Greek police are seeking unidentified American acquaintances of a British woman whose body was found in a suitcase in Athens, officials reported. Elizabeth Jane Ross, 38, was discovered on July 18 in an abandoned car park in the Kypseli district of Athens.
Investigators are working to trace Ross's movements in the 72 hours leading up to the discovery of her remains. She had been staying with Greek friends in the Keratsini district, near the country's main seaport. However, on July 15, she informed them she was going to stay with Americans she knew in Kypseli, a more central area of Athens. Police have stated that her Greek friends are not under suspicion and are cooperating with the investigation.
Ross's phone remained active in the Athens area until just before her identification, according to authorities. A text message sent from her phone to a Greek friend on July 15 read, "I need some time – I'm going to a Greek island." Other messages to her family claimed she needed time alone. Investigators suspect that messages were sent from Ross's phone after her death in an attempt to mislead people into believing she was still alive. A Greek officer stated that the phone was active and used to send text messages to suggest she was alive before it was switched off around the time her death was reported.
Ross's father, a lawyer from Edinburgh, told police he received messages from July 15 to July 29. The cause of death has not yet been confirmed. An initial examination of the body revealed no obvious injuries or signs of a struggle, and her identity was not immediately apparent due to the absence of identification.
Ross, who had arrived in Athens on June 26, flying from the United States via Edinburgh, was found by a homeless man who noticed a leg protruding from a suitcase in an abandoned car park. Police believe her body may have been brought to the location on July 17, and the weight of the suitcase suggests the perpetrators may have been staying in the vicinity.
Locals have placed flowers at the entrance to the parking lot. Fiona Robertson, an artist from Scotland who has lived in the area for six years, expressed that while she did not know Ross, she felt a connection. Robertson noted that the area has expatriate residents but also experiences problems, and that this is not the first murder in the neighborhood.