A 26-year-old Afghan national, Sharif Ahmadzai, has been remanded in custody on suspicion of murdering 38-year-old British woman Lisa, whose body was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition inside a suitcase in an abandoned building in the Athens district of Kypseli.<\/p>\n The case has attracted widespread attention in both Greece and United Kingdom. According to detailed reporting by the Daily Mail<\/em> and other British media, Ahmadzai denies responsibility for the woman\u2019s death. He has, however, admitted to removing her body, taking her mobile phone and using her bank cards to withdraw significant sums of money. He is also alleged to have sent messages from her phone to contacts in an effort to maintain the appearance that she was still alive.<\/p>\n Security camera footage is reported to show him carrying a black suitcase from a flat on Rethymnou Street. An initial post-mortem examination was unable to establish a definitive cause of death.<\/p>\n Ahmadzai reached Lesvos in 2016 after travelling through Iran and Turkey. In an earlier interview at the Moria reception centre, he told a journalist that he had lost his entire family. His father, an Afghan army commander, was killed by the Taliban when Ahmadzai was four. An older brother was abducted and never seen again; his mother, older sister and younger brother died in a bomb attack in Kabul in 2015.<\/p>\n After his arrival he began volunteering with a Christian organisation in Moria, converted to evangelical Christianity and was later granted asylum. His change of faith became a notable element of the public profile he presented as a refugee.<\/p>\n While on Lesvos, Ahmadzai met an American Christian volunteer who later became his wife. The couple married in Greece in 2023. They were photographed together in Greece and during trips to cities including Rome, Milan, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Brussels. In 2023 they established a charity that, according to the Daily Mail<\/em>, distributed food, infant formula and medicines to families in need. Ahmadzai also trained in boxing and personal fitness.<\/p>\n In the months before the killing, friends reported growing strain in the marriage. His wife had noticed changes in his behaviour and believed he had moved away from his Christian faith. She was also troubled by his frequent visits to gyms and bars. Friends described him as \u201cacting as if he were single.\u201d<\/p>\n Lisa had travelled to Greece for missionary work and collaborated with organisations supporting refugees and migrants. She met Ahmadzai and his wife through their voluntary activities in Athens. She arrived in late June, initially staying in Keratsini before moving to a flat on Rethymnou Street used by the couple\u2019s charity.<\/p>\n Ahmadzai\u2019s wife later told police she first met Lisa in February. Despite the introduction, her husband continued to communicate with the British woman.<\/p>\n According to court documents cited by the Daily Mail<\/em>, on the evening of 15 July Ahmadzai\u2019s wife saw a message Lisa had sent to her husband. Later that night she woke to find he was not at home. Checking a location-tracking app, she saw that his phone was at Lisa\u2019s flat. When questioned, he claimed he had gone out to watch a football match and had only stopped at the flat to use the toilet.<\/p>\n Three days later, on 18 July, Lisa\u2019s body was found inside a suitcase. Ahmadzai\u2019s wife grew increasingly suspicious after receiving messages from Lisa\u2019s phone whose tone, wording and use of emoji did not match the woman\u2019s usual style of communication. She contacted the police, expressing concern both for Lisa\u2019s safety and about her husband\u2019s possible involvement.<\/p>\n Officers reviewed security camera footage showing Ahmadzai leaving the Rethymnou Street flat carrying a suitcase. He was arrested on 1 August.<\/p>\n Following his arrest, Ahmadzai claimed that on the night of 15 July he found Lisa in a very poor condition in the bathroom, \u201cemitting something like water from her mouth\u201d and unresponsive. He said he returned the next day and discovered she was dead. According to his account, he panicked and sought advice from an elderly man near a bus stop whom he called \u201cNikos.\u201d The man allegedly advised him to remove the body from the flat to avoid becoming involved. Ahmadzai said he placed the body in a suitcase and drove it, using his wife\u2019s car, to an abandoned building.<\/p>\n He further claimed that the same man later blackmailed him for money and that part of the cash withdrawn with Lisa\u2019s bank cards was intended for this individual.<\/p>\n Ahmadzai faces charges of intentional homicide, robbery and firearms offences. During a search of his home, police reportedly recovered a Glock-style replica pistol and a military-style knife.<\/p>\n Lisa\u2019s family described her as a \u201ckind and selfless\u201d person with a long record of charitable and missionary work.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000231595.webp)
<\/source><\/picture><\/figure>\nArrival in Greece and conversion<\/h3>\n
Marriage and subsequent tensions<\/h3>\n
Meeting the victim<\/h3>\n
Events of 15 July and the discovery of the body<\/h3>\n
Ahmadzai\u2019s account<\/h3>\n