A former boss of the prime suspect in the Leah Croucher murder investigation claims he warned police that he would carry out murder over a decade ago.
The business owner took Neil Maxwell on as a mechanic for “a few years” before he was jailed for rape in 2009.
He grew concerned about his behaviour, so much so that he told police at the time: “He is one evil f*****, he can’t control his urges for sex and he’s going to kill someone.”
In an interview with The Daily Mirror, the former boss – who did not want to be named – said how he saw Maxwell’s probation report from a previous conviction and said experts called him a “dangerous man”.
He said: “Neil Maxwell was a nasty, bad piece of work. I told the police that at the time in 2009.
“I said to them, ‘One day he’s going to end up killing someone’. His urges were getting worse and worse and worse.
“I argued with the police. He raped a young girl and the police did nothing. They treated it like they were issuing a parking ticket.”
When he saw Maxwell’s probation report, he could see he had “been on every course there was”, but despite passing them, he was still “a dangerous man”.
Maxwell, who has since died, had just come out of prison – something his former boss was unaware of.
Meanwhile, Maxwell’s former girlfriend described him as “a wrong ‘un”, telling The Mirror the pair had been in a relationship when he was in his mid-twenties and she was underage.
As a self-described “rebellious teenager” at the time, Maxwell’s ex – who wishes to remain anonymous – didn’t think there was anything wrong with his behaviour at the time. But now, she can see he clearly had “an unhealthy interest in children”.
“Why else would a bloke in his twenties be hanging around a young schoolgirl? He was very controlling and forced me to do things,” she said.
“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 recalled how everyone “kept away from him” and described him as “a deeply sinister character”.
She added: “It’s horrible that he did this to Leah but, to be honest, I’m not surprised in the slightest.”
Police named the dead sex offender as the prime suspect in the murder of missing teenager Leah Croucher on Friday.
Maxwell, who was jailed in 2009 for rape, was wanted for another serious sexual assault when he died by suicide in April 2019, just weeks after Leah vanished in February 2019.
Human remains alongside Leah’s bag and other personal belongings were found at a property in Milton Keynes earlier this week.
Maxwell was working as a handyman at the property and he was the only one to have keys for the house, police said.
