An inquest into Leah Croucher, a Milton Keynes girl who was missing for over three years before her body was found on 14th October 2022, has been opened, with the possibility of a sexual attack being the cause of her death.
Leah Croucher, 19, went missing while walking to work on February 15th 2019. Her remains were found in Furzton less than half a mile from when she was last seen.
After Leah’s remains were found, police identified only one suspect: 49-year-old Neil Maxwell, a convicted sex offender who died on April 20, 2019, just over two months after Leah went missing. According to Milton Keynes Coroner’s Court, they were unable to identify any medical cause of death despite substantial testing.
Leah’s remains were found in the loft of a property on Loxbeare Drive, Furzton, after a visit from a maintenance worker hired to get rid of a smell. Coroner Tom Osbourne informed that her remains had been put in plastic bags.
Neil Maxwell was linked to the home on the basis of previously being a maintenance worker for the house, which was only used on occasion as a holiday home by the owners who live overseas.
At an inquest held today (19 June) at Milton Keynes Coroner’s Court, Detective Superintendent Kevin Brown, of Thames Valley Police (TVP), was asked if on the balance of probabilities, Leah Croucher was killed unlawfully, he replied “Absolutely.”
Det Supt Brown also stated he believed Leah died on or close to the day that she went missing.
The Coroner’s Court heard that the first time TVP received a call regarding Maxwell in relation to Leah’s investigation was in May 2019, three months after Leah was reported missing.
The inquest continues.
