The household of an American Christian lady who married an Afghan migrant now accused of killing a British charity employee in Greece had lengthy opposed the connection, a relative has claimed.
Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, has been detained in reference to the dying of 38-year-old Elisabeth-Jane Ross, whose physique was found inside a suitcase in Athens.
Ahmadzai, an expert boxer who reached Greece by small boat in 2016, is accused by authorities of murdering Ms Ross, inserting her stays in a suitcase and abandoning it inside a derelict constructing.
After arriving on the Greek island of Lesvos, Ahmadzai transformed to Christianity and later married 28-year-old US citizen Alaina Corridor in 2023.
The couple, who later had a baby collectively, established a refugee-focused ministry in Athens. Ms Corridor was raised in Ringgold, Georgia, roughly 20 miles south of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Nonetheless, Alaina’s aunt, Leanne Corridor, stated her brother Thomas, a 65-year-old pilot, and his spouse Susan, 61, had severe reservations about their daughter’s choice to marry Ahmadzai.
Chatting with the Each day Mail, Leanne Corridor stated: “I’ve by no means met him, I’ve solely heard about him. However I can inform you my brother and sister-in-law by no means needed them to get married.”
Greek investigators imagine the killing could have adopted a “confrontation” and are reportedly inspecting two potential motives: an tried mugging or a sexual assault.
Suitcase homicide suspect Sharif Ahmadzai married US-born Alaina Corridor in 2023. The pair are understood to have a child collectively
That is the second Afghan skilled boxer Ahmadzai walks by the streets of Athens carrying a suitcase allegedly containing the physique of Briton Elisabeth-Jane Ross
Ahmadzai is suspected of killing Elisabeth-Jane Ross (pictured) earlier than placing her physique in a bag and dumping it in a derelict constructing
‘We imagine there was a confrontation,’ stated one supply.
‘However was that spurred by Ross discovering the Afghan rummaging by her issues and stealing her bank cards, or was it a case of sexual assault or the Briton spurning his advances?’
The physique of Ms Ross, also referred to as Lisa, was discovered by a homeless man within the Kypseli space of the Greek capital on July 18, three days after she went lacking.
Ahmadzai was arrested on Monday over the Scottish charity employee’s dying.
This got here after CCTV footage emerged which allegedly reveals him leaving his residence the place Ms Ross was staying with a suitcase and dropping it the place her stays had been discovered.
The boxer is captured heading in direction of an deserted automotive park whereas holding a blue rucksack.
He leaves the derelict website round 13 minutes later with out the luggage.
Different footage obtained by the police reportedly present him arriving at Ms Ross’s flat in a automotive owned by Ms Corridor on the night of July 15.
The migrant who arrived in Greece on a small boat earlier than marrying an American Christian has been arrested
The skilled boxer reached the island of Lesvos in 2016. He then transformed to Christianity and married US-born Christian Alaina Corridor in 2023 earlier than they based a ministry serving to refugees in Athens.
Ahmadzai and Ms Corridor, are believed to have recognized Ms Ross, who was additionally a Christian volunteer, by their work.
That they had a key to the flat she was staying in because it was owned by their organisation, Love Each Nation Athens, police sources advised the Each day Mail.
Police began investigating the Afghan-national after it’s understood his spouse reported her husband’s suspicious behaviour on July 30.
She allegedly woke to search out him lacking on the night of July 15 and checked his shared location which confirmed him at Ms Ross’s residence.
Ahmadzai is known to have advised police he discovered Ms Ross already lifeless in her lavatory.
He allegedly admitted he used the sufferer’s financial institution playing cards to withdraw money and in addition used her cellphone to ship messages to kin and mates, pretending to be her.
Ahmadzai’s spouse grew suspicious when it was introduced Ms Ross’s physique had been discovered. She left the household dwelling with their child and stayed in a resort.
Ahmadzai gave her €2,550 and a brand new Apple iPhone 17 Professional however she refused them.
She handed them to police believing they had been purchased with Ms Ross’s cash.
Detectives raided the household dwelling on August 1 and located a black metallic reproduction Glock-style pistol and a black military-style knife, sources say.
Ahmadzai is a Tremendous Gentle skilled boxer who has had two fights in Athens with one loss and one victory.
His life story has been documented in a cartoon video and a forthcoming e-book titled: From Hell To House: How Loss, Exile And Hope Constructed The Man I Grew to become.
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Ahmadzai wrote: ‘Irrespective of how darkish your story is, there may be all the time mild on the finish of the tunnel.’
