Detectives leading the hunt for Abdul Ezedi believe his body has been recovered from the River Thames.
The Met announced the breakthrough on Tuesday morning.
Ezedi was wanted for a brutal chemical attack on a mother and her children in Clapham on January 31.
In a statement, police said the crew of a passing boat reported they had seen a body in the water at Tower Pier around 4pm on Monday.
The body was recovered by the Met’s Marine Policing Unit and has been viewed by detectives working on the investigation.
Commander Jon Savell said: “Based on the distinctive clothing he was wearing at the time of the attack and property found on his body, we strongly believe we have recovered the body of Ezedi.
“We have been in contact with his family to pass on the news.
“As you may expect after a considerable period of time in the strong current of the Thames, formal identification is not possible visually, nor from fingerprints. We will work with the coroner on other ways to complete formal identification, such as DNA testing and dental records. That may take some time.
”Our enquiries continue into the attack. I am pleased to say the condition of the 31-year-old woman has improved. She remains in hospital but she is in a stable condition and no longer sedated. We have still not been able to speak to her but hope to as soon as she is well enough.
”Again, I thank all those hundreds of members of the public who called us with information during the hunt for Ezedi. The public support for our investigation was overwhelming and every piece of information provided was followed up.”
The attack on a 31-year-old woman, who had ended a relationship with Ezedi and her daughters, aged three and eight, took place in Lessar Avenue.
Ezedi made off in his car but it crashed nearby. He then left the vehicle and ran off. Eyewitnesses described how he had flung an alkaline substance in the face of the woman and thrown the three-year-old to the ground like a “ragdoll”.
He took a Northern line train at Clapham South Tube station after the vicious assault and got off at King’s Cross just before 8pm.
The attacker was seen on CCTV leaving a Tesco Express at 21 Caledonian Road, near King’s Cross, and turning right.
He was later picked up on footage leaving Tower Hill station from where he headed to the Thames. He is last captured on camera near Chelsea Bridge.
After that sighting police believe he plunged into the dark, cold, waters of the Thames.
Ezedi was convicted of a sexual offence in 2018 and given a suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court.
Originally from Afghanistan, he was granted asylum in the UK. There was a huge police manhunt following the Clapham incident and such was the severity of the attack it was being treated as attempted murder.
During the hunt armed officers raided properties in east London and Newcastle.
