Leah Croucher’s was laid to rest after going missing for nearly four years in a solemn funeral service

Leah Croucher’s family carried her coffin during a funeral service held for the teenager. The service was held at Crownhill Crematorium, following a cortege that passed through Milton Keynes. The procession went through Furzton, Shenley Brook End, Shenley Church End, and Grange Farm, where mourners lined the streets to pay their respects.

Leah Croucher went missing on February 15, 2019. The police found human remains in the loft of a house in Furzton, Milton Keynes, in October 2022, confirming they belonged to the 19-year-old. The news was a devastating blow to her parents, Claire and John, who had already lost their 24-year-old son, who took his life six months after Leah disappeared.

Leah’s parents said that the cortege was an opportunity for people to say their goodbyes to their daughter as she went on her final journey to the crematorium. They also thanked the people of Milton Keynes for their support and messages left on a tree in the city, which have been compiled into a book by the local church.

The police launched a murder investigation after Leah’s belongings were found at the Furzton property, naming sex offender Neil Maxwell as the prime suspect. Maxwell killed himself in April 2019 while on the run from police. The police believe that he murdered Leah, but they have been unable to find anyone who can place him near the house where her body was found.

An inquest into Leah’s death earlier this year confirmed that she was identified by dental records, but her cause of death is still being investigated. The teenager was last seen on February 15, 2019, walking to work. Two years later, the police offered a reward of £20,000 to help find her. All hope of finding Leah alive was lost when her remains were unearthed in a loft in Milton Keynes.

Leah’s body and possessions were found at a four-bed detached house in Loxbeare Drive, less than a mile from the home she shared with her parents. Maxwell had once worked at the property as a handyman. The police had posted a leaflet through the door of the unoccupied house during their door-to-door inquiries in the area after Leah was reported missing.

Earlier this year, the coroner agreed to a police request to withhold the record of Maxwell’s inquest. Maxwell had hanged himself on April 20, 2019, in a communal bin cupboard in Campbell Park in the city, leaving a note taped to the door that read: “Please do not come in. There is a dead body inside. Call the police.”