Killer Bellfield confessed to Russell murders, say Stone lawyers
THE serial killer Levi Bellfield allegedly confessed to the murders of Lin Russell and her six-year-old daughter Megan in Kent in 1996, according to lawyers for the man convicted of the killings.
The legal team representing Michael Stone, who is serving three life sentences for the crimes, claimed to have new evidence, including a “very detailed confession” that suggested Bellfield was the real killer.
Stone was jailed in 2001 for bludgeoning the mother and daughter to death in an attack near Chillenden in Kent in 1996. Her other daughter, Josie, nine, suffered severe head injuries but survived the attack.
Stone has always maintained his innocence but, despite the lack of forensic evidence, was convicted after a prisoner claimed he had confessed to the crime in his cell. However, at a press conference yesterday, Paul Bacon, Stone’s solicitor said he had evidence of a full confession from Bellfield – who is serving a full-life term after being convicted of the murders of three people, including Milly Dowler.
Mr Bacon said: “Bellfield describes how he came across Lin Russell and her two children, how he attacked them with a hammer and his motivation for the killing. The confession is detailed and has a number of facts which are not in the public domain.”
Mr Bacon said in addition there was forensic material from the scene that corroborated the confession as well as an independent witness who put Bellfield close to the scene of the murders around the time they were committed.
Barrister Mark Mcdonald said Bellfield allegedly confessed at HMP Frankland in Durham after a BBC Two documentary on the Chillenden murders, which aired in May this year. Bellfield is said to have been anxious about the coverage and his confession allegedly included diagrams of the murder scene and where the bodies were left.
However, in an audio recording released by Bellfield – now known as Yusuf Rahim – he denied having made
‘I would urge them to ... refer this back to the Court of Appeal. Mick has been in prison for 20 years, and that’s 20 years too long’
the confession, insisting the prisoner involved was a “fantasist and liar”.
In the rambling five-minute tape, Bellfield said he would be willing to take a lie-detector test and also had agreed to submit his DNA for analysis.
Stone’s sister, Barbara Stone, said: “I think this is the biggest hope my brother has had for a long time. Together we are both really hopeful now we will get a positive outcome. I would urge them to quite quickly refer this back to the Court of Appeal. Mick has been in prison for 20 years, and that’s 20 years too long.”
However, in a statement, Kent Police, said it was unfair on the victims to keep revisiting the investigation.
Assistant Chief Constable Nick Downing said: “Following two trials at which Stone was found guilty by a jury on both occasions, and an appeal to the High Court, Michael Stone remains convicted of the murders of Lin and Megan Russell, and the attempted murder of Josie Russell in 1996.
“The Criminal Case Review Commission [CCRC] re-examined the murder investigation and had access to all forensic evidence, documentation and exhibits from the original investigation, the review by another force, details of the two Crown Court trials and appeals to the High Court. In addition, a comprehensive investigation carried out by the Metropolitan Police Service into allegations Levi Bellfield was involved in crimes for which he is yet to be convicted concluded there is no evidence to support those claims.”
A statement from the CCRC said: “The case of Michael Stone is currently under active investigation at the Criminal Cases Review Commission and we are looking into a number of issues.”
Bellfield was already in jail for the murders of Amélie Delagrange and Marsha Mcdonnell, and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, when he went on trial accused of killing Milly Dowler in 2011. The 13-year-old was snatched from the street while on her way home from school in Walton-on-thames, Surrey, in March 2002.
Stone was told in 2006 that he must spend a minimum of 25 years behind bars for the attack on Dr Russell, 45, and her daughters as they walked home from a swimming gala along a country lane in July 1996.