New DNA Samples to Be Taken 30 Years After Double Murder
New DNA samples will be collected from a man imprisoned for a double murder, exactly three decades after a mother and her daughter were fatally attacked.
The bodies of Dr Lin Russell, aged 45, and her six-year-old daughter Megan were discovered in Chillenden, Kent, on 9 July 1996. Megan's sister, Josie Russell, then nine years old, survived the attack but sustained severe head injuries.
Following the murders, Josie and her father relocated to Gwynedd, where Josie now works as an artist.
Michael Stone is currently serving three life sentences, but the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is re-examining the case after serial killer Levi Bellfield reportedly confessed to the murders.
The DNA samples will be taken from Stone on Thursday.
Stone's solicitor, Paul Bacon, expressed optimism about the review and testing, stating:
"We are very hopeful that the CCRC review and DNA test will eventually lead to the real culprit being found."
"We hope then to be able to bring Michael before the Court of Appeal and for him to regain his freedom after all these years of incarceration."
Details of the Attack and Initial Investigation
The family had moved to Kent from Dyffryn Nantlle, Gwynedd, only a few months prior to the murders.
Lin Russell and her daughters were attacked while walking along a country lane. They were bound, blindfolded, and struck with a claw hammer.
On the day of the murders, Dr Shaun Russell was informed that his wife and daughters had been killed.
However, a police officer at the scene noticed slight movement from Josie, realizing she had survived the assault.
The killings prompted a large-scale manhunt and attracted international media attention.
Legal Proceedings and Appeals
Stone was initially convicted in 1998 of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. His conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2001 due to concerns about a prosecution witness, but he was subsequently reconvicted.
Applications to the CCRC were rejected in 2010, and a judicial review attempt failed in 2011. Despite these setbacks, Stone and his legal team have consistently maintained his innocence.
In 2021, Stone's legal team highlighted a shoelace found at the crime scene that could provide DNA evidence. They noted that recent tests found no DNA belonging to Stone on key items, including the shoelace.
In 2023, the CCRC confirmed it would review Stone's convictions following reports that Levi Bellfield, a serial killer whose victims include schoolgirl Milly Dowler, had confessed to the murders.
Paul Bacon, who has represented Stone for two decades, welcomed the ongoing forensic investigations and stated:
"High quality DNA from Michael will help them in their investigation."
He confirmed that Stone was scheduled to be visited on Thursday, the 30th anniversary of the murders.
Former Metropolitan Police officer Colin Sutton, involved in Bellfield's conviction, expressed skepticism about Bellfield's involvement:
"I cannot see a way he committed these murders."
"I think he has built this story up from time spent in prison alongside Michael Stone."
Josie Russell's Recovery and Life After the Attack
After the attack, Shaun and Josie Russell returned to Dyffryn Nantlle, where Josie relearned to speak.
She now works as an artist and has spoken about the inspiration she draws from Wales, stating she was unsure if recovery would have been possible without the mountains.
Josie attended Ysgol Baladeulyn, a bilingual primary school with only six pupils, which is currently threatened with closure.
Last month, Josie shared an online petition to save the school on social media, along with a photo of herself in the schoolyard in 1995, the year before the family moved to Kent.
"Please help save the primary school where I have so many happy memories from when I was a child,"she wrote.
CCRC's Ongoing Review
The CCRC stated that its review is "exploring all of the possibilities the application raises to determine whether Mr Stone may have suffered a miscarriage of justice."
It added:
"Considerable work has been done not only on forensic aspects of the application but on the several other aspects of the application which Mr Stone's lawyers wished to be investigated."
"Our test for referring a case is that there is a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would overturn his conviction, a test which was not met in any of the earlier applications."
"It would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment while the application is being reviewed."
Community Reaction
Thirty years after the murders, residents of Chillenden say the events remain unforgettable.
A local woman, who wished to be known as Sally, commented:
"Not a year goes past that we don't think of and remember the pain that family must still live with."
"The anniversary will be hard to live with; the scars from that day still don't feel healed locally."
