Body of Alice Gross murder suspect identified

Police have positively identified a decomposing body found in west London as that of Arnis Zalkalns, suspected of the murder of Alice Gross.

The autopsy on the body, discovered Saturday at Boston Manor Park, is now complete.

Scotland Yard says the body is that of the 41-year-old Latvian builder who has emerged as the prime suspect in the schoolgirl's death.

The cause of death is consistent with hanging and there is no evidence of third-party involvement, police added.

Zalkalns disappeared from his Ealing flat on September 4, a week after Alice was allegedly abducted and murdered as she walked home along a towpath in Hanwell.

Alice was found dead in the River Brent on Tuesday after a five-week search. Zalkalns was filmed cycling along the same route behind Alice on the day she disappeared.

He worked on a construction site in Isleworth, west London, and is believed to have arrived in the UK in 2007.

Authorities have been criticised for failing to keep records of his conviction for bludgeoning and stabbing his wife Rudite to death in Latvia.

During the investigation it also emerged that Zalkalns had been arrested in London on suspicion of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2009, but was never charged.

Alice's autopsy was inconclusive and more tests need to be carried out to find out how she died.

Police said “significant efforts” were made to conceal his body in the water.

Zalkalns had not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone since September 3, nor had he returned home to his partner and young child in Ealing. He also left his passport.

Scotland Yard said that although Zalkalns had been identified as a suspect in the murder investigation, inquiries were continuing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the crime.

A spokesperson said: “Officers are still searching for evidence and are once again appealing to the public for any information that may help them. Anyone with information is asked to contact us on 020 8358 0100.”