Leah Croucher was murdered by a sex offender after 'a number of failures'

19 June 2024 , 20:27

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Leah Croucher was murdered by a sex offender after 'a number of failures'

Teenager Leah Croucher was murdered by a sex offender who was not being adequately monitered at the time, a coroner has said.

Leah was just 19 years old when she suddenly went missing while walking to work on February 15, 2019. Senior coroner Tom Osborne said the teenager was murdered by Neil Maxwell, a previously convicted sex offender, and highlighted a number of failings relating to the monitoring of Maxwell.

He said that while these failings did not directly contribute to the killing, it is “possible that the findings may have played a part in her death”. Leah, who had a black belt in Taekwondo, is thought to have died fighting off a sexual attack by Maxwell before he dumped her body and killed himself, an inquest heard.

Speaking about the failures in the justice system, Mr Osborne said the take-up and vetting of officers that can use a system for sharing information was “woefully inadequate”. He said he would be writing a preventing future deaths report to the minister who will be in charge of prisons and probation.

Neil Maxwell killed himself two months after Leah's death (Thames Valley Police / SWNS)

Leah, 19, went missing on February 15 in 2019 (Thames Valley Police / SWNS)

Leah's mum and dad, Claire and John Croucher emerged from court today and told how they feared another family will have to “face the same awful consequences we will never recover from” unless failings identified during her inquest are “properly addressed”.

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In a statement following the inquest at Milton Keynes Coroner’s Court, John Croucher said: “The current system is not equipped to properly manage these offenders and we fear that until these failings are properly addressed, another family will have to face the same awful consequences we will never recover from.”

Mr Croucher also said the failings “not only allowed this repeat offender to assault others and kill our Leah, but also led to the death of Leah’s brother Haydon who never recovered from Leah going missing and was so distraught (he) took his own life”.

The parents of Leah Croucher, Claire and John Croucher (PA)

He said the inquest has not answered the family’s key questions about the “failings in the apprehension of the key suspect in this matter” and they ask the police “to be open with us” and answer their questions about the investigation. In a heartbreaking tribute to his daugher, John added: "Leah was a kind and caring soul who cared deeply for her family and friends. Leah had her whole life ahead of heer and had grown from a shy little girl to a confident young woman."

Leah was reported missing in February 2019, but her body lay undiscovered for four years before it was found in the loft of a property in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Detectives say convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell, 49, most likely killed her before he was found dead in a bike shed two months later.

He had been working as a handyman for a Kuwait family at the "holiday home" they owned in Loxbeare Drive, but he had not told probation staff or police he had access to the property. It was the same semi-detached home where Leah's badly decomposed body was found on October 10 2022 by a maintenance worker employed to "eradicate a smell".

Zahra Khaliq