Friday 14 October 2022 08:52 AM Leah Croucher's parents make emotional visit to house where her remains were ... trends now

The bereft parents of Leah Croucher have visited the house where her body was found as police failed to make any arrests or name any suspects in the 96 hours since estate agents apparently made the horrifying discovery inside. 

Her family said their ‘darkest fears had come true’ after human remains were found on Monday in a Milton Keynes house less than half a mile from where she went missing in 2019.

Claire Croucher could be heard sobbing loudly behind a black screen as police carried the remains to a waiting undertakers’ car.     

Claire and her husband John had arrived unannounced to see their daughter’s body taken from the house where she is understood to have been left over three years since her disappearance in February 2019. Leah's sister Jade has said in a note left at the shrine to her sister: 'How can a life as beautiful as yours come to an end in such a tragic way'.

At 2pm today police are set to give an update on their investigation, which appears to be focussed on the attic of the house which, according to the Land Registry, is owned by the Al-Omer family, who neighbours say are from Kuwait.

The Al-Omers stayed at the property months after she vanished but there is no suggestion they are involved in her disappearance and only use the house once a year as a 'summer house', neighbours told The Times.

The newspaper also reports there is CCTV showing the moment her body was found. Two men, believed to be estate agents had arrived on Monday and her belongings including a backpack were reportedly found inside. A third man was called and arrived with laddders, shortly before the police swept in. The attic and ceiling are being focussed on by forensics teams, where the remains were believed to have been hidden.

It came as Thames Valley Police are yet to arrest anyone - or publicly identify any suspects - but they have ruled out a convicted paedophile who lived in detached home in Buckinghamshire because he was locked up at the time.

Alex Johnston, 30, was jailed for four-and-a-half years in June 2017 after pleading guilty to five counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15. He was not released from prison until eight months after Leah disappeared. 

After dark last night Leah's family arrived to tearfully lay tributes to a beloved daughter and sister. An undertaker carried a bouquet of flowers as he then accompanied the parents to a makeshift memorial at the front of the house at the centre of the police investigation.

A note left with the flowers read: 'To our darling Leah. Our darkest fears have come true, we only need to be apart a little longer now.

‘We have so missed you for so long already. The future looks so bleak now. We know we will never see hour smile or hear your laughter again. We will cherish your memories forever. We love you, Mum and dad’.

Another note, by Leah's eldest sister Jade, read: 'To my beautiful sister Leah, My heart has broken, my mind racing with thoughts and my body numb. How can a life as beautiful as yours come to an end in such a tragic way.

'I have loved you from your very first breath and I will love you until my last. There has never been a moment when you were not in my thoughts and there never will be.

'My only comfort is that you and Hayden are together in heaven. All my love forever your big sister Jade and nephew Reggie.'

Last night the remains of the body, believed to be that of Leah, were taken away in a three car convoy. Police had sealed off Loxbeare Drive to traffic while the family were at the scene.  A spokesman for the Home Office has confirmed that a post-mortem will take place today, but warned that it 'might take some time', and identification of the remains is still a while away.

They have not been officially identified as of yet, but Leah's backpack and other belongings were discovered at the property, prompting loved ones of Leah to begin leaving tributes at the site, which was on her regular walk to work.

She was last captured on CCTV while on the way to her job on February 15, 2019, but never made it to work. 

Police were alerted to the significance of the property by a member of the public who provided information on Monday. 

Wellwishers have laid flowers, candles, teddy bears and tea-lights in the shape of the letter L at the edge of the police tape cordoning off the two-storey brick house and its neighbouring detached property. 

Flowers left at the scene by friends of John and Claire Croucher on their behalf had a heart-wrenching handwritten note which promised to 'never give up fighting' for their daughter. 

It comes as metal fencing covered with black screens was erected in the driveway of the empty £490,000 house in Loxbeare Drive, just a 20-minute walk from Leah's home and less than half a mile from where the teenager was last seen in February 2019 while on her way to work.

A group of mourners visited the house, which is still cordoned off, earlier. They laid a wreath of roses and carnations alongside a handwritten note in black that said: 'Our beautiful darling Leah.

'While our hopes and dreams to find you safe and well have been stolen from us, a new hope for answers and justice is now part of the fight ahead.

'We promise you with all of our hearts that we will never ever give up fighting. Our love always and forever.' The note was not signed.

Another small bouquet was signed 'Nan and Grandad.' It read: 'We will never stop seeking answers. With love and miss you always.' 

They were laid by a group of mourners of various ages, including two children, who were clearly upset and did not want to speak. 

Another message among floral tributes read: 'Leah, sleep tight darling. You are at peace now.'

Another member of the public wrote: 'Rest easy Leah, taken far too soon. Time for your parents to take you home baby girl. All our condolences.'

Ever since she disappeared, Leah's distraught parents and elder sister Jade have done everything possible to keep her in the public eye and step up the campaign to find her.

Tragically, nine months after she went missing, Leah's brother Hayden Croucher, 24, was discovered by his mother and sister Jade hanged at his flat and later died in hospital - landing the family a further blow. An inquest heard he struggled to cope following her disappearance.

Leah's mother previously said her disappearance had 'destroyed' their family, adding that if she had been abducted or killed they would hold the culprit responsible for Haydon's death as well. 'He obviously, as everybody knows, he couldn't cope, he found it very difficult,' she said.

In a statement released, Thames Valley Police said its specialist teams and forensic officers remain at the property and expect to do so for several weeks.

The statement said: 'We are dealing with a difficult and challenging scene and are conducting our investigations thoroughly and with dignity, ensuring that all of our actions are carried out in a respectful manner.

'A Home Office post-mortem examination is expected to take place on Friday, although this may take some time, as will the formal identification of the deceased person located inside the property.

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.

'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.'

Metal screens were erected this afternoon to stop photographs being taken of the body being carried to a waiting van. Earlier, a yellow collapsible stretcher was taken into the property. Detectives had attempted to conceal the stretcher as they removed it from a van parked outside the house.

It comes after Thames Valley Police revealed that they did not search the home when Leah vanished, and instead of pursuing efforts to get inside had simply put a leaflet about her disappearance through the letterbox - meaning this Monday was the first time that any officer from the force had finally stepped over the threshold of the four-bedroom property.