THE family of Alice Gross have said they "find it almost impossible to understand" her "appalling" death after the murdered schoolgirl's funeral.
They spoke of their struggle to come to terms with having to say goodbye to the 14-year-old, whose body was found in the River Brent in west London last month. The prime suspect in her murder, convicted killer Arnis Zalkalns, was found hanged in nearby Boston Manor Park on October 4, four weeks after he was reported missing.
In a statement released after a humanist funeral service, her family said: "Alice was so spirited, so present, so vital and so full of promise. We find it almost impossible to understand what has happened."
Tributes were made at the funeral by her teachers, parents Rosalind Hodgkiss and Jose Gross, and sister Nina Gross.
Mourners sang You Are My Sunshine, and further tributes by her music teachers included Home by Gabrielle Aplin, The Call by Regina Spektor, Touch The Sky from the film Brave, and the violin piece Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar.
Alice's grandfather read the poem Surprised By Joy by William Wordsworth, a sonnet written following the death of his young daughter.
Her colourful coffin was painted by Nina, Alice's grandmother Anne Hodgkiss and family friend Carole McCourt.
It depicted a meadow scene and Alice's three cats, Lottie, Louis and Pattie, and her dog, Peggy.
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