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Revealed
'HORRIBLY IRONIC'

How murdered schoolgirl Alice Gross argued foreign criminals should not be barred from UK months before she was killed by Latvian murderer

Schoolgirl's argued for open borders before her death at the hands of a migrant

A TEENAGER whose horrific sexual assault and murder at the hands of a Latvian man was used to argue against free movement had written to support migration just months before her death.

Alice Gross, a 14-year-old who was sexually assaulted and killed in August 2014, wrote about the benefits of European migration just three months before being thought to have been killed by a migrant, her parents have revealed almost two years on from her death.

 Alice Gross wrote about the importance of keeping open borders before she was murdered by an immigrant with her family speaking out about her tragic death
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Alice Gross wrote about the importance of keeping open borders before she was murdered by an immigrant with her family speaking out about her tragic deathCredit: PA:Press Association
 Jose Gross and Rosalind Hodgkiss were left shattered when their young daughter went missing with her body found a month later in 2014
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Jose Gross and Rosalind Hodgkiss were left shattered when their young daughter went missing with her body found a month later in 2014Credit: PA:Press Association

In her essay, the young Gross said: "Personally, I believe that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the EU as it allows our country to be considered a communal and friendly country."

In cruel irony, young teenager was later killed by Arnis Zalkalns, who entered the UK in 2007 - the killer having already served eight years in jail in his home country of Latvia for the murder of his own wife.

Zalkalns had already been arrested by UK police in 2009 after being suspected of being involved in a sexual assault.

The Latvian man hanged himself close to where he is believed to have abducted and abused the young woman.

Mother Rosalind Hodgkiss said her daughter's essay was "horribly ironic" in an interview with the Guardian.

In her poignant essay, Alice writes about Ukip's call for foreign criminals to be barred from crossing the border, saying "They believe that this will keep Britain safe from crime by eliminating the number of criminals living in its premises.

"However, I believe that this takes away the concept of equality amongst the community by implying that criminals don’t deserve the same rights everyone else has. It also depicts Britain to believe foreign criminals are different and dangerous compared to the British criminals, reintroducing the idea of racism.”

 Arnis Zalkalns had previously been jailed for murdering his wife in Latvia with his criminal record going unchecked before he murdered young Alice
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Arnis Zalkalns had previously been jailed for murdering his wife in Latvia with his criminal record going unchecked before he murdered young AliceCredit: PA:Press Association
 The young girl went missing almost two years ago with her family saying they did not want her death to be used for racist purposes
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The young girl went missing almost two years ago with her family saying they did not want her death to be used for racist purposesCredit: PA:Press Association

Her parents have since released the essay after their daughter's death has been used by anti-immigration groups to publicise their views.

The family, speaking out almost two years on from when their daughter first went missing, said while current system is flawed, they did not want their daughter's death to be used for a racist agenda.

The background of Zalkalns was not exposed before he killed the young teenager, with police not running background checks in 2009 when he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.

Alice went missing from her west London home on August 28 2014 with a huge search launched.

Despite the mammoth effort, it wasn't until September 20 that her body was found, wrapped up in plastic black bin bags and tied into a foetal position to a bike wheel.

The body of the man who murdered her was found nearby on October 4.

A jury found that the young girl had been the victim of unlawful killing with coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox reading out a list of recommendations likely to be made.

The recommendations included the mandatory checking of foreign nationals after they are arrested by British police forces. 

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