Family of murdered Leah Croucher, 19, release heartbreaking tribute
Family ask their murdered daughter Leah Croucher to ‘give a big kiss and a big hug’ to her brother who killed himself when he was haunted by her disappearance in heartbreaking tribute to the 19-year-old girl
- Leah vanished without a trace on February 15, 2019, while on her way into work
- Leah’s beloved brother Haydon took his life nine months after she went missing
- Her body was found on October 10 of this year hidden in a loft in Milton Keynes
- Leah’s heartbroken family have spoken out for the first time since the discovery
- Paying tribute to the teen, they described her as ‘kind, loyal… and caring soul’
The heartbroken parents of Leah Croucher have today paid tribute to their daughter – and asked her to give her brother, who killed himself after she disappeared, ‘a big kiss’.
Grief-stricken Claire and John Croucher said the ‘faint glimmer of hope’ they’d held that the 19-year-old was still alive had been ‘brutally extinguished’.
The devastated parents described Leah as a ‘bright, funny young woman’ whose ‘smile lit up the room’ as they broke their silence following confirmation of her death.
They said looking at pictures of Leah was too painful to even think about at the moment.
And they asked her to give half-brother Haydon – who took his own life in November 2019 – a ‘big kiss and a big hug’.
Speaking for the first time since Leah’s body was discovered, her parents Mr and Mrs Croucher said they ‘knew’ the news Leah had been taken from them would come.
Leah Croucher, whose body was found in Milton Keynes earlier this month, disappeared more than three years ago. She is pictured next to her half-brother Haydon, who took his own life following his sister’s disappearance
They said: ‘Leah had so much to achieve in her life, milestones that will now never be met.
‘The void left in our lives after Leah’s disappearance was immense, a pain almost too big to bear.
‘However, there is little that compares to the deep chasm Leah’s death has brought to us.’
Leah’s body was found in a loft at a four-bedroom house in Milton Keynes on October 10, less than half a mile from where she was last seen alive more than three years ago.
A murder probe was launched by Thames Valley Police, who named convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell, 49, as the prime suspect in the case.
He was found dead two months after Leah’s disappearance while he was sought by cops for an unrelated allegation of sexual assault.
In an emotional statement released by police, Leah’s distraught parents added: ‘Leah was a bright, funny young woman who was a kind, loyal, helpful and caring soul.
Leah. a talented martial artist, was described as a ‘bright, funny young woman’ whose ‘smile lit up the room’
‘Her smile lit up the room and her laugh cheered all who heard it. Leah had a wonderful sense of humour, who found joy in everything she did.
‘Leah’s presence and warmth impacted on all who knew her, her disappearance has impacted on an entire city and beyond.
‘The world and our lives are darker for losing her in the prime of life.’
Leah, an office worker, vanished without a trace on her way to work on February 15, 2019, sparking a major police search.
CCTV footage showed her walking to work, but her worried family raised the alarm when she never returned home.
Police launched a major search for her and twice visited the house her body was found as part of more than 4,000 door-to-door inquiries over the course of the investigation.
On both occasions there was no answer at the property and leaflets were left.
Officers also looked at more than 1,200 hours of CCTV during the painstaking investigation, which saw specialist search teams drafted in.
Police named Neil Maxwell, as the prime suspect in the investigation into Leah’s murder. However, he killed himself on April 20, 2019, about two months after Leah disappeared
A £10,000 reward offered for information in August 2020, which was doubled the following March when police said they’d had ‘no significant leads’ in the ‘bewildering and frustrating’ case.
But earlier this month, police began searching a £500,000 property in Loxbeare Drive, Milton Keynes, after a tip-off from a member of the public.
Officers had begun searching the home earlier in October, and launched a murder investigation two days later after the 19-year-old’s rucksack was found at the property.
Convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell, who is suspected of murdering Ms Croucher while on the run, killed himself in April 2019 before police could catch him.
Eighteen attempts were made to arrest Maxwell while he was wanted, following an alleged sexual assault in 2018.
He was the only person with keys to the Loxbeare Drive house at the time of Ms Croucher’s disappearance, police said.
Leah’s parents added: ‘We have missed Leah for so long already, and now have the rest of our lives to mourn her as well as the memories we will never be able to make.
‘We were able to love you for 19 wonderful years Leah and make amazing memories together as a family, memories that we hope will be sufficient to carry us through the dark and lonely years we have to come.
‘Give Haydon a big kiss and a big hug from us baby, we miss and love you both so much, but hope that you are together now, looking out for each other as always.’
A Home Office post-mortem examination proved inconclusive as to the cause of Leah’s death and investigations are continuing.
‘It’s a pain almost too big to bear’: Family’s full heartbreaking tribute to ‘bright and funny’ Leah
As a family, we knew this heart-breaking news would come one day. The news that Leah had been taken from us, from this world, forever. We are devastated that we have proven to be correct in this.
The faint glimmer of hope that we all held allowed us to fool ourselves into believing that our assumption could have been wrong. The deepest, darkest grief that we, Leah’s family and friends are experiencing over the past weeks shows us that glimmer was actually, foolishly, a shining beacon of hope, which has now been brutally extinguished in the cruellest and harshest of ways. It has been a long way to fall back to reality.
Leah had so much to achieve in her life, milestones that will now never be met. Family holidays, marriage, children, promotion, having her own home. So many ‘could have beens’…
The void left in our lives after Leah’s disappearance was immense, a pain almost too big to bear. However, there is little that compares to the deep chasm Leah’s death has brought to us.
Leah was a bright, funny young woman who was a kind, loyal, helpful and caring soul. Her smile lit up the room and her laugh cheered all who heard it. Leah had a wonderful sense of humour, who found joy in everything she did.
Leah was a second Dan black belt, a national and European champion in the world of Taekwondo. She enjoyed coaching the next generation of champions at the family club she ran with her dad.
Leah’s presence and warmth impacted on all who knew her, her disappearance has impacted on an entire city and beyond.
The world and our lives are darker for losing her in the prime of life. Solace is found in the belief that Leah will only finally die when the last of us who remember her dies and Leah will hopefully be remembered by a lot of people for many years to come.
We will soon be able to lay Leah to rest, as she deserves, and say our final goodbyes, be able to grieve at Leah’s graveside and lay flowers for her. We have missed Leah for so long already, and now have the rest of our lives to mourn her as well as the memories we will never be able to make.
We were able to love you for 19 wonderful years Leah and make amazing memories together as a family, memories that we hope will be sufficient to carry us through the dark and lonely years we have to come.
We hope soon that we will be able to look at pictures of you again, but they are too painful to even think about at the moment.
Give Haydon a big kiss and a big hug from us baby, we miss and love you both so much, but hope that you are together now, looking out for each other as always.
Source: Read Full Article