Max Stephens
An Afghan national arrested on suspicion of murdering a British woman in Athens and disposing of her remains in a suitcase is a champion boxer who co-ran a refugee charity, according to reports.
Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, has been detained by Greek police for allegedly killing Elisabeth-Jane Ross, a 38-year-old charity volunteer, and using her bank card to withdraw thousands of euros.
Initial medical reports suggest she died from asphyxiation, according to a case file.
Ahmadzai is said to have admitted to dumping Ross’s body inside an abandoned building and sending text messages from her phone to convince relatives she was alive.
Greek authorities disclosed that a homeless man had discovered Ross’s remains on July 18 after he noticed a “bad smell” emanating from an empty building in the Kypseli district.
Ahmadzai, a father of one, became the key suspect after his American wife, Alaina Hall, raised concerns to police about his behaviour in the days following Ross’s death, The Times and The Daily Mail reported.
The couple reportedly knew Ross, a Christian volunteer from Edinburgh, through their non-governmental organisation named Love Every Nation Athens.
Detectives are said to have opened an investigation into Ahmadzai after his wife found him missing from their home on July 15 and checked his shared location, which placed him at Ross’s apartment.
Ahmadzai allegedly attempted to give his wife €2550 ($4194) in cash along with a new Apple iPhone 17 Pro, which she handed over to police, believing they had been bought with Ross’s money.
When police raided his home on August 1, they found a black metal replica pistol and a black military-style knife, according to sources quoted by the Daily Mail.
When questioned by police, Ahmadzai reportedly told detectives that he found Ross already dead in her bathroom but later admitted to using her bank cards and mobile phone.
His wife came forward and provided information to the police when Ross was publicly identified on July 30.
Ahmadzai fled Afghanistan at age 15 and arrived in Lesbos on a small boat in 2016 as a refugee after his family was killed by the Taliban, according to a self-penned blog post titled “Sharif’s Story”.
In the post, Ahmadzai describes how his father, a military commander, survived six assassination attempts by the Taliban before insurgents killed him in an ambush.
Ahmadzai’s 45-day journey on foot through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey was turned into a short film by a British cartoonist and the International Federation of Red Cross.
He said his boat capsized twice before he successfully landed on Lesbos.
‘My dreams were killed’
In the post, Ahmadzai wrote: “I lost everything I had. I deserved a better life than this. So many of my dreams were killed.
“Life truly isn’t fair, but I never gave up, and I will never give up. God is on my side. He is not finished with me. And now, my biggest dream is to serve others with everything I have.”
While at the island’s Moria Camp, the second-largest refugee camp in Europe, he met Hall, who was a volunteer. Ahmadzai converted to Christianity the next year. The pair moved to Athens in 2019 and married on April 29, 2023.
Ahmadzai fought twice as a professional boxer in Athens, competing in the Super Light division.
He lost his debut in June 2025 and won his second in March 2026, taking the vacant national title.
Ross, a committed Christian who was known as Lisa, often travelled to Greece to volunteer and help people through non-governmental organisations, and was regarded as a “good Samaritan”.
She had travelled the world participating in charitable work inspired by her faith, including spending time in Kurdistan helping Syrian refugees. In Athens, she would often be seen talking to homeless people in the poorer parts of the city, including near an abandoned car park where they drank, took drugs and slept.
Ahmadzai is expected to appear before Athens magistrates’ court on Wednesday.
