PICTURED: Leah Croucher suspect Neil Maxwell is DEAD

Leah Croucher may have been held captive by a sex offender for weeks after police missed 18 opportunities to arrest him before he killed himself two months after the 19-year-old vanished, it emerged today. 

Today Thames Valley Police named Neil Maxwell as the key suspect in the case. He was the only person with keys to the house in Milton Keynes where human remains were found next to Leah’s backpack. 

The convicted sex attack had been employed by the owners to carry out maintenance work while they were away, and at the time Leah disappeared in February 2019 was being hunted by Thames Valley Police over a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell in November the previous year. 

At a press conference this afternoon, a senior officer said police were looking into the possibility Leah was held captive as an ‘active part of our investigation’. Maxwell took his own life aged 49 in April 2019 – four months after Leah went missing.  

Today, Thames Valley faced questions about how they failed to catch the convict despite saying officers had tried to arrest him 18 times. Had he been taken into custody Leah then may still be alive today. 

Following the press conference, senior Tory MP Bob Blackman called on the Independent Office for Police Conduct, to look at the case. He called on the police watchdog to examine any contact Thames Valley Police had with Maxwell and the force’s claims he evaded arrest 18 times. 

Mr Blackman told MailOnline: ‘This tragedy is just the sort of case the IOPC should review. It is heartbreaking for the family of Leah Croucher’s family’.

The MP for Harrow East added: ‘This case is clearly not cut and dried – and it also shows the kind of sexual predators police have to deal with. They are often very clever at evading arrest’.

It has previously emerged that the house where human remains were found had been occupied by Alex Johnston, a 30-year-old paedophile who once appeared on 24 Hours in Police Custody. 

But he was in prison at the time Leah disappeared after being sentenced to four-and-a-half years in June 2017 for five counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15. 

Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter told a news conference today: ‘Today, I am able to confirm that we have nominated a suspect in this case. His name is Neil Maxwell.

‘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 homeowner 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.’    

At today’s bombshell press conference, it emerged – 

• Police named the prime suspect in the murder of Leah Croucher as convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell;
• He was the only person with keys to the house where human remains were found next to Leah’s backpack;
• Maxwell was known to police due to his previous convictions for sexual assaults against women; 
• On November 29, 2018, he was reported to Bedfordshire Police for a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell; 
• Passed to Thames Valley Police who first tried to arrest him at a house in Milton Keynes the following day; 
• Maxwell’s name was put on the Police National Computer in December 2018 in relation to the sex assault;
• Thames Valley Police also issued a public wanted appeal to find Maxwell on April 4, 2019; 
• 18 attempts were made to arrest Maxwell evaded police by using an alias and changing his phone and car;
• One attempt was made to arrest the sex offender in Scotland;
• Convicted criminal was found dead on April 20, 2019, having taken his own life at the age of 49;
• Police are now trying to establish whether Maxwell saw Croucher when she walked past the house;
• Officers examining whether Leah was hold hostage; but would not say if she killed at house or elsewhere;
• Formal identification of the human remains has not yet taken place but will do so ‘as soon as possible;  
• Police would not say if any weapons had been found by officers searching the property; 

DCS Ian Hunter told today’s press conference in Milton Keynes: ‘I cannot even begin to imagine what it is like for Leah’s parents and family, for three years and eight months not knowing what has happened to their daughter and loved one.

‘All of the investigation team who are working on this case are dedicated to finding the truth for Leah’s family.’

Describing the hunt for Leah’s alleged murderer, he said: ‘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.

‘Maxwell has previous convictions for sexual offences against females and was wanted in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell in November 2018. 

‘The sexual assault was reported to Bedfordshire Police on November 29, 2018 and the case was transferred to Thames Valley Police the same day.’ 

DCS Hunter said Thames Valley Police first tried to arrest Maxwell in Milton Keynes the following day – November 30 – but were unable to find him.  

He continued: ‘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 April 4, 2019, but Maxwell was found dead on April 20, 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.’  

The human remains were found in the loft of the property at Loxbeare Drive in Furzton, Milton Keynes, DCS Hunter, Thames Valley Police’s head of crime, said.

Asked how long the human remains had been in the house and where they were found, he told a press conference in Milton Keynes: ‘Of course, we have got an ongoing investigation so we will need to establish some of those facts.

‘I will reveal today that the rucksack containing Leah’s possessions and the human remains were found in the loft – that is what is making this so complex and challenging for us to be able to work through.’

Thames Valley Police were asked if it was possible that Maxwell had targeted Ms Croucher after seeing her as she was walking to work on a route that took her close to the property.

DCS Hunter said: ‘This inquiry was always extremely challenging. If we go back to Buzzacott Lane and the CCTV at 8.16am on February 15 2019 – there were no further lines of inquiry that helped us from there.

