An Afghan man arrested for allegedly killing a British woman and then stuffing her body inside a suitcase said he had become angry with her because she was trying to convert him to Christianity.
The body of Elisabeth Jane Ross, 38, who was also known as Lisa, was discovered inside the suitcase by a homeless man in an abandoned carpark in the Kypseli district of Athens on July 18.
Greek police arrested a 26-year-old man on Sunday night with graphic details emerging about the crime and the testimony his wife provided that led to his capture.
And police sources revealed that the man told his wife, who reportedly is a British national, that he had argued with Ms Ross, a devoted Christian, because she kept talking to him about her faith and he was upset that she wanted to turn him away from Islam.
The man, who has not been named, was arrested shortly after Ms Ross’s mobile phone – which had been off for days – was suddenly switched on earlier this week with police immediately tracing it to a residence in Athens where the man was staying with his wife and child.
When questioned by detectives, she told officers that they had earlier been staying in Arachova, a mountainous village around two hours away from Athens and while there she became concerned after her husband went missing on 16 July.
After using a shared location tracking app, she saw that he was in an apartment in Rethymnou Street, central Athens, where Ms Ross was staying and is believed to have been killed.
Elisabeth Jane Ross was found dead with her body stuffed inside a suitcase in Athens, Greece
The address where Ms Ross had been staying prior to being found. Her body was discovered three days after telling Greek friends that she was going to Kypseli
A police source revealed: ‘The woman told us that her husband had confided in her that he was angry with the British woman because she was trying to make him Christian. She was trying to influence him religiously and it became too much for him.’
The wife told police that she suspected her husband may have been involved after news emerged on July 30 that the body of Ms Ross had been discovered.
Shortly before this, he gave her around £2,000 and a brand-new iPhone, raising her suspicions as to where he got the cash from and how he was able to afford gifting her a brand new mobile.
According to police sources, when the man was arrested the keys to Ms Ross’s flat were found in his possession. He was also found to have withdrawn €10,000 (£8,500) using her bank cards.
The source added: ‘The testimony of the wife has been crucial and it would appear that she did not want to be part of the crime committed by her husband. Without her and CCTV evidence, we would not have been able to find this man.’
Police have not announced the cause of death but have indicated that initial examinations of the body indicate that the most likely cause is asphyxiation.
Ms Ross, 38, who was from Edinburgh, had been a regular visitor to Greece over the past seven years volunteering with NGOs helping refugees, homeless people and other vulnerable groups.
It has emerged that Ms Ross had previously volunteered with the One Heart organisation when in Greece which specialises in providing medical support to refugees, particularly those from Afghanistan or Iran.
Elisabeth Jane Ross was found dead with her body stuffed inside a suitcase in Athens, Greece
She arrived in Athens on June 26 and had initially been staying with Greek friends in the Keratsini district, the country’s main seaport close to the city.
Police confirmed that she moved to Rethymnou Street in Athens city centre on July 2 and was volunteering with a Christian-based NGO working with refugees and other vulnerable groups.
CCTV footage gathered by police showed the Afghan man arriving by car at Ms Ross’s ground-floor flat on the evening of 16 July.
At around 10pm, cameras captured him carrying the suitcase along the road on which the abandoned car park is located. Thirteen minutes later he is seen walking away from the derelict site without the suitcase.
The last confirmed sign of life from Ms Ross was recorded at 9:41 p.m. on July 15, when she called a close friend.
Following that, her friends and relatives continued to receive messages from her, but they became suspicious that they were not genuine because of the style of language.
She also spoke about going away and wanting to be alone, which they thought was out of character for her.
One text from her mobile on July 15 to a Greek friend read: ‘I need some time – I’m going to a Greek island.’
Messages to her family claimed that she ‘needed some time to herself’ and that she ‘wanted to be alone for a while’.
Police now believe that the messages were sent by the Afghan man in an attempted cover-up.
