The bereaved parents of Leah Croucher have paid tribute to their daughter and requested her to give her older brother, who committed himself after the girl went missing, a “huge kiss.”
Grief-stricken Claire and John Croucher stated that the 19-year-‘faint old’s light of hope’ had been ‘brutally destroyed’
The distraught parents hailed Leah as a “bright, humorous young woman” whose “smile lighted up the room” as they broke their silence after learning of her passing.
They stated that viewing photographs of Leah was too traumatic to consider at this time.
In addition, they requested that she give her half-brother Haydon, who committed suicide in November 2019, a huge kiss and a big embrace.
Mr. and Mrs. Croucher, speaking for the first time since the discovery of Leah’s death, stated that they ‘knew’ Leah would be stolen from them.
They stated, “Leah had so much to accomplish in her lifetime, goals that will never be reached.”
‘The vacuum left in our lives by Leah’s disappearance was enormous; the pain was almost unbearable.
However, nothing compares to the gulf that Leah’s death has created in our lives.
On October 10, Leah’s body was discovered in a loft of a four-bedroom house in Milton Keynes, less than a half-mile from where she was last seen alive more than three years earlier.
Thames Valley Police initiated a murder investigation and designated 49-year-old convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell as the key suspect.
Two months after Leah’s disappearance, he was discovered dead while being pursued by police on an unrelated sexual assault claim.
In a heartfelt statement provided by police, Leah’s grieving parents remarked, “Leah was a bright, witty young woman with a kind, loyal, helpful, and caring spirit.”
Her smile and laughter brought joy to those who heard them. Leah had a tremendous sense of humor and found delight in all of her endeavors.
‘Leah’s presence and warmth had an impact on everyone who knew her, and her departure has had an impact on a city and beyond.
The world and our lives are darker as a result of her premature death.
On February 15, 2019, Leah, an office worker, vanished without a trace on her way to work, prompting a massive police search.
CCTV footage showed her walking to work, but when she failed to return home, her family raised the alarm.
During the course of the inquiry, police conducted more than 4,000 door-to-door enquiries and conducted a large search for her. During this search, they twice visited the home where her death was discovered.
On both instances, the residence was unoccupied and leaflets were left.
During the arduous investigation, which included the deployment of specialized search teams, officers examined almost 1,200 hours of CCTV footage.
A reward of £10,000 was given for information in August of 2020, which was doubled in March of the following year when police reported ‘no meaningful leads’ in the ‘confusing and frustrating’ case.
A member of the public provided police with information that led to the search of a £500,000 property on Loxbeare Drive, Milton Keynes, earlier this month.
Officers had begun examining the residence in early October, and two days after discovering the 19-year-backpack, old’s a murder investigation was initiated.
Neil Maxwell, a convicted sexual offender accused of murdering Ms. Croucher while on the run, committed suicide in April 2019 before police could capture him.
Following allegations of sexual assault in 2018, eighteen attempts were made to apprehend Maxwell.
Police stated that he was the only person with keys to the Loxbeare Drive residence at the time of Ms. Croucher’s disappearance.
Leah’s parents stated, ‘We have already lost Leah for so long, and now we have the rest of our life to mourn her, in addition to the memories we will never be able to create.
“We were able to adore you for 19 lovely years, Leah, and create incredible memories as a family, memories that we hope will be enough to get us through the sad and lonely years that lie ahead.”
“Give Haydon a big kiss and a big hug from us, baby. We miss and love you both so much, but we hope that you are now together, always watching out for one another.”
Leah’s cause of death was not determined conclusively by a postmortem examination conducted by the Home Office, and investigations are ongoing.