A string of text messages was sent from the phone of a Scottish woman in an apparent attempt to cover up her death before her body was found in a suitcase in Athens, police say.
The body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, was discovered in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of the Greek capital on 18 July.
Ms Ross is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found. However, investigators said that her phone remained highly active following her death, The Times reports.
The content of messages sent during that period has not been revealed by Greek police, the newspaper said, but the authorities believe they were sent in an attempt to cover up Ms Ross’s death and stopped once her body was discovered. No suspect has yet been identified.
According to local media in Greece, texts sent from Ms Ross’s phone to her family on 15 July said that she “needed some time to herself” and that she “wanted to be alone for a while”.
The Daily Mail reports that another message was sent from her phone, after police believe she had died, to a Greek friend she had been staying with days before she was found. It read: “I need some time – I’m going to a Greek island.”
The newspaper reports that investigators say the phone remains missing but was active in the area of Athens until approximately 24 hours ago.
Speaking on the BBC’s Reporting Scotland on Thursday, The Guardian’’s Athens correspondent Helena Smith said Ms Ross had been in Greece for about two weeks before she died.
The journalist said messages were then sent from Ms Ross’s phone in an apparent attempt to put those looking for her off the scent.
“She had been staying with a Greek friend here in the capital, and then she disappeared,” Ms Smith said.
“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.”
Ms Ross had travelled to Greece via Cyprus from the United States, where her fingerprints were registered.
It has been reported that her identity could not be established at first because there were no signs of identification.
But Ms Ross was identified by Greek Police after Interpol examined fingerprint data.
Greek and Cypriot authorities are reportedly working together to exchange information as they try to track down the person who abandoned the suitcase containing her body.
They are also reviewing security camera footage, witness statements and other evidence in an effort to identify people who may have interacted with her and to find out more information on the circumstances surrounding her death.
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 said: “Our thoughts are with Elisabeth’s family during this difficult time. We are providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities.”
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.”
