Afghan accused of killing British woman in Athens to stay in jail pending trial

ATHENS, Aug 6 - A Greek court ordered that a 26-year-old Afghan boxer accused of killing a Scottish woman whose body was found in a suitcase in Athens be held in jail pending trial after he refused to enter a plea on Thursday, legal and police sources said.

The man, accused of manslaughter, robbery and illegal gun possession, exercised his right to silence and did not respond to the charges as toxicological test results are still pending, the legal source said.

The body of Elisabeth Jane Ross, a 38-year-old certified psychotherapist and volunteer aid worker, was found on July 18 in a suitcase on an abandoned construction site after she had been missing for three days.

The suspect, who police officials describe as a professional boxer from Afghanistan who was granted asylum in Greece, was arrested on Sunday. He has denied wrongdoing, police officials told Reuters.

He told police earlier this week that he found Ross' body in an apartment bathroom, panicked, placed it in a suitcase and tried to dispose of it, police officials said.

A post-mortem examination could not determine the cause of death due to decomposition but the report writers did not rule out asphyxiation, a police source said. REUTERS