New details have emerging in the case of the British national Elizabeth June Ross found dead inside a suitcase in Kypseli, with police now convinced that the perpetrator is the 26-year-old Afghan man arrested in connection with the crime.

Homicide detectives reveal suspect sent hoax texts posing as a “jihadist” after killing British woman

New details have emerged in the investigation into the murder of a British woman in Athens, with police confirming that the chief suspect attempted to mislead detectives by sending messages claiming a jihadist extremist was responsible for her death.

According to information obtained by protothema.gr, after committing the murder the Afghan national, who is married and has a child, began using the victim’s own phone to text her friends and relatives, and even sent messages to himself. He then switched off her phone, obtained an unknown number, and sent further messages to people who knew the victim, to his own wife, and to himself, in which he claimed to be a jihadist who had killed the woman for religious reasons. Police believe this was a deliberate attempt to throw investigators off his trail. The ploy did not work: officers from the Homicide Division soon established his involvement and arrested him.

How the phone led the police to him

The victim’s mobile phone proved decisive in the investigation. Officers established that it had remained in use for some time after her death before being switched off on the Wednesday morning, its last recorded signal tracing to Arachova.

By analysing CCTV footage, investigators were able to map the movements of whoever had been using the phone, tracing them to a commune-like residence in Kypseli that is home to a group of women with strong religious convictions. There, they located a British woman who was in a relationship with the 26-year-old suspect. When first questioned, she told police she had been away with her partner in Arachova at the time of the murder.

In an earlier update, it emerged that the woman eventually told investigators that the suspect had confided in her that he had killed the victim because she kept talking about Christianity and had tried to influence her religiously. However, the most recent findings have added a striking detail to that account. Although the suspect was originally Muslim, he had converted to Protestantism after meeting his wife, who is Protestant, before converting a second time to Christianity.

Cause of death

The coroner examining the case has assessed that the overall body of evidence, together with the condition of the body, points to a criminal act, with asphyxiation the most likely cause of death. Toxicology results are still pending.

Timeline: how the case unfolded

The British woman arrived in Greece from Edinburgh on 29 June, having spent several years volunteering with churches and humanitarian organisations in various countries. She has been described as a calm, giving and non-confrontational person.

From 2 July, she had been living in a ground-floor flat on Rethymnou Street in Exarchia, to which the suspect and his partner also held keys. His partner has told police that shortly after midnight between 15 and 16 July, she woke to find he was not at home, and, using a shared location-tracking app, saw that he was at that address.

The last confirmed sign of life from Elizabeth Ross came at 9.41pm on 15 July, when she spoke by phone with someone close to her. Afterwards, friends and relatives noticed that messages sent from her phone had taken on a different tone and unusual phrasing, and that she suddenly seemed to have withdrawn and become isolated. Investigators say these details reinforce their conclusion that, from that point, someone else was using the phone in an attempt to create the false impression that she was still alive.

The disposal of the body

Police have also gathered video evidence tracing the suspect’s movements. On the night of 16 July, he is recorded arriving by car on Rethymnou Street and leaving carrying a large travel suitcase. A short time later, at 10.43pm, security cameras captured him on foot on Evelpidon Street, carrying the suitcase, inside which was the British woman’s body, along with a blue bag of unknown contents. Thirteen minutes later, he is seen leaving the area without either the suitcase or the bag, now carrying only a light coloured backpack.

Homicide Division officers say this footage, taken together, captures both the suspect’s movements in the aftermath of the killing and his efforts to erase every trace that could lead back to the true circumstances of the crime.

The suspect’s account, and his partner’s growing suspicions

Immediately after his arrest, the suspect initially claimed that he had entered the victim’s flat and found her already dead. He later admitted that he had panicked at the prospect of being accused of her murder, and had therefore decided to dispose of the body by placing it in a suitcase in order to avoid implication in the case. He did, however, admit to taking her bank card and withdrawing money from her account.

On 19 July, the victim’s phone was activated in Arachova, where, according to an analysis of telecommunications data and CCTV footage, the suspect was staying, along with his partner and their child.

Particular weight is now being placed on the conduct of the suspect’s partner in the days that followed. According to her statement, once the victim’s body was formally identified on 30 July, she began to suspect his direct involvement. She subsequently left their home with their infant child and moved into a hotel.

According to the case file, the suspect had given her €2,550 around that time, and had also given her a brand new iPhone 17 Pro the day after Ross’s disappearance. She has since handed over both the device and the money to the authorities, saying she had believed they came from the victim’s belongings.