Leah Croucher murder suspect killed himself in Campbell Park after telling friends in Milton Keynes 'I can't go back to jail'

The body of the man suspected of murdering Leah Croucher was found in Campbell Park two months after the teenager disappeared.

The verdict of an inquest held into the death of Neil Maxwell was that he took his own life.

The 49-year-old was wanted by police at the time for a sexual assault on a woman in Newport Pagnell in in November 2018, when he had assaulted the victim and then fled the scene.

The assault came the same month that handyman Maxwell collected the keys of number 2 Loxbearne in Furzton and was recruited by the overseas owner to maintain the property.

He already had convictions for sex attacks, including one for rape in 2009, but somehow between November 2018 and his death four months later, he managed to evade arrest 18 times by travelling across the UK and using false alibis.

It is not know whether Maxwell used the Loxbearne house as a hide-out at times during this spell on the run, or whether anybody else was with him.

But a friend has told The Mirror he seemed determined to evade capture.

The friend said: "He rang me out of the blue and insisted he hadn’t done what the police were saying.

“He said he was scared. He couldn’t face going back inside.”

Asked if it was possible Maxwell had murdered Leah, the friend said: "I only ever saw the nice Neil, but he had done bad things in the past. I don’t know what to believe.”

Last week a visit from estate agents to the empty Loxbearne Drive house resulted in the horrific discovery of human remains inside the house. It is believed they were hidden under floorboards in the loft or upstairs cavity.

Possessions Leah had been carrying when she vanished on February 15 2019 were also discovered.

Police officers had knocked at the house twice in the days after Leah’s disappearance as it was on her route to work. But each time there was no reply.

On Friday, police took the unusual step of naming Maxwell as their prime suspect in Leah's murder. They stress this does not mean he is guilty of any offence and detectives insist they will keep an open mind and continue their investigations.

In July 2009, Maxwell pleaded guilty to raping a female her late teens at an address in the Datchet area of Slough on New Years Day that year.

He was jailed four years and 10 months.

At the time the officer who led the investigation said: “The victim in this case has been exceptionally brave. Despite the trauma of the incident, she was willing to attend court to ensure that the perpetrator was brought to justice. I am pleased that she has been spared the anguish and ordeal of reliving the event before a jury.”

Meanwhile, in Furzton, forensic officers are continuing their intense examination of the Loxbearne Drive house.

A police spokesman said today no more details were expected to be released at the current time.

Formal identification and the outcome of a post-mortem are still pending and police will provide further updates as and when they become available.