Leah Croucher cops to conduct post-mortem tomorrow to identify human remains after grim find at paedo's former home | The Sun
COPS probing the disappearance of Leah Croucher will conduct a post-mortem tomorrow to formally identify the human remains discovered in a paedo's old home.
The remains – believed to be Leah's – were found in a house 10 minutes away from where the 19-year-old lived when she vanished in February 2019.
It is hoped tomorrow's post-mortem – which cops say "may take some time" – will shed some light on the mystery of Leah Croucher's disappearance.
The grim remains were earlier found in the former home of a convicted paedo who was locked up in 2017 for sexual offences against two teenagers.
The paedo – who appeared on a national TV crime show – no longer lived there in February 2019, when Leah vanished on her way to work.
He was instead caged at HMP Littlehey, Cambs, reports claim.
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And he wasn't released until September 2019, months after the 19-year-old's last sighting, it is understood.
Cops searching for Leah today admitted they didn't search the house during their initial hunt.
Instead they "knocked and dropped leaflets through the letterbox" .
Leah – who vanished on her way to work in February 2019 – lived just 10 minutes away from the £500k property and walked past it every day.
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It is 500 yards from where she was last seen.
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: "Monday was the first time we were alerted to this property by a member of the public in connection with this investigation.
"As such, we can confirm that the house has never been entered as part of the original investigation.
"However, as an address in Furzton, the address was visited as part our house to house enquiries as part of the investigation, during which we visited more than 4,000 addresses.
"There was no response at the property and as such leaflets would have been dropped through the letterbox."
It is understood the property is owned by a Kuwaiti businesswoman who let it out but she has no connection to the current police inquiry.
Locals say the property has been empty since 2019.
HUNT FOR ANSWERS
Cleaners are understood to have been working upstairs when they spotted the hidden remains, sparking a police search of the house.
Jill Davey, who lives close to the house, said: “Leah used to walk past the house every day. I would see her walking to work.
“It just sickens me. The police were meant to have searched all the houses around here, but they obviously didn’t do their job properly.”
Leah was last seen on CCTV just after 8.15am on February 15, 2019, as she headed to her job at a finance company.
The taekwondo fan was described by loved ones as “very quiet” and “not really an outgoing type of person”, preferring to read fantasy fiction or watch DVDs in her room to nights out at the pub.
Nine months after Leah’s disappearance, her heartbroken brother Hayden Croucher, 24, was discovered by his mother and sister Jade hanged at his flat and later died in hospital.
In a statement on the anniversary of Leah’s disappearance last February, her parents posted on social media: “Each day is torture. Each day feels like an eternity of pain and despair.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter, Thames Valley Police’s head of crime, said: “Leah’s family and friends remain uppermost in our thoughts at this extremely difficult time.
“We are continuing to keep them updated on any developments, and we would again ask the media to respect their privacy.
“I would also like to thank the local community for their support and patience while our investigation continues.
“Naturally, there is a thirst for information, and I can reassure both the media and the community, that when we are able to, we will provide updates publicly.
“Our Major Crime Unit have launched a murder investigation as a result of our findings this week, and as such, I would again like to appeal to anybody who may have any information around the disappearance of Leah to please get in contact with us.
“It may be that you have had information over the last three years and eight months that you did not consider relevant.
“If you have, I would urge you to contact Thames Valley Police on 101 or online, no matter how insignificant you believe this information to be.
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"You can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
“We are absolutely committed to finding out what has happened to Leah. As a community, who have been so supportive since Leah’s disappearance, I know you want to help as well, and I thank the many people who have got in touch during the course of our investigations.”
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