"We knew this heartbreaking news would come one day" says devastated family of Milton Keynes murder victim Leah Croucher

As the city continues to mourn Leah Croucher, her parents have today released a tribute to the “bright, funny and caring“ young woman.

In a poignant statement, the family said: “We knew this heart-breaking news would come one day. The news that Leah had been taken from us, from this world, forever. We are devastated that we have proven to be correct in this.

“The faint glimmer of hope that we all held allowed us to fool ourselves into believing that our assumption could have been wrong. The deepest, darkest grief that we, Leah’s family and friends are experiencing over the past weeks shows us that glimmer was actually, foolishly, a shining beacon of hope, which has now been brutally extinguished in the cruellest and harshest of ways.

"It has been a long way to fall back to reality.”

The statement added: “Leah had so much to achieve in her life, milestones that will now never be met. Family holidays, marriage, children, promotion, having her own home. So many ‘could have beens’…

“The void left in our lives after Leah’s disappearance was immense, a pain almost too big to bear. However, there is little that compares to the deep chasm Leah’s death has brought to us.

“Leah was a bright, funny young woman who was a kind, loyal, helpful and caring soul. Her smile lit up the room and her laugh cheered all who heard it. Leah had a wonderful sense of humour, who found joy in everything she did.

“Leah was a second Dan black belt, a national and European champion in the world of Taekwondo. She enjoyed coaching the next generation of champions at the family club she ran with her dad.

“Leah’s presence and warmth impacted on all who knew her, her disappearance has impacted on an entire city and beyond.”

For three years and eight months, Leah’s parents had held on to the glimmer of hope that one day their daughter would return after to them after she seemingly vanished off the face of the earth on her walk to work one cold February morning in 2019.

What happened to the slightly shy and home-loving 19-year-old became the biggest mystery Milton Keynes had ever seen and, despite intensive police investigation and numerous public appeals, not one single clue or answer ever emerged.

Two weeks ago came the first and only development in the case. And it could not have been more tragic. Human remains were found hidden in the loft of a house in Loxbeare Drive on Furzton – a house that Leah would have passed on her route to work.

Swiftly the case progressed from a missing person investigation that had baffled even the top police officers to the grimmest murder hunt.

Last week the body was confirmed to be Leah, the news the city had dreaded. The cause of her death was “inconclusive”, said police.

Unusually, within days of launching the murder investigation police identified a suspect – a 49-year-old handyman and convicted sex offender called Neil Maxwell. According to the overseas owner of the Loxbeare Drive house, Maxwell was responsible for maintaining the property and was the only person to have keys at the time Leah disappeared.

But there was to be no immediate arrest to enable Leah’s loved ones to see justice done. For Maxwell had taken his own life two months after the teenager went missing, by hanging himself in a bin cupboard in Campbell Park. He left a polite note on the door saying: ‘Please do not come in. There is a dead body inside. Call the police.’

The case has, unsurprisingly, caused a tide of grief all over Milton Keynes - but it has also left many people with questions on their lips that may never now be answered.

Already the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber has asked for a review of the entire Leah Croucher case to determine if mistakes were made and if any further inquiry is required. But even this may not produce the answers that Leah’s loved ones need or deserve.

Meanwhile, police forensic investigations into the Furzton house continue, but due to the length of time that has elapsed it may be that people will never know exactly what happened to Leah that fateful February morning. And it could be that we never have the satisfaction of seeing someone put behind bars for murdering this sweet and much-loved young woman that the people of MK took to their hearts.

Right from the start of the case, this has been a Milton Keynes story, an unsolved mystery belonging to the city. Leah was ‘our Leah’; her name was on everyone’s lips and every parent could identify with the anguish her family was going through.

People in MK valiantly shared every appeal. The Citizen vowed to keep Leah’s case under the spotlight by writing a story about her every month, highlighting every anniversary and campaigning for the national press to do the same. Despite this, inexplicably, our lovely Leah never did become a national household name alongside equally baffling cases such as Suzy Lamplugh and Claudia Lawrence. Until the recent tragic outcome, that is.

There was a doubly tragic blow in November 2019, when Leah’s half brother Haydon took his own life. The caring 24-year-old was so troubled and frustrated with not knowing what happened to Leah that he simply could not cope any longer. Milton Keynes shared the family’s crippling grief.

Today the one consolation for John and Claire Croucher is that Leah is reunited with Haydon, the big brother she adored, giggled with, and, as a Taekwondo expert, practised her martial moves with.

Her family said: "Give Haydon a big kiss and a big hug from us baby, we miss and love you both so much, but hope that you are together now, looking out for each other as always.”

They now have the heartbreaking task of making arrangements for Leah’s funeral.

"We will soon be able to lay Leah to rest, as she deserves, and say our final goodbyes, be able to grieve at Leah’s graveside and lay flowers for her. We have missed Leah for so long already, and now have the rest of our lives to mourn her as well as the memories we will never be able to make,” they said.

“The world and our lives are darker for losing her in the prime of life. Solace is found in the belief that Leah will only finally die when the last of us who remember her dies and Leah will hopefully be remembered by a lot of people for many years to come,

“We were able to love you for 19 wonderful years Leah and make amazing memories together as a family, memories that we hope will be sufficient to carry us through the dark and lonely years we have to come.

“We hope soon that we will be able to look at pictures of you again, but they are too painful to even think about at the moment.”

This week the Citizen has, with the blessing of the Croucher family, put in an official request for a pillar at MK Rose memorial to be dedicated to Leah and all the other people who go missing in the UK each year. The request has to go to a special panel for approval and no decision will be made until next year.

But we believe it would be a fitting tribute to a beautiful young lady who is mourned by an entire city.

We are hoping our request will be approved. But one thing will always be certain – Leah Croucher is a name that nobody in Milton Keynes will ever forget.

Rest in peace, lovely Leah.