Who Was Niel Maxwell?

Neil Maxwell was a convicted sex offender who was identified by police as the primary suspect in the Leah Croucher murder investigation.

Leah Croucher went missing on 15 February 2019 and police have since mounted a three-year campaign to find her.

Maxwell committed suicide on April 20, 2019, two months after Leah vanished, according to police.

Thames Valley Police said during the missing person investigation that there had been no direct link between Maxwell and Leah until Monday, 10 October 2022 when they were called about the property in Loxbeare Drive.

Police said that if Maxwell were still alive today, they would seek his arrest in connection with the investigation.

Maxwell had a history of sexual assaults against women and was wanted in November 2018 in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell.

The sexual assault was reported to Bedfordshire Police on November 29, 2018, and the case was transferred the same day to Thames Valley Police.

Officers attempted to arrest Maxwell for the sexual assault the next day, 30 November 2018, at an address in central Milton Keynes, but he was not present. According to police, they attempted to arrest him 18 times.