‘Of course, Leah’s route to work has always been subject to intense scrutiny throughout our investigation. (There were) 4,000 properties visited and CCTV that we were able to obtain has been viewed.

‘At this stage, it is of course an active line of our inquiry – did Leah walk past that house and some sort of action took place? That is exactly what the investigation team are going to try and establish.’ 

Police were first alerted to the house on Loxbeare Drive in Furzton, Milton Keynes by a handyman who had been employed to carry out maintenance work on the house.

He said due to Covid the house had been mostly empty since Leah’s disappearance but said the owners could have stayed at the four-bed property after she had been killed and her body hidden in the attic.

The police would not say if Leah had been killed at the house or elsewhere or if she had been held hostage.

A Home Office pathologist is carrying out a postmortem to try and determine a cause of death.

DCS Hunter said the Croucher family had been fully briefed on the latest developments and their ‘nominated’ suspect.

In a statement read out at a press conference, the family 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.’  

The officer would not say if any weapons had been found in the house.

 ‘That’s not something I am going to discuss here, that is an operational matter for the investigation as we work through and understand exactly what that house contains,’ he said. ‘The search is going to take some time.’ 

Leah Croucher’s bereft parents last night visited the house where her body was found. 

Claire Croucher could be heard sobbing loudly behind a black screen as police carried the remains to a waiting undertakers’ car. 

Claire and her husband John had arrived unannounced to see their daughter’s body taken from the house – over three years since her disappearance. 

Leah’s sister Jade said in a note left at the shrine to her sister: ‘How can a life as beautiful as yours come to an end in such a tragic way’.

This morning, a neighbour said that her CCTV had recorded the moment two men – who appeared to be estate agents – appeared to find the body on Monday.

Olga Kopilova said that her security system saw the two men entering the house next door. 

Ms Kopilova said they appeared to contact a third man, who arrived at the property with ladders. Police arrived a short time later, she said.

Speaking to MailOnline, she said: ‘No one ever went to the house and it had been empty for three years. 

‘Our CCTV captured two men in suits walking into the house. 

;A little bit later another man came in a white car. He parked right outside the house and he had a ladder. That is all the CCTV shows.’ 

Ms Kopilova said police had taken away the CCTV as part of their investigation. She added: ‘It is very upsetting to know what was in that house.’

After dark last night Leah’s family arrived to tearfully lay tributes to a beloved daughter and sister. An undertaker carried a bouquet of flowers as he then 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 hour smile or hear your laughter again. We will cherish your memories forever. We love you, Mum and dad’.

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.’ 

Last night the remains of the body were taken away in a three-car convoy. Police had sealed off Loxbeare Drive to traffic while the family were at the scene.  

Leah was last captured on CCTV on her way to her job on February 15, 2019, but never made it to work. 

Police were alerted to the significance of the property by a member of the public who provided information on Monday. 

Well-wishers have laid flowers, candles, teddy bears and tea-lights in the shape of the letter L at the edge of the police tape cordoning off the two-storey brick house and its neighbouring detached property. 

Flowers left at the scene by friends of Mr and Mrs Croucher on their behalf had a heart-wrenching handwritten note which promised to ‘never give up fighting’ for their daughter. 

It comes as metal fencing covered with black screens was erected in the driveway of the empty £490,000 house, just a 20-minute walk from Leah’s home and less than half a mile from where the teenager was last seen.

A group of mourners visited the house, which remains cordoned off, earlier yesterday. They laid a wreath of roses and carnations alongside a handwritten note in black that said: ‘Our beautiful darling Leah.

‘While our hopes and dreams to find you safe and well have been stolen from us, a new hope for answers and justice is now part of the fight ahead.

‘We promise you with all of our hearts that we will never ever give up fighting. Our love always and for ever.’ The note was not signed.’ 

Another small bouquet was signed ‘Nan and Grandad.’ It read: ‘We will never stop seeking answers. With love and miss you always.’ 

They were laid by a group of mourners of various ages, including two children, who were clearly upset and did not want to speak. 

Another message among floral tributes read: ‘Leah, sleep tight darling. You are at peace now.’

Another member of the public wrote: ‘Rest easy Leah, taken far too soon. Time for your parents to take you home baby girl. All our condolences.’

Ever since she disappeared in 2019, Leah’s distraught parents and sister Jade have done everything possible to keep her in the public eye and step up the campaign to find her.

Tragically, nine months after she went missing, Leah’s half-brother Haydon Croucher, 24, was discovered by his mother Tracey Furness hanged at his flat and later died in hospital – landing the family a further blow. An inquest heard he struggled to cope following her disappearance.

Leah’s mother previously said her disappearance had ‘destroyed’ their family, adding that if she had been abducted or killed they would hold the culprit responsible for Haydon’s death as well.