British woman found dead in suitcase: Suspect said he killed her for trying to convert his girlfriend to Christianity

According to information obtained by protothema.gr, the victim’s mobile phone played a decisive role in the investigation. After her murder, the 26-year-old, who is married and has a child, began using her device. Investigators subsequently established that the phone was switched off on Wednesday morning, having still been in use up to that point, with its last recorded signal traced to Arachova.

From there, by analysing CCTV footage, investigators mapped the movements of whoever was using the phone and traced them to a commune-like residence in Kypseli, home to a group of women with strong religious convictions.

There, they located a woman – also British – who was in a relationship with the 26-year-old suspect. When questioned by police, she initially claimed to have been with her partner in Arachova. However, the investigation later revealed that the suspect was already aware that police were looking for him.

The woman subsequently told investigators that the 26-year-old had confided in her that he had killed the British victim because she kept talking about Christianity and had been trying to influence her religiously. Following this disclosure, the suspect disappeared for a short period before being tracked down by authorities.

After his arrest, the suspect claimed he had entered the flat and found the British woman already dead. He said he panicked and decided to dispose of the body by placing it in a suitcase in order to avoid being implicated in the case. He did, however, admit to taking her bank card and withdrawing money from her account.

The coroner handling the case assessed that the overall body of evidence, along with the condition of the body, pointed to a criminal act, with asphyxiation the most likely cause of death. Toxicology results are still pending.

The journey from Edinburgh

The Hellenic Police report sets out the sequence of events in detail. The British woman had arrived in Greece on 29 June from Edinburgh, having spent many years volunteering with churches and humanitarian organisations in various countries. She is described as a calm, giving and non-confrontational person.

From 2 July, she had been living in a ground-floor flat on Rethymnou Street in Exarchia, to which the suspect and his partner also had keys. His partner has confirmed that shortly after midnight between 15 and 16 July, she woke up and realised her boyfriend was not there. Using a shared location-tracking app, she saw that he was at that specific flat.

The last confirmed sign of life from the British woman was recorded at 9:41pm on 15 July, when she spoke by phone with someone close to her. Afterwards, friends and relatives noticed that the messages they were receiving from her phone had a different tone and unusual phrasing, and that she suddenly seemed to have become isolated.

For investigators, these details reinforce the conclusion that the phone was by then being used by someone else, in an attempt to create the false impression that the woman was still alive.

On 19 July, the victim’s phone was activated in Arachova, where – according to an analysis of telecommunications data and CCTV footage – the suspect was, along with his wife and their child.

Particular weight is being placed on the conduct of the 26-year-old’s wife. According to her statement, when the identification of the dead woman was officially announced on 30 July, she began to suspect her husband’s involvement.

She left their home with their infant child and moved into a hotel. According to the case file, the suspect gave her €2,550 at the time, and the day after the British woman’s disappearance had also given her a brand-new iPhone 17 Pro. She handed over both the device and the money to the authorities, believing they had come from the victim’s belongings.

Also decisive are the videos gathered by police. On the night of 16 July, the suspect is recorded arriving by car on Rethymnou Street and leaving carrying a large travel suitcase.

A short while later, at 10:43pm, security cameras recorded him on foot on Evelpidon Street, carrying the suitcase – inside which was the British woman’s body – along with a blue bag of unknown contents. Thirteen minutes later, he is seen leaving the area without the suitcase or the bag, now carrying only a light-coloured backpack.

According to Homicide Division officers, these details form a sequence of events that capture s both the suspect’s movements after the British woman’s death and his attempt to erase every trace that could lead back to the true circumstances of the crime.