Alice Gross: Suspect Arnis Zalkalns 'is convicted murderer', say police

Latvian man has already served seven years for murder

Armis Zalkalns, 41, was reported missing on 5 September; Alice Gross is only 14

A Latvian builder wanted by police over the disappearance of teenager Alice Gross is a convicted murderer who was arrested for the alleged indecent assault of a 14-year-old five years ago, Scotland Yard said today.

Arnis Zalkalns was named as a suspect for the first time today after he was captured cycling on a canal towpath by a CCTV camera 15 minutes after Alice Gross, 14, walked past the same spot on the afternoon she disappeared in west London.

It emerged that Mr Zalkalns, 41, came to Britain in 2007 after reportedly serving a seven-year sentence for murder committed in the capital Riga. Detectives were yesterday trying to get more information from the Latvian authorities about the 1998 conviction.

It was also revealed today that he was arrested in 2009 over the alleged indecent assault of a 14-year-old in London. He was not charged due to insufficient evidence.

Mr Zalkalns, 41, was reported missing by his own family six days after Alice went missing on August 28. Searches of his home in Ealing, west London, that he shares with his partner and daughter have uncovered his passport and his bank accounts have not been used. His bike has not been found.

CCTV still of Alice on the day she disappeared (Met Police)

Chief Superintendent Carl Mehta said: “It is really important that we trace Arnis and speak to him about Alice’s disappearance.

“His family and work colleagues have stated he was behaving normally in both the days before and after Alice’s disappearance. They are deeply concerned about this disappearance.

The officer said that it was not a murder inquiry. “This remains an investigation focused on Alice,“ he said.

The teenager used Facebook, Twitter and Ask.fm but there was no evidence that the pair knew each other. Scotland Yard has offered a reward of up to £20,000 to information that leads detectives to find Alice.

Alice Gross, 14, has been missing since 28 August (Met Police)

She went missing after telling her parents she was going out for a walk. The search swiftly became high priority as she was suffering from anorexia and was seeking medical help for her condition. Police divers were brought in to search the canal. Her rucksack was found in undergrowth on the towpath but her phone remains missing that she used to text her father in the hours before her disappearance asking when he would be home from work.