Leah Croucher's body was discovered in a home that had been vacant during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than three and a half years after she went missing.
Wednesday 19 June 2024 16:36 UK
Leah Croucher, who was trained in martial arts, may have been trying to defend herself from a sexual assault before she was killed, an inquest heard.
The 19-year-old man, who holds a black belt in taekwondo, went missing on his way to work on February 15, 2019.
Her body was discovered in the attic of a house in Furstton, Milton Keynes, which had been empty during the COVID-19 pandemic, following a call from a maintenance worker in October 2022.
Detective Superintendent Kevin Brown told an inquest at Milton Keynes Coroner's Court on Wednesday he “absolutely” believed she had been murdered by a sex offender. Neil Maxwell.
Maxwell committed suicide in April 2019, two months after Croucher disappeared.
He was convicted of sexual assault in February 2018 and was wanted for a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell in November the following year.
To avoid arrest, he used a false name and withdrew access to his cell phone and car. He was a handyman and was the only person with a key to the building where Ms Croucher's body was found.
Mr Brown told the inquest that in “normal circumstances” – if Mr Maxwell had survived – Thames Valley Police would have contacted the Crown Prosecution Service for “prosecution advice”.
He added: “My professional experience and knowledge suggest that Leah died, if not on the day she went missing, then shortly thereafter.”
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Attorney Caroline Hoagy, representing Croucher's family, asked Croucher whether he believed “this may have been a sexual assault and that in fact she reacted because of her martial arts talent and subsequently died.”
Brown responded: “I think she could have protected herself. [and] That could have made things worse.”
Croucher, whose body was discovered more than three and a half years after she went missing, was identified through dental records.
“Whoever placed the body in the attic had taken steps to remove certain limbs and placed them in plastic bags,” Chief Medical Examiner Tom Osborne said.
Autopsy results are inconclusive and her cause of death is unknown.
The inquest heard Maxwell was assessed as being at medium risk after being convicted of sexual assault in February 2018.
But it was later determined he should have been assessed as high risk.
The inquest heard the defendant missed several probation appointments in 2018 after being convicted.
