Afghan boxer accused of killing British woman in Athens to appear in court

ATHENS, Aug 5 - A 26-year old professional boxer from Afghanistan accused of killing a Scottish woman whose body was found in a suitcase in central Athens last month will appear in court on Wednesday, two police officials said.

Police have identified the victim as Elisabeth Jane Ross, 38, an aid worker who had been missing since July 15.

Ross' body, wrapped in black fabric, was found on July 18 in a green suitcase left in an abandoned construction site in the busy Kypseli neighbourhood, where the suspect lived.

A post-mortem examination could not determine the cause of death due to decomposition, but did not rule out asphyxiation, one official said.

The suspect, a professional boxer according to his wife, was born in Afghanistan. He had been granted asylum and was involved in volunteer work with the victim, according to the police officials. He was arrested on Sunday and will appear in court on Wednesday as a first chance to to respond to the charges.

The suspect denies the murder accusations, one of the officials said. He told police he found Ross' body in an apartment bathroom, panicked, placed it in a suitcase and tried to dispose of it.

He faces manslaughter, robbery and illegal gun possession charges after police found a knife and a replica pistol in his apartment, the official said. Those charges could change as the case develops.

Police say he used Ross' bank card to withdraw money after her death and may have used her phone to send messages suggesting she was alive.

He is due to appear before a prosecutor at 0700 GMT.

Ross, a certified psychotherapist and volunteer aid worker with Christian and refugee organisations, arrived in Greece on June 29, one of the officials said.

She initially stayed at a friend's flat in Piraeus before moving to a central Athens flat managed by a non-governmental organisation. The suspect and his 28-year-old wife, a U.S. national, held keys to the flat.

On July 15, Ross planned to return to her friend's home in Piraeus. No one in her circle had seen or spoken to her since then. REUTERS