Leah Croucher murder suspect Neil Maxwell was from Bushey

Convicted sex offender, Neil Maxwell, 49, was found hanged in a bike shed in Mainstay Court, Milton Keynes on April 20, 2019.

Maxwell, who was named prime suspect in the murder of 19-year-old Leah Croucher, was born in Bushey on February 9, 1970, according to newly released details.

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A police search was sparked when Leah went missing from Milton Keynes in February 2019 and her body wasn’t found until October 2022, in the attic of an unoccupied house where Maxwell worked as a handyman.

Maxwell was the only person with keys to the address at the time of Leah’s disappearance, Thames Valley Police said in October 2022.

When Maxwell was named prime suspect shortly afterwards, the national press requested to see the public record of the inquest into his death.

Tom Osborne, the coroner who looked into Maxwell’s death, refused to release the details, initially promising they would be made public after a few weeks.

An e-fit of Maxwell (Image: Thames Valley Police)He again refused to make them public the next month, saying police believed the release could"‘seriously jeopardise" the murder investigation.

At the time Mr Osborne said: "The presumption in favour of open and transparent justice would normally dictate that I disclose the record of an inquest.

"However, I have every reason to believe that disclosure of the document at this stage may seriously compromise and indeed jeopardise the ongoing investigation.

"For that reason the balance is in favour of not disclosing the document, for the time being, although it is a matter that will be kept under constant review."

Leah Croucher went missing in February 2019 (Image: Thames Valley Police)The inquest details released last week contain only Maxwell’s name, date and place of birth, and limited information about his death.

His occupation is listed as "builder" and his address as North Street, Milton Keynes.

The cause of death was hanging and the verdict was suicide.

The record states that he left a suicide note.

Maxwell had previous convictions for sexual offences against females and had been wanted in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell in November 2018.