Sharif Ahmadzai allegedly sent texts from a burner phone pretending to be a jihadist after murdering Edinburgh Christian charity worker Elisabeth Jane Ross in Athens on July 15.
The Afghan migrant accused of killing a Scots woman found dead in a suitcase in Greece reportedly texted his wife posing as an unnamed jihadist following her death.
Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, was found dead inside a suitcase in a derelict building in Athens on July 18 after vanishing days earlier. Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, has been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of the Christian charity worker, from Edinburgh.
It has now been alleged by Greek outlet Proto Thema, that the professional boxer bought and used a burner phone to send messages to Elisabeth’s friends, his wife, Alaina Hall, and even himself. In the messages he allegedly claimed to be an unnamed jihadist who had killed Elisabeth because of her Christian faith.
Ahmadzai is also accused of texting Elisabeth’s friends and family using her own phone before switching off the device.
This comes after we reported that Sharif Ahmadzai had planned to leave Greece and make his was to the UK. In a video published a number of years ago by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Ahmadazi’s story is told through a cartoon.
The video reveals his father was killed while working as a commander in the national army, while his mother and siblings died in a suicide bombing. It details his journey being smuggled into Greece through Iran and Turkey and being housed at a migrant camp on Lesbos.
Ahmadazi, whose words from the camp are being voiced by an actor, says: “I have an aunt in the United Kingdom. She told me, ‘I can take full responsibility of you, if someone helps you get to the UK’. But, if I can’t get there, I don’t know what will happen to me.”
Cops investigating the motive behind the killing are understood to be looking at a number of options – including that she may have rejected his advances. Ahmadzi is married to US citizen Alaina Hall, 28, and converted to Christianity.
The couple set up a ministry for refugees in Athens called Love Every Nation Athens and went on to have a child together. It’s said that the couple knew Ms Ross through their missionary work.
Cops confirmed they had a key to the flat she was staying in as it was owned by their charity. Ahmadzai is believed to have informed cops that he found Ms Ross already dead in her bathroom.
Police launched a probe into the Afghan-national after it is understood his US wife reported her husband’s suspicious behaviour on July 30.
She allegedly woke up and noticed he wasn’t at home on the evening of July 15 and checked his shared location which showed him at Ms Ross’s apartment. He allegedly admitted using her bank cards to withdraw cash and also used her phone to send messages to relatives and friends, pretending to be her.
Ahmadzai’s wife grew even more suspicious when it was announced Ms Ross’s body had been found and left the family home with their baby to stay in a hotel. Ahmadzai gave her €2,550 and a new Apple iPhone 17 Pro but she handed them over to police believing they were bought with Ms Ross’s money.
Detectives raided the family home on August 1 and found a black metal replica Glock-style pistol and a black military-style knife, sources say.
Chilling CCTV footage showed the horror moment he allegedly drags the suitcase containing the missionary’s body through the streets of Athens. He was later seen on camera without the suitcase.
Ahmadzai, who is due to appear in court tomorrow, also spouted his loathing of Christian aid workers in a string of hate-filled online posts in the weeks before the incident.
He had written a memoir called From Hell to Home about his experiences in camps and shared a page from the book on his social media with a chapter entitled “corrupt NGOs”.
In a Facebook post outlining his views on the subject in May, he wrote: “Shame on corruption dressed like charity. Shame on business wearing the name of Christ.”
Ahmadzai had regularly told his online followers of his disdain for NGOs, repeatedly referring to one experience in a refugee camp in Lesvos, where he furiously slammed charity volunteers and spoke of “karma”.
Ms Ross had been a regular visitor to Greece over the past seven years, where she volunteered with NGOs helping refugees, homeless people and other vulnerable groups. She arrived in Athens on June 26 and the last confirmed sign her alive was recorded at 9.41pm on July 15, when she called a close pal.
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