'Speculation over daughter's death is devastating'

When Leah Croucher's body was found three years after she went missing, her family thought their torture would end. Instead it continued with conspiracy theories, fear and heartbreak haunting their lives.

The 19-year-old was walking to work on 15 February 2019 when she disappeared. Her parents say they went through more than three years of "absolute torture" before her dismembered body was discovered in a house in Milton Keynes, less than half a mile (0.8km) from her home in 2022.

She had been killed by a repeat sex offender Neil Maxwell, a man who her parents have branded "an animal". He was on the run from police at the time.

Despite overwhelming evidence of Maxwell's guilt, her parents Claire and John say they have been subjected to "devastating" speculation online, with some pointing the finger at her brother.

Leah's parents are now calling for 'Leah's Law', a mandatory minimum sentence for anyone convicted of a third sexual offence.

Haydon Croucher took his own life nine months after his sister went missing. Leah's parents say he struggled to cope with not knowing what had happened to her.

The Crouchers believe Leah's Law would have saved Leah and by extension Haydon.

Leah was the "perfect daughter" say her parents.

"She was a very shy, home-loving girl," says her dad but had a "brilliant sense of humour" once she opened up, adds her mum.

Leah Croucher's parents last saw her at the family home on Quantock Crescent at 22:00 GMT on 14 February.

For three years and nine months they went through "absolute torture", says John before her body was found less than half-a-mile from the family home.

On 10 October 2022, police received a phone call, which led them to the loft of a house on Loxbeare Drive, where they found Leah's dismembered body in plastic bags along with some of her belongings.

She was identified through dental records.

More than seven years after Leah's disappearance Claire says she still fears that what happened to Leah could happen again to Leah's sister and will not leave the house alone.

"What I want to know is when I go out tonight to go to the shop to buy some milk, am I going to get home again?

"Because that's my main fear, I don't go out on my own. We don't make Jade go out on her own because we know that some days people don't come back.

"We've got to remember Leah could have been anyone's daughter, anyone's mum, sister, child," says Claire.

The Crouchers say the impact of the internet sleuths debating if Haydon had been involved destroyed them at times.

"Because at the end of the day Haydon loved his sister so much he gave his own life because he couldn't cope with not knowing what happened to her," says Claire.

Claire says the family, who have taken part in a new documentary about the case, have spoken out "to clear his name".

Similarly John says they want to make sure people know "what a monster [Maxwell] was". He branded him "an animal".

"I won't even mention his name. He's just a disgusting, vile, horrible creature," he says.

Before Leah's remains were found, the family's torment was also magnified by internet trolls creating fake social media accounts pretending to be her. Many targeted her sister, Jade.

Another woman called pretending to be Leah the morning after Haydon died.

"Jade was woken up by a female voice saying that it was Leah and that she couldn't believe Haydon had died, but she didn't know how to come home and face us all... it's just disbelief that somebody could do that. Why? Why do they think that's funny? What were they trying to gain?"

There is no doubt in her parents' minds that Maxwell killed and sexually assaulted their daughter.

He was named by police as the prime suspect. His handprints were on the loft hatch and bags where Leah's remains were found. And on the saw which was used.

There was also DNA evidence left behind which indicated Leah was likely sexually assaulted.

"His DNA was all over everything and people still say it's easy to fit a dead man up. It's not.

"His DNA was everywhere. Multiple forms of DNA. Multiple forms. One hundred percent, it was him.

"How much more damning do you need? It was horrendous," says John.

John says he often wakes up in the middle of the night, haunted by the details of what happened to Leah.

"We know what happened to our daughter, and knowing is just as bad as not knowing. The not knowing was torture, but knowing, now you visualise exactly what was happening."

He says there is not a day that goes by without it going through his mind.

Leah's parents believe their daughter was killed because she fought against her attacker.

At the inquest into her death in 2024 police said they believed Leah, who was a Taekwondo competitor, "would have defended herself" which "may have escalated the situation".

Leah's parents are now calling for a mandatory minimum sentence for anyone convicted of a third sexual offence.

They also want all repeat sex offenders to be sentenced by a District Judge instead of magistrates.

Claire says had that been the case before Leah was targeted she believes her daughter would still be alive.

"I hope it would have meant that Leah would have got to work that day. She would have come home that night and we would have had dinner, as normal.

"She would still be here, her brother would still be here... This has affected us, it's affected the next generation of our family, all because of one man and his sexual preferences and desires," says Claire.

"She was going to work at eight o'clock in the morning when she was just taken off the street, off a busy street. In broad daylight.

"You don't panic about people in broad daylight. You don't think this kind of thing can happen. But it is. How? And it feels like our legal system is more worried about the perpetrators and their rights than they are the victims," adds Claire.

"If we don't stand up, it will just be swept under the carpet and they would have gone for no reason at all and we can't allow that to happen," she says.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said that after an in-depth review, it had taken action to strengthen how it risk assesses sex offenders while ensuring complex cases are assigned to more experienced probation officers.

"Sentencing decisions are made by independent judges in line with Sentencing Guidelines, but our message is clear – repeat offenders must face consequences that cut crime and protect the public," they added.

At the time Leah went missing, Maxwell was on the run from police in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell in November 2018, and he had previous convictions for sexual offences against women and children dating back to 1998.

The 49-year-old, who died in April 2019, was linked to the home as he had been a previous handyman for the property, which was used as a holiday home by overseas owners.

He took his own life in April 2019, two months after Leah was last seen.

Maxwell left four suicide notes but never once hinted at his crimes, say the Crouchers.

The closest he came was a note that said he had "gone too far", they say.

"He put us through three and a half years of absolute torture. It was three years and nine months until they found her body, which was soul destroying, trying to wake up every day and begging the entire world please help us find our baby and he was just selfish," says John.

Following an inquest into Leah's death the coroner called for a "fundamental review" of the monitoring of sex offenders in the community.

The probation service admitted failings in the case and said his risk level had been "underestimated".

However, Leah's parents say they feel no changes have been made that would prevent a case like Leah's happening again.

The first episode of The Search for Leah Croucher: A Parent's Nightmare is on U&W on Tuesday, 13 October at 21:00 BST.

If you, or someone you know, have been affected by bereavement or the loss of a child you can find information and support on the BBC Actionline website.

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