The 26-year-old Afghan man who confessed to dumping the remains of a dead British woman in Greece has been identified as boxer and migrant Sharif Ahmadzai.
Ahmadzai, whose identity was disclosed by local and international outlets, reportedly arrived through a migrant boat on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016. His story as a migrant was the center of an animation published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IRFC) nine years ago.
The Afghan man now stands as the main suspect in the murder of 38 year-old British woman Elisabeth-Jane Ross, whose remains were found at an abandoned building in Athens in mid-July.
Ahmadzai is due to appear before a local court on Wednesday, facing charges of premeditated murder, robbery, and weapons-related offenses.
Greek police officers originally detained Ahmadzai last week after he confessed to dumping the briefcase containing Ross’ remains. The briefcase with the remains were found at the abandoned building by a homeless person. The discovery immediately triggered an investigation that led to the successful identification of Ross’ remains some days later.
Although Ahmadzai admitted to have transported Ross’ remains inside the briefcase, he has reportedly denied having killed the British woman. Instead, he has allegedly claimed that “dead in the bathroom and panicked, which is why he moved the body.”
CCTV footage reportedly verified by the police appears to show Ahmadzai carrying a briefcase believed to have contained the remains of Elisabeth-Jane Ross.
Ross, who lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, had traveled to Greece in June to spend time with her friends in Piraeus. The BBC reports that both Ross and Ahmadzai worked with refugees in the past, while GB News described the Afghan boxer as the co-founder of a refugee charity. Greek police officers are reportedly investigating whether Ahmadzai and Ross knew each other through their respective charity work.
It is reportedly understood that Ross told her friends on mid-July that she would go to central Athens’ Kypseli neighborhood, where her “American friends” were at. The abandoned building where her remains were found at is located in Kypseli. Coroners have reportedly described her cause of death as an “obvious criminal act, likely asphyxiation.”
Unnamed sources with knowledge of the case told the Greek newspaper Proto Thema that Ahmadzai allegedly used an unknown phone number to send messages declaring himself a “jihadist” and as the perpetrator of the murder — proclaiming that he killed the British woman because of religion.
According to Proto Thema, the messages were sent to the victim’s relatives, Ahmadzai’s wife, and to Ahmadzai himself. Both Proto Thema and the BBC noted that Ahmadzai married to his wife, American national Alaina Hall, and converted to Christianity after he met her.
Hall reportedly testified that she began to suspect of her husband’s involvement in the crime after Ross’ identity was officially confirmed. Per the BBC, a location-sharing app used by Ahmadzai’s wife showed that the suspect was at the same street where Ross is believed to have died int he days before. George Kalliakmanis, president of the Union of Police Officers of Southeast Attica, said that officers are investigating whether Ahmadzai had a key to the apartment Ross was staying in.
Proto Thema, citing the case file, detailed that Hall left her home with their infant child and settled in a hotel. Ahmadzai then allegedly gave her 2,550 euros and a brand new iPhone 17 pro smartphone — both of which she handed over to the authorities.
According to the Greek newspaper, his personal story as a migrant was previously highlighted as an “example” of a refugee’s survival and integration by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IRFC).
Most notably, Ahmadzai’s migrant journey before arriving at a refugee camp on the island of Lesbos was featured in an animation video published by the IRFC nine years ago titled, “Game of Life: The Story of Sharif.”
Although the video was flagged as private at IFRC’s YouTube channel on Wednesday morning it remains available on MTV Voices’ YouTube channel. MTV Voices originally partnered with the IFRC for the video, according to one of the artists that worked on the project.
Similarly, the animation video is still available at the website and Vimeo account of another artist that originally worked on the project at press time.
According to reports, Ahmadzai was born in Afghanistan and lost his family to Taliban attacks when he was a teenager.
His father has been described by outlets as an Afghan Army commander that was shot dead by the Taliban, while Ahmadzai’s mother and siblings reportedly died in a suicide bombing in Kabul.
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