LINEOFDUTY
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Many thanks as you can see they had not found anyone who had seen Maxwell. The explanation being he changed his appearance.
Found Deceased UK - Leah Croucher - Emerson Valley - Milton Keynes - #7
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HollyHunter9
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Yes i do remember those comments LOD. They were struggling to place him at the property, so how are they now so sure it was him? I'm disappointed for leahs family that the inquest still didn't really answer anything. The empty houses should have been a priority to search, but the police always thought she was a run away, I believe. My heart really goes out to her family for what they've been through.
LINEOFDUTY
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Has anyone considered making a freedom of information request as it seems, and I repeat seems, it’s been a whitewash . The only apologies the Coroner mentioned were about the probation service. So many other errors in the initial investigations and jumping right out are failures to search empty houses on the route and saying they believed she had left home of her own accord when she had not taken any important documents, clothes or money.
Would the investigation process and evidence the police have be released under the act. Maybe the family want an end to public scrutiny but I fear there will eventually be a future TV programme reviewing the evidence which may further extend their pain?
Just taking the official written and verbal statements alone shows other serious mistakes were made. My only concern is have lessons been learnt to limit any repeats?
Now if the family and their QC have had full disclosure and are now satisfied with the subsequent actions taken by authorities then that’s the end of the matter for me. But currently the inconsistencies leave a bitter taste for those of us that tried so hard to point out the apparent mistakes AT THE TIME they were being made. Yes inaccurate incorrect or insensitive comments were made but in the main many of the key points made could have helped finding Leah earlier and capture whoever abducted her.
I hope the authorities were reviewing our comments and trying to consider issues raised that seemed worth consideration.
Officer Dibble
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I can't understand how they don't do this in the first place. JMO
Parents of Leah Croucher tell of their 'torture' at police blunders
Leah was found dead in the loft of a house on October 10, 2022 - almost four years after her disappearance on February 15, 2019, while walking to work in Milton Keynes
The parents of murdered Leah Croucher have spoken about their 'torture' after police blunders prolonged their agony whilst trying to find their missing daughter.
Leah was found dead in the loft of a house on October 10, 2022 - almost four years after her disappearance on February 15, 2019, while walking to work on Buzzacott Lane, Furzton, Milton Keynes.
During the search for the teenager, officers told parents John and Claire Croucher that they had found a human scalp, which later turned out to be horse’s mane, and mistook a severed foot for that of Leah.
WiseOwl
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Parents of Leah Croucher tell of their 'torture' at police blunders
Leah was found dead in the loft of a house on October 10, 2022 - almost four years after her disappearance on February 15, 2019, while walking to work in Milton Keynes
Picking up on some of the points raised:
Speaking to The Mirror about the distressing handling of the case by the force, John said: 'It was torture, we understand the police were doing the best they could. But they were making mistakes, too. We were called out from work one day to say they had possibly found a human scalp. 'They said they had confirmed it was a human scalp and it was sent for DNA testing. It was possibly one of the longest weeks we had. Then it came back that it was ¬actually a horse's mane.'
Why on earth tell the family that it was a human scalp before they had it tested for DNA? Absolutely appalling.
The couple were also told that a random foot had been found by a dogwalker. Detectives said it was a size four and belonged to a female aged 16 to 25 who had died in January 2019. The foot was put forward for DNA testing, which took three weeks, and showed that it was not Leah's, a finding that mother Claire described as 'heartbreaking'.
Again, why not wait until DNA testing before telling the family?
The coroner concluded that Leah had died on the day she disappeared, February 15 2019, adding: 'I find that she was murdered by Neil Maxwell. I also find that there were a number of failings with regard to the monitoring of Neil Maxwell. An inexperienced probation officer was supervising him at the time, as a convicted sex offender, had little experience of such offenders. The risk that Neil Maxwell posed to the public generally was underestimated and unreported. There was also a failure of the process to monitor Neil Maxwell as regards attendance at appointments.'
Who was the person responsible for giving the 'inexperienced officer' the job in the first place? Who was responsible for monitoring this person?
