Leah Croucher murder investigation: How prime suspect evaded police despite 18 attempts to arrest him
Leah Croucher’s parents have spent an agonising three years and eight months waiting for answers after their daughter disappeared on 15 February 2019.
Leah, 19, vanished as she walked to work at a finance company and was last seen on CCTV just after 8.15am in Buzzacott Lane, a two-minute drive away from a house in Furzton, Milton Keynes.
But it was only four days ago on Monday, 10 October, when Thames Valley Police (TVP) received a tip-off from a member of the public, that they started searching the property in Loxbeare Drive.
Officers are guarding the property in the Furzton area of Milton Keynes
Officers discovered items including a rucksack and personal possessions belonging to Leah.
Human remains were found in the loft.
Officers had visited the house on at least two earlier occasions during the investigation but there was no response.
They dropped a leaflet through the letterbox asking for the occupant to call if they had information.
The force has since changed its investigation from a missing person’s probe to a murder enquiry – as Leah’s parents revealed how their “darkest fears had come true”.
Detectives insisted it is the first time Leah’s disappearance was linked to the address, despite a huge search involving 4,000 house-to-house calls.
Following the latest developments, police have named the prime suspect as convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell, whose body was found on 20 April 2019 after he killed himself.
TVP said on Friday that during the entire investigation to find the teenager, “there has been no direct link between Maxwell and Leah until Monday”.
A billboard appealing for information at Westfield shopping centre in west London
What have the police done to find Leah since she disappeared?
TVP said on Friday that from the “very outset” of its investigation, the “most experienced and capable detectives, led by a senior investigating officer” were assigned to the case to demonstrate the force’s “determination” to find the 19-year-old.
In a statement released on Friday, Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter insisted “every reasonable line of enquiry” had been pursued “immediately and thoroughly”.
Efforts to locate Leah included:
• Deploying hundreds of officers and staff to search for the teenager
• Reviewing 1,200 hours of CCTV
• Conducting more than 4,000 house-to-house enquiries
• Searching lakes, open land and woodland
• Media appeals and offering rewards for help
Leah’s parents said they believe police could not have done anything differently and thanked them for their efforts.
They have described their ordeal as “one of the most difficult times of our lives”.
Neil Maxwell
Missed opportunities to arrest prime suspect Neil Maxwell
Handyman Maxwell was hired in 2018 to complete some maintenance at the property in Loxbeare Drive, whose owner lives overseas.
Maxwell was the only person with keys to the house, which was unoccupied when police visited to conduct their enquiries into Leah’s disappearance.
Maxwell was previously convicted for sexual offences against women and was wanted in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell, on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, in November 2018.
The attack was initially reported to Bedfordshire Police on 29 November 2018 before the case was transferred to TVP the following day.
The force made a total of 18 failed attempts to arrest Maxwell – initially at an address in Milton Keynes on 30 November, when he was not present.
A nationwide chase ensued with police trailing the suspect around the country.
Maxwell used false names and changed mobile phone and vehicles
Mr Hunter said in a statement: “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 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.”
TVP also shared Maxwell’s name with other forces in December 2018 and launched a public appeal on 4 April 2019 – just over a fortnight before he was found dead.
Leah Croucher went missing on 15 February 2019. Pic: Thames Valley Police
Mr Hunter added: “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.”
“Whilst Maxwell has been nominated as a suspect, this does not mean he is guilty of any offence,” Mr Hunter added.
He vowed the force would keep an “open mind” as the investigation continues in the hope of “establishing the truth”.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting Op Innsbruck or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
A police officer has described the moment he was shot with a crossbow – as his “extremely dangerous” attacker was sentenced to nine years in jail.
Jason King, 54, fired the weapon at PC Curtis Foster after stabbing a neighbour, a man in his 60s, following an altercation in Downley, Wycombe, on 10 May last year.
PC Foster was struck in the leg by a crossbow bolt while King chased after him and his fellow unarmed officer.
