The girlfriend of Arnis Zalkalns, the man thought to have been responsible for the murder of Alice Gross, has spoken of her shock when she was told he was wanted in connection with the schoolgirl’s disappearance and death.

A statement read out to West London Coroner's Court during the inquest of 41-year-old Zalkalns also heard how Katarina Laiblova describe him as a ‘doting father’, who often kept his problems to himself.

Her statements were read by coroner Chinyere Inyama as part of Zalkalns' inquest on Monday, during which Mr Inyama concluded the Latvian builder had “taken his own life”.

Ms Laiblova also said tragic Alice, from Hanwell, resembled an ex-partner of Zalkalns’, who had previously been jailed in his home country for seven years for murdering his wife.

Alice Gross

In a statement issued on September 17, after Alice had disappeared and two weeks before her body was found hidden in the Grand Union Canal, Ms Laiblova said: “We both dote on our daughter. He has never been violent to me and not fallen out with anyone that I know of.

“He was very quiet and did not talk much, even to me. If he has any problems, he would not tell anyone.”

Speaking on October 9, following the discovery of the Brentside High School pupil’s body on September 30, and that of Zalkalns on October 4, she said: “I have been made aware that Arnis was a suspect in [the death of] missing girl Alice Gross.

"I am having great difficulty accepting he would have anything to do with her disappearance and murder.

“I cannot think of any motive he had. I can only think if he was involved in an accident. He doesn’t have a bad core.”

She added later: “Alice Gross looked a bit like his ex-partner in that she was a bit thin.”

The inquest heard Zalkalns’ badly decomposed body had been hanging in dense woodland in Boston Manor Park. He was identified using dental records.

A statement from Detective Sergeant Michael Hartley told of how Zalkalns returned to the scene of the crime on five occasions, and on at least one occasion, entered the canal to help hide Alice’s body.

He said: “There is strong evidence to implicate Zalkalns in the murder of Alice Gross. This may go some way to explain his death.”

The wooded area where the body of Arnis Zalkalns was discovered in Boston Manor Park.

CCTV footage linked him to the scene at the time Alice was seen walking along the canal, and forensics suggested the abduction was “sexually motivated”.

The pair did not know each other, but DS Hartley was unable to say whether the crime was premeditated or not.

“The abduction and subsequent murder of Alice could have been a completely random, opportunistic attack formulated by Zalkalns when he passed Alice on that day," he said.

In a written statement, pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl said the cause of death was consistent with hanging. An inquest into Alice’s death is due to be heard later this year.

Alice disappeared on August 28 last year. CCTV footage showed Zalkalns cycling behind that day. He went missing from his home in Ealing a week later.

Police have said Zalkalns would have been charged with the murder of Alice if still alive.

Members of the Gross or Zalkalns families did not attend the inquest, which was held at the coroner's court in Bagleys Lane, Fulham.

An inquest into Alice’s death is yet to be heard, but in July it emerged Mr Inyama had lost a police file into Alice’s death.