A harrowing true crime documentary that delves into a murder case which profoundly shocked the United Kingdom has just been added to Netflix's streaming library. 'Who Killed Lin and Megan: The Chillenden Murders' revisits a brutal 1996 attack that shattered the peace of a quiet English village and continues to raise complex legal questions decades later.
The Crime That Devastated a Village
In July 1996, a horrific attack on a country lane in Chillenden, Kent, sent shockwaves across the nation. Lin Russell, aged 45, was walking home with her two daughters—nine-year-old Josie and six-year-old Megan—and their family dog, Lucy. They were accosted by a man who tied them up and bludgeoned them with a hammer in a sustained and savage assault.
Lin and Megan Russell, along with the dog, were killed. Miraculously, Josie survived the onslaught despite suffering severe head injuries. The sheer brutality of the crime against a mother and her young children in a rural idyll left the public and investigators reeling.
Conviction, Appeals, and Ongoing Doubts
A year after the murders, in 1997, Michael Stone, then 37, was arrested and convicted for the double murder and the attempted murder of Josie. He was handed three life sentences with a minimum tariff of 25 years. However, Stone has consistently protested his innocence, leading to a long and complicated legal saga.
The documentary notes that Stone lost a second appeal against his conviction in 2005. In 2011, his legal team was refused permission to apply for a judicial review of a decision by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) not to refer the case back to the Court of Appeal. Significantly, Stone's case has been under active investigation at the CCRC since 2017, with the Commission yet to decide whether to refer it for a fresh appeal.
Adding a further layer of mystery to the case, serial killer Levi Bellfield confessed to the murders in 2022, only to later retract his admission. This development is among the many facets explored in the film, which scrutinises the original investigation and the enduring questions surrounding it.
A Case Re-examined for a New Audience
Originally broadcast on Channel 5 in 2023, the documentary directed by Pierre Thiebaut has now found a global platform on Netflix. The streaming service's description frames it as a re-examination of the investigation that followed the attack which 'devastated a quiet English village'.
The film concludes by underscoring the unresolved nature of the legal process. Michael Stone remains behind bars, maintaining his innocence, while his legal team continues to work towards overturning his conviction. The arrival of this documentary on a major streaming service ensures that a case which once 'shocked the nation' will be scrutinised by a new generation, keeping the search for definitive answers alive.
'Who Killed Lin and Megan: The Chillenden Murders' is available to stream on Netflix now.
