Alice Gross (14 February 2000 – 28 August 2014) was an English girl who was

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

ed in West London. Her body was found hidden on the bed of the

River Brent The River Brent is a river in west and northwest London, England, and a tributary of the River Thames. in length, it rises in the Borough of Barnet and flows in a generally south-west direction before joining the Tideway stretch of the Thame ...

on September 30th, five weeks after she disappeared.

Missing case

Alice Poppy Madeleine Gross was a 14-year-old girl who suffered from anorexia, which was suggested by her mother and some

mainstream media In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Chomsky, Noam, ''"What makes mai ...

sources in the early days of the search for her as being related to her disappearance. She lived in Hanwell, West London, with her sister, Nina Gross, and parents, Jose Gross and Rosalind Hodgkiss. She went missing after leaving her home on 28 August 2014. The search for her was the largest deployment of

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

officers in a search operation since the

7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the mo ...

. It involved 600 officers from eight services.

Suspects

Two men were arrested in connection with Gross's death; both were later released without charge. The prime suspect was Latvian builder and convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns, who went missing from

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, West London, on 3 September.

Murder inquiry

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. 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. Police confirmed two days later that the body was that of Zalkalns. The cause of his death was hanging.

Community involvement

The local community of Hanwell was galvanised during the time Gross was missing, and a poster campaign to "Find Alice" was organised through a

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page. In order to increase public awareness of Gross being missing the community tied yellow ribbons to trees, railings, their cars and homes. On 8 October, Gross's family requested that the ribbons be removed while memorials were left at the Clock Tower in Hanwell. 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.

Police briefing

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.

Lost inquest file

On 26 July 2015, it was reported that a 30-page document relating to the case had been lost after West London

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

Chinyere Inyama left it on a train. Inyama subsequently was told to reassign the case to another coroner, and it was taken by Dr Fiona Wilcox.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Alice 2014 in London 2014 murders in the United Kingdom 2010s missing person cases 2010s murders in London 21st century in the London Borough of Ealing August 2014 crimes in Europe August 2014 events in the United Kingdom Crime in the London Borough of Ealing Deaths by person in London Incidents of violence against girls Missing person cases in London Murder–suicides in the United Kingdom Violence against children in London Violence against women in London