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Post by Admin on Nov 7, 2014 16:18:13 GMT
The parents of murdered schoolgirl Alice Gross have spoken of their huge loss at an emotional memorial service for their daughter. Ros Hodgkiss and Jose Gross spoke to hundreds of wellwishers who had queued in driving rain to attend the humanist service in Greenford, west London, today. They also heard from 14-year-old talented singer Alice herself, as two songs she had recorded were played, leaving many people in tears. Her mother told the congregation: "I have been numbed by shock and grief, I have felt outrage and anger at the loss of her life and unbelievable sadness at the emptiness that has been left. "I have wracked my brains for all the 'what ifs' of that day, anything that might have stopped this random, incomprehensible tragedy. It is even harder to talk about that pain than it is to talk about Alice. I cannot imagine life without Alice." Mrs Hodgkiss added that she would miss Alice most on all the special family occasions, like Christmas, Alice's birthday on Valentine's Day, Mothers' Day and her own birthday. She said: "I think of all the ... hugs, shared jokes, evenings spent snuggled on the sofa, goodnight kisses, the confidence of after-school conversations, Alice playing the piano in her dressing gown (and) singing, shopping, baking, the way Alice still called me ' '. "The future seems bleak without Alice. It is only the incredible support of family friends and the wider community that has kept us going. We have been surrounded by people who have shown us that they cared, acts of individual kindness, a poster put up, a ribbon tied to a wall, thoughtful words, poem, shared condolence cards or Facebook message, flowers and teddies left as a tribute to Alice."
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Post by Admin on Jul 10, 2015 2:47:16 GMT
The family of murdered schoolgirl Alice Gross have told a coroner there is a “public interest” in knowing what checks were conducted when convicted killer Arnis Zalkalns was allowed into Britain. The 14-year-old went missing in August last year and her body was discovered the following month in the Grand Union Canal in Ealing, west London. Zalkalns, 41, had been named as a suspect in her disappearance but his body was later found hanging in woodland nearby. No-one else has been named as wanted in connection with Alice’s death. Police later confirmed that the builder from Latvia, who had come to the UK in 2007, was responsible and the Crown Prosecution Service said that he would have been charged with murder if alive. Zalkalns had previously been convicted of murdering his wife in Latvia and jailed for 12 years. But was he was released after serving seven and travelled to the UK. Representing the teenager’s family at a pre-inquest review at West London Coroner’s Court, Rajeev Thacker asked for the scope of the investigation to be widened to look into how the killer came to be in Britain. He said: “For somebody who has a criminal record, systems seemed to have been in place. We don’t know exactly what they were, or what was done with them. Alice’s family would like to know. I suspect there is a wider public interest in knowing for the future, as well.” Mr Thacker told the court that Zalkalns’ nationality was not the issue and that Alice’s family “just want answers”. He added: “Mr Zalkalns was from Latvia. Latvia is part of the EU. He was convicted of the murder of his wife and he served a prison sentence – originally 12 years, but he served seven. “He travelled from Latvia to the UK in 2007; in 2009 he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.” He said that it would be appropriate to investigate what supervision measures Zalkalns was under after being released from prison. Mr Thacker added: “What we know is that the Home Office did check incoming passengers against a warning index since 2007, before Mr Zalkalns came to the UK. “The first question is was there a check of Mr Zalkalns when he came in? We also learned that Mr Zalkalns was arrested on suspicion of a sexual assault in 2009 and there may have been opportunity to intervene then.” It was also submitted that, with regard to the Home Office’s powers in relation to EU citizens, the inquest should look at what could have been done at the time, and what “lessons could be learned”.
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Post by Admin on Jul 16, 2015 2:30:21 GMT
The mother of murdered teenager Alice Gross has said she may never recover from the loss of her daughter. Rosalind Hodgkiss spoke movingly of her family's grief after the 14-year-old who was killed last September. Latvian Arnis Zalkalns, 41, is believed to have killed Alice, in Hanwell, and dumped her body in the canal before committing suicide. Her disappearance, and subsequently Zalkalns, sparked the biggest manhunt by the Met Police since the 7/7 London terror attacks. Her family have now spoken in detail for the first time. Mum Rosalind told ITV News that she was struggling to cope with Alice's death. "What changes is your ability to manage it. Feelings don't go away. But perhaps the face you put on gets tougher," she said. You get a slightly thicker skin. I don't think you ever really recover." Rosalind said she missed 'everything' about Alice - and that she tried to keep as busy as she can to keep her mind occupied. This includes charity fundraising. The family chose the charity 'Youth Music,' she said, because Alice's life was 'very much about music.' "It was her passion," said Rosalind, "We're trying through the charity fundraising to honour her memory. Youth Music is a fantastic charity."
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Post by Admin on Oct 11, 2015 14:03:35 GMT
The inquest into the death of schoolgirl Alice Gross has been transferred to a different coroner following a major blunder, in which sensitive documents from the case were left on a train. The previous coroner, Chinyere Inyama, requested the move after he came under fierce criticism for losing the sensitive case files. The Ministry of Justice launched an investigation after the blunder came to light. Police tried to trace the paperwork, which is believed to have contained evidence against the prime suspect, Arnis Zalkalns, but decided it had probably been “destroyed as waste”. Alice’s body was found in the River Brent last summer after Zalkalns killed her in a sexually-motivated attack. Mr Inyama is also under fire for delays to inquests and issuing death certificates to grieving families. In the worst example a family waited three years.
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Post by Admin on Jul 2, 2016 22:47:46 GMT
A coroner has told a jury that evidence does not show that the actions of the police or Home Office contributed to the death of schoolgirl Alice Gross. Dr Fiona Wilcox announced her legal ruling on the fifth day of the hearing into the circumstances surrounding the 14-year-old's death in 2014. She told the jury: "As a matter of law - and this is extremely important - I am instructing you that the evidence in this case does not support any final conclusions that would imply that any actions or inactions of the Home Office or police caused or contributed to Alice's death, and therefore no such findings may be reached." Latvian builder Arnis Zalkalns - who had served a prison sentence for murdering his wife in his home country - is believed to have killed Alice in a sexually motivated attack.
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