New clue in murders of Lin and Megan Russell after Levi Bellfield confession
New clue in murders of Lin and Megan Russell after Levi Bellfield confession: Driver of red 4×4 thought to have been in same country lane is sought as new evidence will be reviewed ‘within days’ by miscarriages of justice watchdog
Michael Stone’s lawyer has appealed for ‘vital witness’ to come forward urgentlyStone is serving three life sentences for the murders of Lin and Megan Russell But in a four-page statement, Levi Bellfield formally confessed to 1996 murdersDocument will be handed over to Criminal Cases Review Commission this week
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The driver of a red 4×4 thought to have been in the same country lane as Lin and Megan Russell before they were murdered is being sought after Levi Bellfield’s confession.
Paul Bacon, representing 61-year-old Michael Stone – who is serving three life sentences for the murders – appealed for the ‘vital witness’ to come forward urgently.
The lawyer is set to pass on Bellfield’s confession document to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which has the power to order re-trials, this week.
Ms Russell, 45, her two daughters, nine-year-old Josie and Megan, six, as well as their dog Lucy, were tied up and beaten with a hammer in the village of Chillenden, Kent, 26 years ago. Only Josie survived, sustaining horrific injuries.
In a harrowing four-page statement, serial killer Bellfield, 53, formally confessed to the murders, providing chilling details of the attack in 1996.
The driver of a red 4×4 thought to have been in the same country lane as Lin, 45, and Megan Russell, aged six, before they were murdered in 1996 is being sought after 53-year-old Levi Bellfield’s (pictured) confession
Ms Russell, her two daughters, nine-year-old Josie and Megan, as well as their dog Lucy, were tied up and beaten with a hammer in the village of Chillenden, Kent, 26 years ago. Only Josie survived, sustaining horrific injuries (Ms Russell and Megan pictured)
Paul Bacon, representing 61-year-old Michael Stone (pictured) – who is serving three life sentences for the murders – appealed for the ‘vital witness’ to come forward urgently.
Mr Bacon, who believes the driver drove past the family 30 minutes before the fatal attack, told Kent Online: ‘I know it’s a long time ago.
‘But this could be a vital witness who we need to speak to.’
The lawyer added that he would be visiting Stone at County Durham’s HMP Frankland alongside defence barrister Mark McDonald.
He hopes to receive a signal from the CCRC within around a month, saying: ‘If it is rejected we may have to go directly to the police.’
A spokeswoman for the CCRC said any evidence handed over would be ‘carefully analysed, and appropriate enquiries made.’
She told The Times: ‘Once the review of all material is complete, the CCRC will determine whether there is a real possibility the Court of Appeal will quash Mr Stone’s conviction.’
It comes after Stone’s sister, Barbara, called for an independent police force to take over any future investigation because she believes there is a ‘conflict of interest with Kent Police’.
She said: ‘I believe there is a conflict of interest with Kent Police. It has to be done the correct way through the correct legal process.’
Ms Stone said her brother also shares her request to have another force handle the case.
She added: ‘Bellfield has come out with a lot of facts that can be checked including information about the murder weapons.’
The lawyer added that he would be visiting Stone (above) at County Durham’s HMP Frankland alongside defence barrister Mark McDonald
Bellfield is currently serving life in prison for the murder of schoolgirl Milly Dowler (pictured)
Stone would be eligible for parole this year if he admitted killing the Russells.
Yet Bellfield’s close female relative said she was ‘convinced’ the convicted serial killer was responsible for the Lin and Megan Russell’s deaths.
‘I’ve thought that for years,’ she told The Sun. ‘This confession is no shock to me. He’s pure evil.
‘This confession has got to be taken seriously. Bellfield is capable of anything. We all think Michael Stone is innocent.’
‘Bellfield is the worst person in the world. The word monster doesn’t do him justice.’
Bellfield’s statement said he killed Lin and Megan and left sister Josie for dead with appalling injuries. He also said he killed the family dog after it bit his wrist.
Bellfield is already serving life for the murders of Millie Dowler, 13, Amelie Delagrange, 22, and 19-year-old Marsha McDonnell.
He was also convicted of the attempted murder of 18-year-old Kate Sheedy.
As well as admitting to murdering Lin and Megan in the 14-paragraph statement, Bellfield, also reportedly admits to the murder of a woman called Judith Gold in North London in 1990.
Stone has twice been found guilty of Lin and Megan’s murders and is serving three life sentences, but no scientific or identification evidence links him to the scene. Pictured: Police at scene in 2001
Shaun Russell, with wife Lin and daughters Megan (second left) and Josie at an Italian restaurant in early 1996
He has previously admitted being in the Chillenden area at the time of the killings.
But his new statement provides new details, and reveals how after the murders he stopped at services on the M25 in Surrey to wash off blood.
Bellfield then tells how he went home to Twickenham got changed and went to work as a nightclub bouncer.
He says the following day he threw the hammer into the Thames near Walton, Surrey.
He then went on holiday to Turkey, but claims he returned to have the beige Ford Sierra he was driving on the day of the murders cleaned, fearing it was full of DNA.
Stone was jailed in 1998 after being convicted of the murders of Ms Russell and her daughter.
However, his police record dates back to 1971 when he was aged 12 and continued into his adult life, serving three prison sentences in the 1980s and 1990s.
Stone has previous convictions for crimes including ABH, robbery, burglary and GBH and was known to carry weapons.
He was sentenced to two years’ in prison in 1981 for attacking a man with a hammer during a robbery.
He then received a four-and-a-half year sentence for stabbing a friend while he slept in 1983, an attack that penetrated the friend’s lung and nearly killed him, and he tried to wound a police officer in the eye after this arrest.
Stone was jailed for a third time and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for two armed robberies in Maidstone and Brighton respectively during the same week in 1986.
He was released from prison in 1993, three years before the Russells were murdered.
