Police continue to have a dedicated team of experienced detectives and staff working on the Leah Croucher murder investigation, led by Detective Superintendent Kevin Brown, our Head of Major Crime.
Since Leah was discovered at an address at Loxbeare Drive, Furzton, Milton Keynes in October 2022, this complex investigation has made steady progress.
Officers have conducted over 2,000 actions, including detailed forensic searches and examinations, spoke with and took accounts and statements from hundreds of people, reviewed additional CCTV, and conducted extensive house-to-house investigations in the surrounding area.
Police are dedicated to discovering the truth, and our investigation will devote the necessary time and resources to that end. We continue to keep Leah’s family at the centre of everything we do, and we keep them updated on progress on a regular basis.
Investigators publicly named Neil Maxwell as a suspect in this murder investigation in October of last year, and at the time, they published his last known photograph. Despite extensive media coverage, as well as additional inquiries with known acquaintances, associates, and employers, as well as new house-to-house and CCTV inquiries, Officers have yet to identify anyone who saw Maxwell in or around Milton Keynes since early December 2018. More importantly, we have yet to identify anyone who saw Maxwell in Loxbeare Drive, Furzton before, after, or at any time close to the time Leah went missing on February 15, 2019.
I can confirm that Neil Maxwell remains the only nominated suspect at this point of the investigation,” said Head of Crime Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter. “Our investigation continues to diligently gather sufficient evidence to establish the truth.”
Maxwell was aware that he was wanted in connection with a sexual assault investigation in Newport Pagnell in November 2018, and he appears to have made extensive efforts to avoid arrest by using false names, and we believe he stopped using his mobile phone and vehicles. He was most likely aware that if he was arrested and convicted, he would be returning to prison. Maxwell is also likely to have changed his appearance to avoid detection, according to the investigation. He’d grown a beard and possibly lost weight. As a result, we created a computer image of Maxwell around the time Leah went missing in the hopes that it will jog someone’s memory. Did you see this person on or near Loxbeare Drive in Furzton between December 2018 and April 20, 2019? ” Or could you assist us in obtaining more information about Neil Maxwell? Do you know where he was between December 2018 and April 20, 2019, what phone number he was using, what vehicle he was driving, who he was with, or any other information that can assist us in determining the truth for Leah’s family? You can, of course, contact us in confidence. ” Please contact us if you have any information, no matter how insignificant you believe it is. You can leave the information on our website or call us at 101 and reference ‘Operation
Innsbruck’. If you do not want to speak with the police directly, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111.
The investigation team keeps HM Coroner and the Crown Prosecution Service informed on a regular basis.
More information about the investigation will be released when it is appropriate.
“We continue to ask the media to respect Leah’s family and friends’ privacy.”
