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Teenager Leah Croucher tried to defend herself using martial arts against a convicted child sex offender who sexually assaulted and killed her before dismembering her body, an inquest has heard.
Leah, who was missing for almost four years, was found dead in the loft of a house almost four years after her disappearance on February 15 2019, while walking to work on Buzzacott Lane, Furzton, Milton Keynes.
The 19-year-old was later discovered in the loft of a house just 10 minutes away on October 10 2022, after a maintenance man went to investigate the cause of a bad smell.
A police superintendent revealed that it was believed renowned martial arts expert Leah had tried to defend herself after being sexually attacked by Neil Maxwell.
Maxwell, 49, had a ‘predilection for young females’ and was being hunted by police at the time Leah went missing. Officers even had a tip off about Maxwell but concluded there was no link between him and Leah.
Leah Croucher disappeared on February 15 2019, while walking to work on Buzzacott Lane, Furzton, Milton Keynes,
Neil Maxwell, 49, was a convicted child sex offender who killed himself sometime after Leah’s death in 2019
Milton Keynes coroner’s court heard police had carried out an ‘unprecedented’ investigation for the Thames Valley area.
Detective Superintendent Kevin Brown told the inquest the probe had involved searching 3,500 houses, carrying out 1,500 lines of inquiry, examining 1,200 documents, 1,600 messages and taking 500 statements.
The name of Maxwell came up in May 2019 after a member of the public called up to provide information, but officers concluded there was no link between him and Leah, DSI Brown said.
But on Monday October 10 2022, the investigation finally found Leah after receiving a call from a man doing maintenance work.
‘He was trying to eradicate a smell from the property, which took him into the loft area where he discovered what he thought were human remains’, DSI Brown said.
The owners of the ‘unremarkable’ four-bedroom semi-detached house in Loxbeare Drive, Furzton, lived abroad and used the property as a holiday home, but had not returned since the Covid pandemic broke out in early 2020, the officer said.
Tom Osborne, Senior Coroner for Milton Keynes, told the inquest: ‘Whoever had placed the body in the loft had taken steps to try and remove certain limbs. They were in plastic bags.’
On Monday October 10 2022, the investigation finally found Leah after receiving a call from a man doing maintenance work at the property
Leah was spotted on CCTV footage on the morning she was last seen before disappearing without a trace
Leah was identified from dental records and a post mortem examination and a specialist bone pathologist was unable to ascertain a cause of death.
The court heard Maxwell – who had been at the property and, as a maintenance man, was the only person to have keys – was later found dead elsewhere in Milton Keynes in 2019.
He had committed suicide and died from hanging.
DSI Brown said he was ‘absolutely’ sure Maxwell had killed Leah and said he would have pressed for the Crown Prosecution Service to charge him with murder or manslaughter if he had been alive.
‘He was an offender who had a predilection for young females and on occasion older females. He would cause them to suffer some form of sexual violence. He was a repeat offender’.
Answering questions from a lawyer for Leah’s family, DSI Brown said the investigation had taken into account that the young woman was an internationally regarded martial arts black belt.
‘I believe this is likely to be an unwarranted sexual attack on Leah and because of her martial arts capability, she reacted and basically I believe she would have defended herself. That may have escalated the situation’.
Leah’s father was a taekwondo instructor and the 19-year-old was so talented at the sport that she had competed internationally.
Thames Valley Police had conducted an extensive search for Leah and her parents had issued numerous pleas for information and a £5,000 reward had been offered for anything that could lead to her being found.
Her distraught brother had even taken his own life after revealing he was struggling to cope with her disappearance.
DSI Brown said he was ‘absolutely’ sure Maxwell (pictured) had killed Leah and said he would have pressed for the Crown Prosecution Service to charge him with murder or manslaughter if he had been alive
Leah’s disappearance became a double-tragedy when her brother, Haydon Croucher, killed himself after telling a therapist he was finding it difficult to cope
Leah’s remains were found three years later in the attic of an unoccupied house in Milton Keynes where Maxwell worked as a handyman – which she may have passed on her route to work
Leah Croucher, 19, was last seen making her way into work in Milton Keynes in February 2019
Police officers launched a murder enquiry after a handyman found what he believed were human remains in a house in Milton Keynes
Maxwell had been on the run from police in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell in November 2018.
The inquest heard Maxwell had gone missing and proved ‘impossible to find’ for three months after an allegation was made against him on November 29 2018.
Maxwell had stopped using his phone in December 2018 and police had been in contact with his family, including his mother, in efforts to trace him.
Detective Chief Superintendent Joseph Kidman told the inquest that there were 1,975 sex offender in the area they were searching, and Maxwell was a registered level-one sex offender.
Maxwell had been handed a two-year community order in the magistrates court for a sexual offence in February 2018 and he was being monitored by probation.
It was also known there were other allegations against Maxwell that had not been pursued and that he had been failing to attend courses.
Maxwell had told probation he was working as a handyman for Kuwaiti families in the area, but he had been known to be ‘dishonest with the authorities about who he was associating with and what he was doing’, a lawyer for Leah’s family told the inquest.
The inquest heard a P Ashton, who was involved in monitoring Maxwell, had raised ‘grave concerns’ with her superiors about the lack of communication the authorities had with Maxwell, who had last been visited by police in April 2018 and had since been managed by probation.
DCSI Kidman said: ‘I think there is a case that he could have been managed at level 2, particularly post the 2018 conviction. I am unclear what that would have delivered differently to what we have now.
‘There were a number of occasions where a risk assessment could have been changed but I do not know if that would have resulted in him being wanted at that time.’
The inquest heard there were ‘extensive’ attempts to arrest Maxwell from December 2018, but the search escalated after Maxwell contacted his mother to inform her he was planning to end his life, which he ultimately did.
Thames Valley Police had said three people had reported possible sightings of Leah Croucher near Furzton Lake later in the morning on the day she disappeared.
Ms Croucher’s family released emotional pleas to the public and a £5,000 reward was offered for any information which could lead to her being found.
The officer in charge of the search, Chief Inspector Neil Kentish, had said during the search that his officers had ‘never dealt with a case like this before’, adding it was ‘extremely rare for someone to go missing without leaving a trace’.
Leah’s disappearance became a double-tragedy when her brother, Haydon Croucher, killed himself after telling a therapist he was finding it difficult to cope with his sister’s disappearance.
Haydon, 24, was found in his flat in Bletchley on November 14 2019. He was rushed to hospital where he died two days later.
The devoted brother had tried to conduct his own investigation into Leah’s disappearance, even ending up in court after threatening her former boyfriend, who he wrongly blamed for the disappearance.
Judge Francis Sheridan had said that the case was ‘a real tragedy’, adding: ‘You and your family are entitled and deserving of utter sympathy from everybody, because Leah has gone missing.’
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
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