where Ms Ross was staying.

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Ms Ross is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found, during a heatwave in which temperatures reached 36C.

The Hellenic Police, Greece's national force, were able to identify her using fingerprints and with the help of Interpol.

Ms Ross entered Greece on 26 June and was initially staying with friends in Piraeus, a port area of Athens.

She is then said to have gone to meet American friends in another part of the city, but it is unclear if this ever happened.

Authorities are awaiting the results of tissue analysis to determine whether she died from suffocation, as suggested by a preliminary assessment by the medical examiner.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said earlier: "Our thoughts are with Elisabeth's family during this difficult time.

"We are providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities."

Police Scotland is also liaising with authorities in Greece and is providing support to Ms Ross' family.

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