British police said human remains found in the attic of a house in Furzton, Milton Keynes, were confirmed to be the body of 19-year-old Leah Croucher, who has been missing since February 2019.
Officers began ransacking the home after a tip from a member of the public last Monday.
A murder investigation was opened after Mrs. Croucher’s backpack and other personal belongings were found on the property, with dead sex offender Neil Maxwell named as the prime suspect.
Maxwell committed suicide in April 2019, two months after Ms. Croucher passed away on February 15 of that year.
He had been hunted across the country by officers for alleged unrelated sexual assault, Thames Valley Police said.
Maxwell was the only person who had the keys to the house on Loxbeare Drive at the time of Mrs. Croucher’s disappearance, police said.
Senior Superintendent of Investigations Kevin Brown, Head of the Chief Constable’s Criminal Unit, said: “The thoughts of all of us at Thames Valley Police remain and will always be with Leah’s family and friends. The entirety of our investigation keeps them uppermost in our minds and they continue to be supported by specially trained officers and updated on every development. After a difficult process, we are now in a position to formally confirm that the body found in Loxbeare Drive last week is that of Leah. The grief and shock of Leah’s family and friends is unimaginable and they have shown enormous courage, patience and dignity over the last three years and eight months while our search for Leah continued,” reports RTE.
According to RTE, Mr Brown added: “Our investigations into Leah’s murder will leave no stone unturned and we owe it to Leah’s family to ensure we find the truth. We are absolutely committed to doing so to allow them to gain an understanding of what happened to Leah.”
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