A sex offender who killed himself while on the run from police has been named as the prime suspect in the murder of a teenager. Leah Croucher disappeared while walking to work in Furzton, Milton Keynes in 2019.
Earlier this week, detectives searching for Leah found human remains at a home in Loxbeare Drive, Furzton. They have now named Neil Maxwell, who had previous convictions for sex offences, as the prime suspect in her murder.
Maxwell died in April 2019, two months after the 19-year-old went missing. At the time of his death, he was being pursued by officers over an alleged sexual assault in November 2018, Thames Valley Police said.
Police began searching the house this week after a tip-off from a member of the public on Monday. Maxwell was the only person with keys at the time of Leah’s disappearance, police said, as he had been employed by its overseas owner to do maintenance work.
A murder inquiry was opened after Leah’s rucksack and other belongings were found. Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter said police had pursued “every reasonable line of inquiry” since Leah's disappearance. He said officers had reviewed 1,200 hours of CCTV footage, conducted more than 4,000 house-to-house inquiries, and searched lakes, open land and woodland.
He also revealed that officers had visited the Loxbeare Drive address on “at least” two occasions. When they got no response, police left a leaflet at the property requesting a call back, and also tried to scope what CCTV was available in the area.
But he said the call police received on Monday was the first time they had been given a link between the property and Leah. He said: “It is now known that the owner was not in the UK at the time Leah was reported missing and the house was unoccupied when police attended on these inquiries.
“Today, I am able to confirm that we have nominated a suspect in this case. His name is Neil Maxwell. However, Maxwell was found dead on April 20, 2019, having taken his own life."
Mr Hunter said that the fact Maxwell was a suspect did not necessarily mean he was guilty and that police would "keep an open mind" while seeking more evidence. “This may or may not implicate or exonerate Maxwell or any other persons from the investigation," he said.
Maxwell had previous convictions for sexual offences, Mr Hunter said, and was being pursued by police in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell in November 2018. He said Maxwell knew he was wanted in connection with the sexual assault and made concerted efforts to evade arrest, including using false names and changing his mobile phone and vehicles while travelling around the UK.
He added that 18 attempts were made to arrest Maxwell after he went on the run. Thames Valley Police published a public wanted appeal to find Maxwell on April 4, 2019, but he was found dead two weeks later on April 20 having taken his own life.
Mr Hunter appealed to anyone who had contact with Maxwell between November 2018 and his death in April 2019 to come forward. Anyone with any information has been asked to contact Thames Valley Police by visiting their website or calling 101, quoting “Op Innsbruck”.
