One of Britain’s most horrific murders is being reopened 30 years on. Lin Russell, 45, and her six-year-old daughter, Megan, were viciously bludgeoned to death in a Kent country lane in 1996. Now the case is under fresh scrutiny, with a controversial figure firmly back in the frame.
Shock Murder That Shook The Nation
On a quiet rural road near Chillenden, Kent, Lin and Megan Russell were hacked to death in a savage attack. Megan’s elder sister Josie, just nine at the time, survived the nightmare. The crime horrified the country and led to the arrest of Michael Stone, a drug addict with a prior hammer attack conviction.
Stone was convicted of the double murder and the attempted murder of Josie, but no DNA linked him to the scene. Despite that, a key witness’s testimony helped seal Stone’s fate.
New Investigation Casts Doubt on Conviction
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has launched a probe into Stone’s conviction, examining evidence afresh as the 30th anniversary approaches. The watchdog will retest crime scene items with modern forensic technology and revisit allegations implicating another killer, Levi Bellfield, infamous for other brutal murders.
Michael Stone, who has always protested his innocence, accuses Bellfield and brands the pivotal witness Damien Daley — a convicted murderer who claimed Stone confessed to him in jail — as a “lying lowlife” responsible for a miscarriage of justice.
Key Witness Under the Microscope
Damien Daley’s testimony was critical. The judge in Stone’s 2001 retrial said the verdict “stands or falls” on Daley’s evidence. But Daley’s credibility is shaky. He’s admitted to inventing Stone’s confession and has a violent criminal history.
The CCRC is now digging deeper, reviewing Daley’s medical records and reassessing his testimony under a modern lens. Stone’s barrister Mark McDonald says this fresh look at Daley could finally tip the scales:
“Daley has withdrawn his testimony multiple times, admitting to other inmates that he lied. The CCRC is exploring new areas overlooked before. There’s a real chance this will undermine Daley’s evidence and send the case back to the Court of Appeal.”
The Battle for Justice Continues
Stone remains adamant he will never confess. The CCRC’s renewed investigation raises huge questions about whether justice was truly served. With the 30th anniversary of the killings looming, all eyes are on this grim saga’s shocking new chapter.
