The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has agreed to review the conviction of Michael Stone, who has spent 26 years in prison for the murders of Lin Russell and her daughter Megan. The decision follows a confession by serial killer Levi Bellfield, who has twice claimed responsibility for the 1996 killings.
Stone, now 63, was convicted largely on the basis of an alleged confession he made to a fellow prisoner, Damien Daley, through a heating pipe in Canterbury prison. Daley claimed Stone told him he had attacked the Russells with a hammer. Stone has always denied this, and his first conviction was overturned in 2001 after Daley admitted lying; however, a retrial saw him convicted again after Daley's account was believed.
Bellfield, serving life for the murders of Marsha McDonnell, Amélie Delagrange and Milly Dowler, confessed to a fellow prisoner in 2017 and to Stone's lawyers in 2019 that he was responsible for the Russell murders. Earlier this year he also confessed to the murder of Elizabeth Chau. The CCRC had previously rejected these confessions, citing discrepancies with the facts, but has now changed its position after a pre-action letter from Stone's lawyers threatening a judicial review.
Stone's barrister, Mark McDonald, welcomed the review, stating: 'Michael Stone has been in prison for 26 years for a crime he did not commit. It is essential that this review is undertaken as a matter of urgency and Stone’s conviction is referred back to the court of appeal.' The CCRC confirmed it would look at the points raised and any additional submissions.
The murders occurred on 9 July 1996 when Lin Russell, 45, and her daughters Megan, five, and Josie, nine, were attacked with a hammer on a country lane near Chillenden, Kent. Lin and Megan died; Josie survived with critical injuries. There was no forensic evidence linking Stone to the crime, and no witnesses. The CCRC had previously declined to test DNA strands from the scene that did not match Stone or the Russells, but this may now be reconsidered.
