Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Aug 6

Sharif Ahmadzai Charged in 38-Year-Old Aid Worker's Killing as Wife Gives Key Location Data

Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Aug 6

Sharif Ahmadzai Charged in 38-Year-Old Aid Worker's Killing as Wife Gives Key Location Data

Q: Why did forensic experts first fail to find a cause of death, then later point to likely asphyxiation?

The most likely reason is that the body’s condition made the first examination too limited to identify a precise cause of death, while later, more detailed forensic work revealed signs consistent with asphyxiation. Reports say Ross’s body was found several days after she went missing, inside a suitcase in an abandoned building, and was already in advanced decomposition. That can erase or obscure key forensic markers, especially in suspected strangulation or suffocation cases, where there may be little or no obvious external injury even in a homicide. Investigators specifically noted that the initial on-site postmortem found no evident injuries and was inconclusive. Later examinations were more thorough and did not rely only on what was visible externally. Forensic specialists can look for hidden signs in the neck structures, soft tissues, lungs, eyes and other organs, and they can combine that with toxicology and tissue analysis. In this case, later testing reportedly showed evidence of an “obvious criminal act” and pointed to likely asphyxiation. That shift is not unusual in forensic medicine. Asphyxial deaths can be difficult to diagnose early because decomposition, the absence of visible trauma, and the need for lab results can all delay certainty. Toxicology is also being fast-tracked because experts often need to rule out poisoning, overdose or a natural death before settling on the final cause and manner of death.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 6

Greek prosecutors charged 26-year-old boxer Sharif Ahmadzai with homicide with intent, robbery and weapons offences over the death of Scottish aid worker Elisabeth Ross, 38, and remanded him in custody pending a trial that could take 18 months.
Location data shared by his wife, Alaina Hall, placed Ahmadzai and Ross at the same Athens apartment on 15 July, the day Ross is believed to have been killed, and police called her account "key" and "decisive" to the arrest.
Hall told investigators Ahmadzai left home that night without warning, later could not convincingly explain a new iPhone 17 Pro and €2,550, and Ross's messages after her disappearance did not match her usual English or emoji use.
Police say Ahmadzai put Ross's body in a suitcase and moved it to a derelict Kypseli building, where it was found on 18 July; he is also accused of taking more than €10,000 from her bank accounts.
Ahmadzai has not answered the charges in court and, according to the BBC, denies the killing while admitting he moved the body because he feared being blamed; his lawyer disputes the evidence and points to an initially undetermined cause of death later revised to probable asphyxiation.