Friday 14 October 2022 08:43 PM Leah Croucher murder suspect's former boss warned police 'he'd kill someone' ... trends now

Neil Maxwell's one-time boss warned police 'he should have been locked up for life' while his ex girlfriend described him as a 'sinister character' who would 'pin girls down and force himself on them'.

The bombshell revelations come hours after police announced he is the key suspect in the February 2019 disappearance and death of 19-year-old Leah Croucher.

The convicted sex offender killed himself two months after the teenager vanished, sparking concerns he may have held her captive for weeks as police and her family made heart-wrenching appeals for her safe return.

Now, the Mail can reveal the true extent of Maxwell's criminal history, including the moment in which a magistrate spared him a prison sentence in 2018 when he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman, despite already being a convicted rapist.

At the time of the offence, Maxwell had only recently been released from prison for raping a teenage girl in 2009, for which he was handed a four-and-a-half year sentence.

Maxwell went on to strike again just nine months later. He was on the run for that offence at the time of Leah's disappearance, but had managed to evade arrest on 18 occasions. 

Police told MailOnline Maxwell was aware police were searching for him and 'made concerted efforts to evade arrest' by using false names and changing his mobile phone and car often, fleeing as far as Scotland. His image was circulated as a wanted person on the national database and police issued a 'wanted appeal' on April 4, 2019. 

Maxwell's reign of terror only came to an end when he ended his life on April 20, 16 days after the police issued the public appeal. 

The convicted sex attacker was the only person with keys to the house in Milton Keynes where human remains were found next to Leah's backpack earlier this week.

Now, a former employer has come forward to reveal he raised his concerns about Maxwell to police and warned: 'One day he's going to end up killing someone'.

'He is one evil f***er, he can't control his urges for sex and he's going to kill someone.'

'I was fuming with the police. He liked young girls, he was a rapist, a dangerous man. They have let the system down - that man should have been locked up for life.'

The business owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, told The Daily Mirror he was unaware that Maxwell had only recently finished a stint in prison when he was hired.

Maxwell went out of his way to do a good job and appeared helpful and attentive, but the employer happened across a probation report which described him as a 'dangerous man'.

'He's sick in the head with his hunger for young girls. It's disgusting what's gone on,' he told The Daily Mail. 

'They could have saved that girl. If they had listened to me that girl wouldn't be dead. The whole system has completely failed her... My eldest daughter used to play with him, she was about 11.'

The convicted sex pest remained at the company for a few years before he was jailed for four-and-a-half years in 2009 for raping a woman in her late teens.

A former girlfriend who dated Maxwell as an underage schoolgirl while he was in his mid-20s also described the 'unhealthy interest he had in children', describing him in hindsight as a 'wrong'un'. 

'He was very controlling and forced me to do things. He groomed me and took advantage of me. He was well known in the area for trying to pin down girls and force himself on them,' she said.

'Eventually everyone sussed him out and kept away from him. He was a deeply sinister character. It's horrible that he did this to Leah but, to be honest, I'm not surprised in the slightest.'

Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter said formal identification of the body has not yet taken place, but they do believe it is Leah.

He said police were unaware of any potential links between Maxwell and Leah until a maintenance worker alerted police on Monday to a suspicious object in a loft of the property. 

Today, Thames Valley faced questions about how they failed to catch the convict despite saying officers had tried to arrest him 18 times. 

At a press conference this afternoon, a senior officer said police were looking into the possibility Leah was held captive as an 'active part of our investigation'. Maxwell took his own life aged 49 in April 2019 - two months after Leah went missing. 

Local resident Jill Davey, who lives on the same road as the house where the human remains were found, told MailOnline the teenager would still be alive if officers had 'done their job properly'. She added: 'It's all very well for them to say they tried to arrest him, but 18 times and to keep missing him is nonsense.'  

Following the press conference, senior Tory MP Bob Blackman called on the Independent Office for Police Conduct, to look at the case. He called on the police watchdog to examine any contact Thames Valley Police had with Maxwell and the force's claims he evaded arrest 18 times. 

Mr Blackman told MailOnline: 'This tragedy is just the sort of case the IOPC should review. It is heart-breaking for the family of Leah Croucher's family'. He added: 'This case is clearly not cut and dried – and it also shows the kind of sexual predators police have to deal with. They are often very clever at evading arrest'.

It previously emerged the house where human remains were found had been occupied by Alex Johnston, a 30-year-old paedophile who once appeared on 24 Hours in Police Custody. But he was in prison at the time Leah disappeared after being sentenced to four-and-a-half years in June 2017 for five counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15. 

Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter told a news conference today: 'Today, I am able to confirm that we have nominated a suspect in this case. His name is Neil Maxwell. It is unusual to name a suspect, but we have also learned this week that during the time when Leah went missing, and whilst the owner of the property was not in the UK, Maxwell was the only person to have keys to the property.

'Maxwell had been employed by the homeowner to carry out some property maintenance at the house. We now know that Maxwell had keys to this property from November 2018. Whilst Maxwell has been nominated as a suspect, this does not mean he is guilty of any offence. We will keep an open mind, and our detailed investigation will seek to gather sufficient evidence to establish the truth.

'If Maxwell were alive today, we would be seeking his arrest in connection with this investigation, so he could be interviewed under caution to provide his account.' 

DCS Hunter told today's press conference in Milton Keynes: 'I cannot even begin to imagine what it is like for Leah's parents and family, for three years and eight months not knowing what has happened to their daughter and loved one.

'All of the investigation team who are working on this case are dedicated to finding the truth for Leah's family.'

The human remains were found in the loft of the property at Loxbeare Drive in Furzton, Milton Keynes, DCS Hunter, Thames Valley Police's head of crime, said.

Asked how long the human remains had been in the house and where they were found, he said: 'Of course, we have got an ongoing investigation so we will need to establish some of those facts.

'I will reveal today that the rucksack containing Leah's possessions and the human remains were found in the loft - that is what is making this so complex and challenging for us to be able to work through.'