A memorial service has been held tonight for Leah Croucher after police on Friday named a prime suspect in their investigation into the 19-year-old’s disappearance.
The community in Furzton, Milton Keynes, from where Leah went missing in February 2019, were invited to ‘come together, to reflect, to pray and to light a candle’ at the Servant King Church and Ridgeway Community Centre this evening.
It comes after Thames Valley Police announced on Friday that a dead man, Neil Maxwell, was the prime suspect in their investigation.
Maxwell, who has been described by an ex-girlfriend as a ‘wrong ‘un’ with a ‘sinister character’, killed himself two months after Leah’s disappearance.
The 19-year-old was last seen on CCTV on her way to her job on February 15, 2019, but never made it to work.
On Monday human remains were found in the loft of a property at Loxbeare Drive in Furzton, Milton Keynes along with Leah’s rucksack and other personal possessions.
A service in memory of Leah Croucher took place this evening, after police on Friday named a prime suspect in their investigation into the 19-year-old’s disappearance
The community in Furzton, Milton Keynes, from where Leah went missing in February 2019, were invited to ‘come together, to reflect, to pray and to light a candle’ at the Servant King Church and Ridgeway Community Centre this evening
Maxwell, who had a string of past convictions for sexual offences including rape and was wanted by police when Leah went missing in connection with an attack in Newport, Buckinghamshire, was working as a handyman in the house on Loxbeare Drive in February 2019.
Police are investigating whether Maxwell kept Leah as a prisoner in the house, possibly for weeks. At the time, he was the only person believed to have had a key.
He was on the sex offender’s register having been convicted of multiple offences, including a teenager aged 13 to 15.
Police admitted Maxwell, 49, had evaded arrest 18 times while on the run from 2018 to 2019.
A former girlfriend has described Maxwell as controlling and said he groomed her and took advantage of her.
Leah Croucher, 19, (pictured) was last seen on CCTV on her way to her job on February 15, 2019, but never made it to work
Neil Maxwell took his own life two months after Leah’s disappearance and has been named as the prime suspect in the police investigation
She told the Mirror: ‘I always knew he was a wrong ‘un.
‘He was well known in the area for trying to pin down girls and force himself on them… Eventually everyone kept away from him.
‘He was a deeply sinister character. It’s horrible that he did this to Leah but, to be honest, I’m not surprised in the slightest.’
Matthew Barber, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, has asked the force’s Chief Constable to conduct an investigation into the handling of Leah’s disappearance to determine if an inquiry is needed.
‘Given the time that has passed questions have inevitably been raised about the earlier investigation and there is an understandable desire for more information,’ he said.
‘None of the information I have received so far leads me to conclude that there were shortcomings in the earlier missing persons investigation. Nevertheless I have requested that the Chief Constable presents me with a review of the case in order to determine if any further inquiry is required.
‘If mistakes have been made I will ensure a thorough review of the missing persons investigation, but I must stress that this will be evidence-led and so far I have seen nothing to suggest any reasonable lines of enquiry were missed.’
On Monday human remains were found in the loft of a property at Loxbeare Drive in Furzton, Milton Keynes (pictured) along with Leah’s rucksack and other personal possessions
Maxwell had previously been in prison for raping a teenage girl in 2009, for which he was handed a four-and-a-half year sentence.
Maxwell, then aged 48, admitted committing a sexual assault on a woman in Milton Keynes in February 2018 and was sentenced to 200-hours of unpaid work and made to pay £85 court costs and £1,000 compensation. He was also placed on the sex offender’s register for five years.
The pervert went on to strike again just nine months later. He was on the run for that offence at the time of Leah’s disappearance.
Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter said yesterday formal identification of the body has not yet taken place, but they do believe it is Leah.
He said police were unaware of any potential links between Maxwell and Leah until a maintenance worker alerted police on Monday to a suspicious object in a loft of the property on Loxbeare Drive.
Officers continue to guard the house and its surroundings as forensics teams are expected to continue working on the scene for several weeks
A bunch of flowers were left at the scene by Leah’s parents, with a heartbreaking note to ‘our darling Leah’
A Home Office pathologist is carrying out a post-mortem examination to try and determine a cause of death.
Despite the number of times Maxwell evaded police, Leah’s family released a statement at a press conference on Friday saying they believe Thames Valley Police ‘could not have done anything differently.’
The statement said: ‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank Thames Valley Police for all their efforts over the past three years and eight months.
‘We believe that they could not have done anything differently, they have always approached every conversation with dignity and compassion.
‘As a family, we ask that everyone respects our privacy as well as our immediate family, at what is one of the most difficult times of our lives.’
This was the final image of Leah ever captured before she disappeared and failed to show up to work
On Thursday night Leah’s family arrived to tearfully lay tributes to a beloved daughter and sister.
An undertaker carried a bouquet of flowers as he accompanied the parents to a makeshift memorial at the front of the house which is at the centre of the police investigation.
A note left with the flowers read: ‘To our darling Leah. Our darkest fears have come true, we only need to be apart a little longer now.
‘We have so missed you for so long already. The future looks so bleak now. We know we will never see your smile or hear your laughter again. We will cherish your memories forever. We love you, Mum and Dad’.
Various posters were released to try and find the teenager after she went missing in February 2019
People continued to lay tributes today outside the house where remains were found this week
Another note, by Leah’s elder sister Jade, read: ‘To my beautiful sister Leah, My heart has broken, my mind racing with thoughts and my body numb. How can a life as beautiful as yours come to an end in such a tragic way.
‘I have loved you from your very first breath and I will love you until my last. There has never been a moment when you were not in my thoughts and there never will be.
‘My only comfort is that you and Hayden are together in heaven. All my love forever your big sister Jade and nephew Reggie.’
Hayden, Leah’s brother, tragically took his own life after being so tormented by the loss of his sister. He was discovered by his mother and sister Jade.
If you are affected by the issues raised in this article, you can contact the Samaritans for free and completely anonymously on 116 123.