A senior coroner has called for sex offenders in the community to face closer monitoring following the kidnap and murder of Leah Croucher.

Coroner Tom Osborne warned that current supervisions of convicted predators are not robust enough and may lead to more deaths like tragic Leah.

Leah, 19, vanished in February 2019 while walking to work and her remains were found in the loft of a property in Furzton, Milton Keynes, nearly four years year in October 2022.

Convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell – a ‘danger to females’ – was found to have unlawfully killed the teenager while he was subject to supervision from police and the probation service.

Maxwell, who took his own life shortly after Leah’s disappearance and death, was found to be in breach of his probation terms and not closely monitored.

Now, Mr Osborne has called for a ‘fundamental review’ of the processes that authorities use to monitor sex predators not in jail.

It was heard Maxwell was convicted of sex assault in February 2018 and was also wanted for a sex attack in Milton Keynes in November 2018.

The handyman – who used false names and stopped using his phone and car to avoid arrest – failed to attend probation appointments.

He was assessed as ‘medium risk’ after his conviction however it was later decided he should have been deemed ‘high risk’.

Other failings included an inexperienced supervision probation officer supervising Maxwell, an ‘underestimated’ risk that he posed to the public, and a failure to share information between police and probation.

After her inquest earlier this year, Leah’s family slammed failings by authorities and said it was ‘astonishing’ that Maxwell was not in prison as a repeat sex offender.

Her family also said her brother Haydon ‘never recovered’ from Leah’s disappearance and took his own life.

Milton Keynes coroner Mr Osborne has now called for the probation service to better monitor sex offenders.

In his Prevention of Future Deaths Report, addressed to the Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation, he warned more people are at risk of a similar fate to Leah.

Mr Osborne said: ‘The police confirmed that the circumstances and evidence supported that Leah Croucher had been abducted and murdered either on the day or shortly after she had gone missing.

‘Strong evidence was obtained identifying an individual as the perpetrator. This person had died from suicide on the 20th of April 2019.

‘He was a known repeat sex offender subject to supervision by the probation service and the police before, and at the time of the murder.

‘During the course of the investigation my inquiries revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken.

‘Leah Croucher was unlawfully killed by a man who was subject to supervision by the probation service and the police.

‘Despite that supervision he was in breach of the terms of his probation and was able to kill Leah when it was known that he was a predator and danger to females.

‘There should be a fundamental review of the process for monitoring sex offenders in the community and the sharing of information between all agencies particularly the police and probation service to ensure that a similar death can be prevented.’