Woman found dead in suitcase in Athens named as investigators share alarming detail

The identity of a Scottish woman whose body was found inside a suitcase in an abandoned building in Greece has been revealed by authorities.

The body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, was found by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of Athens on 18 July, and she is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was discovered.

As reported by the BBC and state broadcaster ERT, Ross is thought to have travelled to the country from Cyprus last month.

According to local media, she initially stayed with friends in the town of Keratsini, in the Athens Urban Area, before she met American friends in Kypseli on 15 July.

It has been reported that Greek police believe her phone was used to send messages after her death, in an apparent attempt to put those looking for her off the scent.

One Greek officer said: "The phone was being used. Text messages were even sent, obviously with a view to making people believe she was still alive. We are treating the building as a crime scene," The Daily Mail reports.

The body has been identified as 38-year-old Scottish woman Elisabeth-Jane Ross (STV News)

Reports also state that authorities initially couldn’t identify her body because ‘it did not have any signs of identification,’ but Greek authorities found that it was Ross after Interpol examined fingerprint data.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday (30 July), The Guardian newspaper’s Athens correspondent Helena Smith said that Ross had been in Greece for about two weeks before she died.

The journalist said: “She had been staying with a Greek friend here in the capital, and then she disappeared.

“It would seem that someone had control, and I use that word very deliberately, over her mobile phone after she died, and was sending messages clearly to distract from the scent, to distract the authorities and her close friends from trying to track her down.”

Smith added that the area Ross’ body was found in ‘is very popular with people travelling through Athens and young foreigners who have elected to make the Greek capital their home’ and is ‘booming, full of Airbnbs’.

The correspondent said that Ross had family in Edinburgh and ‘connections’ to Greece.

Greek police believe Ross' phone was used to send messages after her death (STV News)

The BBC reports that Greek police are awaiting test results from the medical examiner before a cause of death can be determined.

As per the Press Association, a spokesperson for Greek police said: “Further details have been requested regarding when she arrived in Greece, how, and with whom.

“We cannot provide further details at this stage, as the investigation is fully under way.”

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office added: “Our thoughts are with Elisabeth’s family during this difficult time. We are providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities.”

And a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of the death of a Scottish woman in Athens and are liaising with authorities in Greece. Officers are providing support to her family in Scotland.”