(CNN) — A 26-year-old Afghan man accused of killing a 38-year-old Scottish aid worker whose body was found in a suitcase appeared in court in Greece on Thursday.
The suspect, who cannot be named under Greek law, is accused of killing Elisabeth Ross and putting her body in a suitcase before hiding it in an abandoned construction site in the Greek capital Athens, where it was found on July 18.
He was arrested on Sunday and remanded in custody on charges of intentional homicide, robbery and firearms offenses on Thursday. He denies intentional homicide.
George Kalliakmanis, the head of the Union of Police Officers of Southeast Attica, said Thursday police identified the suspect from CCTV footage, which shows a man near the site wheeling a large suitcase, which was later found by another man.
The suspect trained as a boxer and had some success in the Greek national championships, CNN affiliate CNN Greece reported. He married his wife, a US citizen, in 2023 and the couple have one child together.
A spokesperson for the US State Department did not confirm the nationality of the wife but said: “When an American encounters difficulties abroad, the Department works to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
Police have outlined some of the evidence they have collected to bring charges.
“In his first testimony he (the suspect) denies killing the woman. He said he found her dead in the bathroom. And then panicked and decided to remove the body,” Kalliakmanis said.
“But questions remain as to how he entered the woman’s apartment. And if she opened the door for him or whether he had a key,” said Kalliakmanis, who added that the man has admitted to using Ross’ bank card to withdraw around 10,000 euros ($11,500).
Police also believe that someone continued to use Ross’ cell phone after her death, sending messages pretending to be from her. The messages stopped after the body was discovered, said Kalliakmanis.
After the body was discovered, the suspect’s wife went to the police and reported that a location sharing app the couple used showed that her husband was in the flat where Ross died on the night of July 15 and the early hours of July 16, Kalliakmanis said.
She did not confront him about why he was there, added Kalliakmanis, who said that the investigators had found no evidence that the suspect’s wife was involved in Ross’ death.
An initial coroner’s report has made no definitive conclusion as to the cause of her death, but asphyxiation cannot be ruled out, said Kalliakmanis.
The suspect appeared in court briefly on Wednesday and returned for another hearing on Thursday.
The man left Afghanistan at the age of 15 and arrived in Greece in 2016, CNN Greece reported. He and his wife founded an NGO supporting refugees in 2023.
Authorities are investigating whether the suspect knew Ross through their work supporting refugees in Greece.
Police Scotland assisted with the investigation and a spokesperson for the force said: “We are aware of the death of Scottish woman in Athens and are liaising with authorities in Greece.”
“Officers are providing support to her family in Scotland,” Police Scotland added in a statement to CNN.
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