Athens suitcase death mystery as police reveal outside of bag had no fingerprints or DNA

Published: 19:04, 1 August 2026 | Updated: 19:04, 1 August 2026 The mystery  surrounding the death of a Scot whose body was found in a suitcase in Greece has deepened after officers confirmed the outside of the bag was clear of DNA and fingerprints. Elisabeth Jane Ross, from Edinburgh, was found inside a suitcase in a derelict building in Athens on July 18, having travelled to Greece three weeks earlier. Police had hoped that analysis of the suitcase would yield vital clues. But they have now revealed they gleaned nothing from the bag. Konstantina Dimoglidou, a spokeswoman for the Greek force, said: ‘Our priority is to get to the bottom of who left the suitcase. ‘Whoever they were was careful not to leave fingerprints or DNA. ‘We’ve had the entire homicide division of the Greek FBI working on the case. We’re in contact with other police forces.  'We’re going to solve this.’ Police Scotland has also been contacted to help, with officers interviewing friends of Ms Ross in Inverness. She is believed to have lived in the Highland capital at one point. Elisabeth Jane Ross, known as Lisa, flew from Edinburgh to Athens in June The outside the building in Kypseli, northeast Athens Ms Dimoglidou said experts are yet to determine exactly how Ms Ross died. The 38-year-old’s body is said to have had no signs of any obvious physical injuries.  She said: ‘We have made it a priority so we can have results in the coming days.’ A homeless man made the grim discovery in the building in the Kypseli area of Athens. He called police, reporting a foul smell and a limb protruding from the suitcase. Officers are seeking another homeless man named Markos who lived in the building with a friend, and who is alleged to have attacked a woman at knifepoint previously. He has not been seen since Ms Ross was discovered. They are also trying to use the activity on her phone to hunt for a suspect after messages were sent to her friends and her dad, a lawyer who lives in Edinburgh, for 11 days after she died until she was publicly identified on July 29. The abandoned building  in Athens where the body of Elisabeth Ross was found on July 18th The messages are said to have claimed she wanted to be ‘alone’, with one suggesting she was going to a Greek island for some solitude. Officers said whoever had the phone was trying to buy time or dissuade her loved ones from thinking she was in trouble. Ms Ross flew to Athens from Edinburgh on June 29. A police source said she had been regularly travelling to the country to volunteer with non-governmental organisations and work with abused women. She is also understood to have worked in the US and South Africa. On the latest visit she stayed with Greek friends in Keratsini, in the south of Athens.  She told them she was going to stay with some American friends in Kypseli on July 15 and left.  But police have been unable to trace them. Local police officer George Kalliakmanis said: ‘I don’t believe the Americans even exist. If they were really her friends they would have come forward by now.’