The coroner added there was a failure in the risk assessment carried out and a failure to properly share information between the police and probation on a shared computer system.
But why was there a failure? The police said after they had announced Maxwell as the only suspect that they had been looking for him from November 2018, 3 months before Leah disappeared. They also said that they had tried to arrest him 19 times, and that they believed he had been in Scotland around that time too. So they were actively looking for him, even though it appears he was under their noses all the time, living and working in Milton Keynes.
Maxwell had spent years in prison for numerous different offences - including attempted rape - but was incorrectly labelled as 'medium risk' in a report submitted to magistrates who sentenced him to a community order in February 2018. Caroline Haughey KC told the inquest how Maxwell received a custodial sentence in 2001 and then a further custodial sentence in 2002. He was only released in 2009.
He also raped a woman in Berkshire in 2009, and was sentenced to 4 years and 10 months in prison - this length of sentence means he should have been placed on the sex offenders register for life but he was not. That is why he got a lenient sentence in 2018.
The name of Maxwell came up in May 2019 after a member of the public called up to provide information, but officers concluded there was no link between him and Leah, DSI Brown said.
Well why have they still not made public his suicide note?
Detective Superintendent Kevin Brown told the inquest the probe had involved searching 3,500 houses, carrying out 1,500 lines of inquiry, examining 1,200 documents, 1,600 messages and taking 500 statements.
That's all very well, but how many sex offenders in the area did they check at the time? When a 19 year-old female goes missing, it's the first thing they should of thought of - they did not.
Link to Maxwell's crime in 2009:
Leah Croucher: Who was murder suspect Neil Maxwell?
Prime suspect Maxwell, who died in 2019, was convicted of sex offences years before Leah's death.
www.bbc.co.uk
Good summary #Wiseowl, to add to this I understand an independent investigator looked at Leah’s disappearance an highlighted exactly where he thought she went missing.
It didn’t align with the general thoughts at the time, but proved to be correct.
How did they leave this property un-searched when they had visited all the others.
An apparently semi empty property should have rung alarm bells.
It didn’t align with the general thoughts at the time, but proved to be correct.
How did they leave this property un-searched when they had visited all the others.
An apparently semi empty property should have rung alarm bells.
WiseOwl
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I think you may be referring to when they used a cross reference system and narrowed down to where Leah's phone last pinged to one square mile - this included Loxbeare Drive.
The police visited all the properties in this area, however if they didn't get a reply all they did then was put a questionairre through the letter box. It would appear that, if they didn't get a reply, instead of investigating further they just left it.
Fourteen minutes and a single square mile of Milton Keynes - that's the crux of the baffling Leah Croucher case
Police have narrowed down the time and place of Leah Croucher's disappearance to just 14 minutes and one square mile
www.miltonkeynes.co.uk
chimpface
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Who's foot was it then?!Parents of Leah Croucher tell of their 'torture' at police blunders
Leah was found dead in the loft of a house on October 10, 2022 - almost four years after her disappearance on February 15, 2019, while walking to work in Milton Keyneswww.dailymail.co.uk
Picking up on some of the points raised:
Speaking to The Mirror about the distressing handling of the case by the force, John said: 'It was torture, we understand the police were doing the best they could. But they were making mistakes, too. We were called out from work one day to say they had possibly found a human scalp. 'They said they had confirmed it was a human scalp and it was sent for DNA testing. It was possibly one of the longest weeks we had. Then it came back that it was ¬actually a horse's mane.'
Why on earth tell the family that it was a human scalp before they had it tested for DNA? Absolutely appalling.
The couple were also told that a random foot had been found by a dogwalker. Detectives said it was a size four and belonged to a female aged 16 to 25 who had died in January 2019. The foot was put forward for DNA testing, which took three weeks, and showed that it was not Leah's, a finding that mother Claire described as 'heartbreaking'.
Again, why not wait until DNA testing before telling the family?
