Greek police arrest suspect over British woman’s body found in suitcase

Police said a man, identified as an Afghan national, had ‘confessed’. The body of Elisabeth Jane Ross was found on July 18 in Athens

Published: 2:00am, 3 Aug 2026

Greek police on Sunday said they had arrested a suspect in their investigation into the death of a British woman whose body was found in a suitcase in Athens last month.

The police in a statement said they had arrested a 26-year-old man, identified in media reports as an Afghan national, adding that he had “confessed his actions”.

“Officers of the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime have solved the homicide of a 38-year-old UK national, whose body was found inside a suitcase in an abandoned building in the Kypseli area on July 18,” they said.

They had opened a criminal file against him for “intentional homicide, robbery and violation of firearms legislation”, they said.

The woman, identified in media reports as Elisabeth-Jane Ross from Scotland, had gone to Greece on June 26 and stayed at a friend’s home in the Piraeus area until July 10, at which point she departed for an unknown destination within the greater Athens area, they said.

“It emerged that the 26-year-old placed the body in a suitcase and transported it to the abandoned premises. Furthermore, in the days that followed, the 26-year-old used the victim’s bank cards to withdraw sums of money,” the police said.