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Murder of Alice Gross

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Alice Gross
Born
Alice Poppy Madeleine Gross[1]

(2000-02-14)14 February 2000[2]
London, England
Disappeared28 August 2014 (aged 14)
London, England[3]
Cause of deathMurder by asphyxiation[4]
Body discovered30 September 2014
River Brent, London, England
Known forMurder victim

Alice Gross (14 February 2000 – 28 August 2014) was an English girl who was murdered in West London. Her body was found hidden on the bed of the River Brent on September 30, five weeks after she disappeared.[5]

Missing case

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Alice Poppy Madeleine Gross was a 14-year-old girl who suffered from anorexia, which was suggested by her mother and some mainstream media sources in the early days of the search for her as being related to her disappearance.[6][7] She lived in Hanwell, West London, with her sister, Nina Gross,[8] and parents,[6] Jose Gross and Rosalind Hodgkiss. She went missing after leaving her home on 28 August 2014.[5] The search for her was the largest deployment of Metropolitan Police officers in a search operation since the 7 July 2005 London bombings.[9] It involved 600 officers from eight services.[10]

Suspects

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Two men were arrested in connection with Gross's death; both were later released without charge.[11]

The prime suspect was Latvian builder and convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns, who went missing from Ealing, West London, on 3 September.[9]

Murder inquiry

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On 1 October, police launched a murder inquiry after Gross's body was found hidden under logs on the bed of the River Brent the night before.[12] On 4 October, police announced that they had found a badly decomposed body in dense woodland in Boston Manor Park during their search for Zalkalns, and that early indications suggested the body might be his.[13] Police confirmed two days later that the body was that of Zalkalns. The cause of his death was hanging.[14]

Community involvement

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The local community of Hanwell was galvanised during the time Gross was missing, and a poster campaign to "Find Alice" was organised through a Facebook page. In order to increase public awareness of Gross being missing the community tied yellow ribbons to trees, railings, their cars and homes. Ealing Borough Council flew flags at half-mast following the discovery of Gross's body, opened a public book of condolence and replanted flower beds near to the Hanwell Clock Tower with yellow pansies in Gross's memory.[15]

Police briefing

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In a briefing on 28 January 2015, the Metropolitan Police stated that "all the evidence points firmly to Arnis Zalkalns" and that he would have been charged if he had not hanged himself.[16]

Lost inquest file

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On 26 July 2015, it was reported that a 30-page document relating to the case had been lost after West London coroner Chinyere Inyama left it on a train.[17][18] Inyama subsequently was told to reassign the case to another coroner, and it was taken by Dr Fiona Wilcox.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Alice's Youth Music Memorial Fund". Alice’s Youth Music Memorial Fund.
  2. ^ "Alice's Youth Music Memorial Fund". Alice’s Youth Music Memorial Fund.
  3. ^ "Alice Gross disappearance: Suspect murdered wife in Latvia". BBC News. 18 September 2014.
  4. ^ "What we know about the murder of Alice Gross". 27 January 2015.
  5. ^ a b Dodd, Vikram; Johnston, Chris; agencies (1 October 2014). "Police searching for missing teenager Alice Gross find body in the river Brent". The Guardian.
  6. ^ a b Natasha Culzac (5 September 2014). "Alice Gross: Police release CCTV footage of teenager as parents appeal for her safe return". The Independent. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  7. ^ Swerling, Gabriella. "Missing Alice has anorexia, police reveal". The Times.
  8. ^ "Question Time apologises over Alice immigration debate". BBC News. 3 October 2014.
  9. ^ a b Tom Parmenter (20 September 2014). "Alice Gross Police Search Is Largest Since 7/7". Sky News. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Alice Gross disappearance: Search 'largest since 7/7'". BBC News. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  11. ^ "Alice Gross disappearance: police search for missing man". The Guardian. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  12. ^ "Body found in river is Alice Gross, police confirm". The Guardian. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Body found in Alice Gross suspect search". BBC News. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  14. ^ "Alice Gross death: Body found is suspect Arnis Zalkalns". BBC News. BBC. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  15. ^ Horrox, Camilla (2 October 2014). "Alice Gross: A community in mourning over murder of a 'sweet and beautiful daughter'". MyLondon. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  16. ^ Metro, p.20, 28 January 2015
  17. ^ "Alice Gross murder file lost in coroner error". BBC News. BBC. 26 July 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  18. ^ Davies, Caroline (26 July 2015). "Alice Gross: investigation launched after coroner leaves sensitive file on train". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  19. ^ Watts, Matt (9 October 2015). "Alice Gross coroner drops out of murder inquest after he leaves police file on train". London Evening Standard. p. 7.
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