He was born in Afghanistan to a navy commander father who survived six Taliban assassination makes an attempt earlier than being killed in a midnight ambush when Ahmadzai was three.
The militants shot him within the head on the best way dwelling from an 18-hour shift.
Ms Corridor’s (pictured) mother and father are stated to have disapproved of their daughter’s alternative of husband
Ahmadzai is a Tremendous Gentle skilled boxer who has had two fights in Athens with one loss and one victory
When he was 9, his older brother Samuel was kidnapped by the Taliban and by no means returned.
His mom, sister and youthful brother had been killed in a suicide automotive bomb six years later leaving him an orphan.
Alone in Kabul, Ahmadzai used his household’s remaining cash to depart Afghanistan and spent 45 days strolling by Pakistan, Iran and Turkey in freezing situations.
He witnessed a fellow migrant freeze to dying and was arrested a number of instances with police in Iran opening hearth on a bunch that noticed 26 killed.
On arrival in Turkey, he made three makes an attempt to get to Greece by sea. His boats sank on the primary two journeys earlier than he was lastly profitable.
He arrived on the island of Lesvos aged 16 in 2016 and entered Moria Camp the place he taught himself English and started translating for a humanitarian organisation.
He met Alaina, who was volunteering on the centre that yr, transformed to Christianity the next yr and moved to Athens in 2019.
It was right here he started boxing in a park earlier than serving to practice refugee boys. He developed romantic emotions for Alaina in 2021 and proposed the next yr.
His spouse stated: ‘I had seen his development and his coronary heart for the Lord, and it was so engaging to me…
‘We had each entered the connection with intentionality; we each had the identical coronary heart and need – to like the Lord and to serve individuals…
‘There have been challenges, and it positively wasn’t a simple highway, however the Lord was devoted by all of it.’
They based Love Each Nation Athens earlier than lastly getting the paperwork to marry on April 29, 2023.
He was operating free boxing classes 5 nights per week for unaccompanied teenage boys and the couple had been distributing meals luggage and prescriptions weekly to refugee households.
Officers began probing Ahmadzai after his spouse Alaina allegedly reported her husband had been behaving suspiciously on July 30
In addition they organised neighborhood occasions, sports activities classes and actions for younger individuals throughout Athens.
Police sources beforehand revealed that Ahmadzai – who had transformed to Christianity – advised his spouse that he had argued with Ms Ross as a result of she needed him to hitch her ‘stricter’ Christian group.
He was arrested shortly after Ms Ross’s cell phone – which had been off for days – was all of the sudden switched on earlier this week with police instantly tracing it to a residence in Athens the place he was staying.
When questioned by detectives, his spouse advised officers they’d earlier been staying in Arachova, a mountainous village round two hours away from Athens and whereas there she turned involved after her husband went lacking.
After utilizing a shared location monitoring app, she noticed that he was in an residence in Rethymnou Road, the place Ms Ross was staying and is believed to have been killed.
A police supply revealed: ‘The lady advised us that her husband had confided in her that he was indignant with the British lady. She was making an attempt to affect him religiously and it turned an excessive amount of for him.’
Ms Ross, who was from Edinburgh, had been a daily customer to Greece over the previous seven years volunteering with NGOs serving to refugees, homeless individuals and different weak teams.
She had beforehand volunteered with the One Coronary heart organisation when in Greece, which specialises in offering medical assist to refugees, significantly these from Afghanistan or Iran.
She arrived in Athens on June 26 and had initially been staying with Greek mates within the Keratsini district, the nation’s important seaport near town.
Police confirmed that she moved to Rethymnou Road in Athens metropolis centre on July 2 and was volunteering with a Christian-based NGO working with refugees and different weak teams.
CCTV footage gathered by police confirmed the Afghan man arriving by automotive at Ms Ross’s ground-floor flat on the night of July 16.
At round 10pm, cameras captured him carrying the suitcase alongside the highway on which the deserted automotive park is situated. 13 minutes later he’s seen strolling away from the derelict website with out the suitcase.
The final confirmed signal of life from Ms Ross was recorded at 9.41pm on July 15, when she known as a detailed good friend.
Following that, her mates and kin continued to obtain messages from her, however they turned suspicious that they weren’t real due to the type of language.
She additionally spoke about going away and desirous to be alone, which they thought was out of character for her.
Ahmadzai is because of seem earlier than magistrates in Athens on Wednesday.