Jason King armed with the crossbow chases the officer. Pic: Thames Valley Police
King stabbed his neighbour in the stomach following an altercation. Pic: Thames Valley Police
“I knew something had impacted me, but my adrenaline was so high that the pain wasn’t really there,” PC Foster said.
“I first realised I was bleeding quite a lot when I could feel it running down my leg, and then I touched my leg with above my trousers, and my whole hand was red where it’d gone through my trousers already.”
PC Foster and his colleague cleared the area of civilians, while armed officers chased King to a local park.
King also fired the crossbow at a police dog but missed.
He was ordered to drop the weapon, but instead started running with it in hand towards the exit of the park to where PC Foster had escaped.
An armed officer fired one shot at King, striking him in the abdomen, to stop him.
PC Curtis Foster was hit in the leg by a crossbow bolt shot by King. Pic: Thames Valley Police
PC Foster. Pic: Thames Valley Police
‘Covered in my blood’
As King was apprehended, paramedics and his fellow officers treated the seriously injured PC Foster.
“There was a lot of blood. My two colleagues that turned up initially on scene were covered in my blood – that’s how much blood I’d lost,” PC Foster said.
“When we got to the hospital, the doctor had a feel of it and said that I was really lucky it didn’t strike an artery. It was a couple of centimetres away from hitting an artery in the back of my leg.”
PC Foster has since made a full recovery, as did the neighbour King stabbed.
King himself was taken to hospital under police supervision with potentially life-changing injuries and was discharged 10 days later, when he was arrested and taken into police custody.
King was apprehended by armed police officers in a nearby park. Pic: Thames Valley Police
On Wednesday, King was jailed at Aylesbury Crown Court for nine years with a further three years on extended licence having previously pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding, having an article with a blade or point, having an offensive weapon, wounding with intent and affray regarding the incident.
“Jason King will now serve a substantial prison sentence as a result of his violent actions on 10 May 2024. The community and residents of Downley are much safer for it,” said senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Nick Hind.
He added: “The courage of our officers in dealing with this incident was second to none.”
Read more from Sky News:
Councillor jailed for sexually abusing girl
UK set for hottest summer on record
‘Significant threat to police’
DI Hind explained that the impact the incident had in the local community couldn’t be underestimated as King was “an extremely dangerous man, who posed a significant threat to police, other emergency services and members of the community”.
A mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct was made after the police shooting of King.
The IOPC, which concluded its investigation in November, commended “everybody involved in this incident”, according to DI Hind.
A member of rap trio Kneecap was greeted by hundreds of supporters as he arrived at court this morning, charged with allegedly supporting a proscribed terror organisation.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in November last year.
Demonstrators waving flags and holding banners in support of the rapper greeted him with cheers as he made his way into Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The rapper is mobbed by fans and media as he arrives at court. Pics: PA
Supported by his Kneecap bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, it took the rapper more than a minute to enter the building as security officers worked to usher him inside through a crowd of photographers.
Fans held signs which read “Free Mo Chara”, while others waved Irish and Palestinian flags.
As the hearing got under way, O hAnnaidh confirmed his name, date of birth and address, with the court hearing an Irish language interpreter would be present.
During a previous hearing, prosecutors said the 27-year-old is “well within his rights” to voice his opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but said the alleged incident at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town was a “wholly different thing”.
O hAnnaidh is yet to enter a plea to the charge.
Bandmates Naoise O Caireallain (pictured, centre) and JJ O Dochartaigh are supporting O hAnnaidh. Pic: Reuters
Who are Kneecap?
Kneecap put out their first single in 2017 and rose to wider prominence in 2024 after the release of their debut album and an eponymously titled film – a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together and their fight to save the Irish language.
The film, in which the trio play themselves and co-star alongside starring Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender, won the BAFTA for outstanding debut earlier this year, for director and writer Rich Peppiatt.
Last year, they won a discrimination case against the UK government after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was business secretary.
They are known for songs including H.O.O.D, Fine Art, and Better Way To Live, featuring Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike