Suspect jailed pending trial in killing of Scottish aid worker in Athens

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A man accused of killing a Scottish aid worker in Athens and hiding her body in a suitcase has been jailed pending his trial for murder.

The 26-year-old Afghan suspect appeared Thursday before an investigative magistrate at a central Athens courthouse, escorted by police officers wearing face coverings.

The hearing lasted nearly three hours, after which he was ordered jailed pending trial on murder charges connected to the death of the 38-year-old woman, whose decomposing body was found inside a suitcase in the downtown Kypseli district.

The body of the victim, identified in Scotland as Elisabeth Jane Ross, was discovered at an abandoned building on July 18 during a heat wave. Authorities are awaiting tissue‑analysis results to confirm whether suffocation caused her death.

Greek data protection laws bar authorities from naming criminal suspects without consent, but officials have confirmed that he is a migrant from Afghanistan.

“He entered Greece in 2016. And when he arrived, he was an unaccompanied minor,” Migration Minister Thanos Plevris told private Antenna television Thursday.

“He was granted international protection status in 2018, having no criminal past. And up until this crime, he had no criminal past,” Plevris said.

Police initially detained the suspect after examining nearby security footage where the body was found.

Originally held on weapons charges, the man is now also charged with premeditated homicide and for allegedly stealing over 10,000 euros ($11,500) from the victim’s accounts.