The coroner concluded that Leah had died on the day she disappeared, February 15 2019, adding: 'I find that she was murdered by Neil Maxwell. I also find that there were a number of failings with regard to the monitoring of Neil Maxwell. An inexperienced probation officer was supervising him at the time, as a convicted sex offender, had little experience of such offenders. The risk that Neil Maxwell posed to the public generally was underestimated and unreported. There was also a failure of the process to monitor Neil Maxwell as regards attendance at appointments.'
Who was the person responsible for giving the 'inexperienced officer' the job in the first place? Who was responsible for monitoring this person?
The coroner added there was a failure in the risk assessment carried out and a failure to properly share information between the police and probation on a shared computer system.
But why was there a failure? The police said after they had announced Maxwell as the only suspect that they had been looking for him from November 2018, 3 months before Leah disappeared. They also said that they had tried to arrest him 19 times, and that they believed he had been in Scotland around that time too. So they were actively looking for him, even though it appears he was under their noses all the time, living and working in Milton Keynes.
Maxwell had spent years in prison for numerous different offences - including attempted rape - but was incorrectly labelled as 'medium risk' in a report submitted to magistrates who sentenced him to a community order in February 2018. Caroline Haughey KC told the inquest how Maxwell received a custodial sentence in 2001 and then a further custodial sentence in 2002. He was only released in 2009.
He also raped a woman in Berkshire in 2009, and was sentenced to 4 years and 10 months in prison - this length of sentence means he should have been placed on the sex offenders register for life but he was not. That is why he got a lenient sentence in 2018.
The name of Maxwell came up in May 2019 after a member of the public called up to provide information, but officers concluded there was no link between him and Leah, DSI Brown said.
Well why have they still not made public his suicide note?
Detective Superintendent Kevin Brown told the inquest the probe had involved searching 3,500 houses, carrying out 1,500 lines of inquiry, examining 1,200 documents, 1,600 messages and taking 500 statements.
That's all very well, but how many sex offenders in the area did they check at the time? When a 19 year-old female goes missing, it's the first thing they should of thought of - they did not.
Link to Maxwell's crime in 2009:
Leah Croucher: Who was murder suspect Neil Maxwell?
Prime suspect Maxwell, who died in 2019, was convicted of sex offences years before Leah's death.www.bbc.co.uk
IMO This house should have been HOT on some list since it is immediate housing on a road she used for her route to work. I used to walk by it a lot in the early 90s, I always felt really uncomfortable on the area from that house to under pass right near it when I walked to my Mothers on Shenley Lodge.. it was a bit isolated.I think you may be referring to when they used a cross reference system and narrowed down to where Leah's phone last pinged to one square mile - this included Loxbeare Drive.
The police visited all the properties in this area, however if they didn't get a reply all they did then was put a questionairre through the letter box. It would appear that, if they didn't get a reply, instead of investigating further they just left it.
Fourteen minutes and a single square mile of Milton Keynes - that's the crux of the baffling Leah Croucher case
Police have narrowed down the time and place of Leah Croucher's disappearance to just 14 minutes and one square mile
They had said the property had been visited twice. I wonder if they asked neighbours and they just replied something like "Oh they live abroad" however if that was the case, that house should stack up even more interest since it is empty. I seriously hope it is flagged as the ultimate mistake.. IMO it was the key.. one simple call to the owners to rule out any possibly sightings that there could have been from that propery ... and the question of "Does anybody have any keys that could have been there" likely would have produced Maxwells name.
bringmeacupoft
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Thing is that based on what we know now.
To me the ultimate failing was police believing she had left of her own accord, and the knock on effects to the rest of the enquiries.
Ruthbullock
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I’m not sure how much they would have investigated even if they suspected otherwise and that she hadn’t left of her own accord- you only have to look at other young people who have gone missing recently in England to see that for some they rate highly due to previous mental health issues or similar red flags and the helicopters are out, whilst others are just lacking any obvious investigation at all, apart from a few posters with a phone number.
Ruthbullock
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The only suspect they had, they cleared from their own suspect list pretty quickly.