Leah Croucher murder suspect was reported to Bedfordshire Police for sexual assault - three months before she went missing

The man suspected of murdering Leah Croucher had been reported to Bedfordshire Police for sexual assault – three months before the teen went missing.

Neil Maxwell was reported to Bedfordshire Police after the assault in Newport Pagnell on November 29, 2018, and the case was transferred to Thames Valley Police the same day.

Thames Valley Police attempted to arrest Maxwell, who had previous convictions for sexual offences, in Milton Keynes the following day, but could not locate him.

He was found dead by suicide on April 20, 2019 – two months after Leah’s disappearance.

TVP Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter said: “It is unusual to name a suspect, but we have also learned this week that during the time when Leah went missing, and whilst the owner of the property was not in the UK, Maxwell was the only person to have keys to the property.

“Maxwell had been employed by the home owner to carry out some property maintenance at the house. We now know that Maxwell had keys to this property from November 2018.

“Whilst Maxwell has been nominated as a suspect, this does not mean he is guilty of any offence. We will keep an open mind, and our detailed investigation will seek to gather sufficient evidence to establish the truth. This may or may not implicate or exonerate Maxwell or any other persons from the investigation.

“During this time, we established that Maxwell was at an unknown location in Scotland at one stage, but further arrest attempts were continually made throughout the UK at various different addresses.

“Maxwell knew he was wanted in connection with the sexual assault and was travelling across the UK and making concerted efforts to evade arrest, including using false names and changing his mobile phone and vehicles.

“He is likely to have known that he would be returning to prison if he was arrested and convicted.

“Thames Valley police shared Maxwell’s name with other police forces on the Police National Computer in December 2018.

“We also published a public wanted appeal to find Maxwell on 4 April 2019, but Maxwell was found dead on 20 April 2019 having taken his own life.

“A significant amount of enquiries were made nationally to locate Maxwell and these included 18 attempts to arrest him.

“In April 2019, when we published our wanted appeal regarding Maxwell in connection with the sexual assault in Newport Pagnell, and during our entire investigation to find Leah, there has been no direct link between Maxwell and Leah until Monday this week when we were called about the property in Loxbeare Drive.

“If Maxwell were alive today, we would be seeking his arrest in connection with this investigation, so he could be interviewed under caution to provide his account.

“As such, today I am appealing to anyone who had contact with Maxwell between November 2018 and his death in April 2019 or anyone who has information that might help our inquiry to contact Thames Valley Police.

“If you have any information please contact us by visiting our website or calling 101, quoting ‘Op Innsbruck’.

“If you do not wish to speak directly with police, you can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Human remains and items and personal possessions belonging to Leah, who was reported missing on 15 February 2019, were found in a house on Loxbeare Drive, Furzton, Milton Keynes on Monday.

The discovery prompted Thames Valley Police to change its missing persons investigation into a murder investigation.

During the search for Leah, the house had already been visited by police twice – but there had been no response.

A leaflet was dropped through the letterbox appealing for information, and police also visited the house to see what CCTV was available.

Detective Superintendent Hunter added: “Since we were alerted to this property on Monday evening, we have established that the property is owned by someone who lives overseas and rarely visits the UK.

"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 enquiries.”

And he said: “The Senior Investigating Officer visited Leah’s family this morning and fully briefed them on everything I have just told you.

“They have specifically asked me to pass on the following message:

"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."