'Whoever murdered Leah Croucher has brother Haydon's blood on their hands too'

The big sister of Leah Croucher has spoken out about the nightmare the family has been through since the teenager’s body was found.

Jade Croucher has written an impassioned post on social media addressed to Leah.

The young mum says: “The agony and pain of wondering where you are is now over, yet the torture is far from being done.

"We now face the scariest reality, our worst nightmare. That you, our beautiful, loving, caring, innocent girl have been murdered by someone so evil.”

Jade and her family spent the longest three years and eight months longing for answers and praying for Leah to come home.

“We knew something was wrong, we vowed from the very start that you did not choose to disappear. We were certain you wouldn’t put us through the worry. We knew in our hearts that something terrible had happened,” she said.

“But when the news was broken to us that your body was found in that house of horrors on a path on your route to work our worlds crumbled...

“How could anyone bring such a beautiful life to an end in such a tragic way? How could anyone upset you, let alone harm you?”

Jade then tragically lost brother Haydon in November 2019. The caring 24-year-old was so troubled at not knowing what happened to Leah that he took his own life.

Jade said: “I honestly do not know how we will ever recover from this excruciating pain, the sheer horror of what we have been put through and most importantly the heartache of losing you, especially like this.”

She added: “Let it be known to the whole wide world that the person responsible for your murder has Haydon’s blood on their hands too.”

“For now all I can take comfort in is the thought that you two are together in heaven where one day I will be reunited with you both.”

Jade said: “I hope you know how hard we fought to find you.. I hope you know how loved you are by all of us, your family, your friends, the whole of Milton Keynes and in fact far beyond.

“Our Leah, your warmth, radiance and beautiful soul made such an impact on the lives of those of us lucky enough to be blessed with knowing you and loving you… Sleep tight my baby sister, in the peace that you deserve away from this cruel world.”

Leah seemingly vanished off the face of the earth on her walk to work one cold February morning in 2019 Despite intensive police investigation, not a single clue or answer ever emerged about what happened to her.

On October 11, police were called to a house in Loxbeare Drive on Furzton and discovered human remains hidden in the loft, together with possessions Leah had been carrying. The house was in the middle of Leah’s route to work.

Four days after launching the murder investigation, police identified 49-year-old handyman and convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell as a suspect.

Maxwell took his own life in April 2019, two months after Leah vanished.