Leah Croucher: Parents still haunted by teenager's murder by sex offender as they push for change
John and Claire Croucher spoke at length to ITV News Anglia's Sarah Cooper
The parents of the murdered teenager Leah Croucher have called for urgent changes to the way violent offenders are monitored - as they admitted to still being haunted by not knowing how she died.
The 19-year-old was killed after going missing while walking to work on 15 February 2019, and no trace of her was found for more than three years despite a large search operation.
Her remains were discovered in the loft of a house in October 2022 in Milton Keynes, less than half a mile from where she was last seen, after a tip-off from a maintenance worker.
"I used to have dreams where I was always searching for her but I never found her," her mother Claire Croucher told ITV News Anglia.
"Was she living in minutes in fear, hours in fear or days in fear?
"Did our little girl wonder why mum and dad are not coming to find me?
"We still have no idea how she died. All we know is what happened to her after she died.
"That makes nightmares of our own."
At an inquest held in June, coroner Tom Osborne said the teenager was murdered by Neil Maxwell, a previously convicted sex offender.
Maxwell killed himself while on the run from police in April 2019, two months after Miss Croucher vanished.
"He wrote suicide notes to his family but he never once mentioned Leah and for that I truly hate him," said Mrs Croucher.
At the inquest Mr Osborne identified a number of failings over the monitoring of the prime suspect in her killing.
He said the failings did not contribute directly to her death, but it is “possible that the findings may have played a part”.
Mr Osborne highlighted a failure to properly share information between police and probation.
Following the inquest, Thames Valley Police said it had made improvements already, which included "significantly increased resources, more rigorous governance and supervision arrangements" and better inter-agency working.
That concern was echoed by Leah's father, John Croucher.
"It’s horrific we had to wait that long - that people didn’t put two and two together," he said.
"The fact that people had said 'You need to look into this guy' and no-one did - they looked at him but they couldn’t find the evidence."
Ms Croucher's half-brother, Hayden, died in November 2019, having taken his own life just nine months after Leah went missing.
"They may have saved my son if they had just looked at the evidence that was there," added Mr Croucher.
"We are extremely let down, hurt, angry and disappointed that monster killed two of my children - [one] physically, and he destroyed my son mentally, so that he killed himself.
"I can’t sleep of a night knowing this and that this system is happening. It’s not fair, it’s not right and something needs to change."
A Probation Service spokesperson said: “This was a horrific crime and our thoughts remain with Leah Croucher’s family and friends.
“We are profoundly sorry for the failings this report identified. We have now taken a series of steps to address the risk management of offenders.
"We will also be recruiting 1,000 new trainee probation officers by March 2025.”
"I want a legacy going forward," Mr Croucher said.
"That Leah didn't die in vain and that Hayden didn't die in vain.
"I want them to change the system. I want improvements for other families. No-one should ever have to live like this."
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