At the time Leah went missing, Maxwell was on the run from police in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell in November 2018, and he had previous convictions for sexual offences against women and children dating back to 1998.
The 49-year-old, who died in April 2019, was linked to the home as he had been a previous handyman for the property, which was used as a holiday home by overseas owners.
He took his own life in April 2019, two months after Leah was last seen.
Maxwell left four suicide notes but never once hinted at his crimes, say the Crouchers.
The closest he came was a note that said he had “gone too far”, they say.
“He put us through three and a half years of absolute torture. It was three years and nine months until they found her body, which was soul destroying, trying to wake up every day and begging the entire world please help us find our baby and he was just selfish,” says John.
Following an inquest into Leah’s death the coroner called for a “fundamental review” of the monitoring of sex offenders in the community.
The probation service admitted failings in the case and said his risk level had been “underestimated”.
However, Leah’s parents say they feel no changes have been made that would prevent a case like Leah’s happening again.
The first episode of The Search for Leah Croucher: A Parent’s Nightmare is on U&W on Tuesday, 13 October at 21:00 BST.
If you, or someone you know, have been affected by bereavement or the loss of a child you can find information and support on the Actionline website.
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