'I didn't do this': Man convicted of gruesome 1996 hammer double killings pleads innocence, blaming another murderer

11 September 2023, 12:29 | Updated: 11 September 2023, 12:33

By Jasmine Moody

A convicted murderer serving three life sentences for the horrific hammer killings of Lin Russell and her daughter Meghan has pleaded he is innocent in police tapes and has accused serial killer Levi Bellfield.

Michael Stone has pleaded his innocence and accused Bellfield, the killer of schoolgirl Milly Dowler, of the double killing, while his lawyer demands new DNA tests are carried out.

Stone, 63, was charged with the murder of Linn and Meghan, who were tied up and beaten to death with a hammer in Chillenden, Kent in 1996.

Their dog, Lucy, was also killed.

The only person to survive the horrific ordeal was nine-year-old Josie, who sustained severe injuries.

Stone was convicted of murder and attempted murder in 1998.

But in new interviews from his cell in HMP Frankland, Mr Stone pleads: "I never did this. It wasn't me. I wasn't there.

"Bellfield is getting it off his chest and telling the truth.

"It should show that I'm not responsible."

The interviews will be aired in a Sky documentary, The Russel Murders: Who Killed Lin and Megan?

Who is Levi Bellfield?

Levi Bellfield is a serial killer, rapist, kidnapper and sex offender, who was found guilty of his crimes on the 25th of February 2008.

He was found guilty of murdering Milly Dowler, 13, Marsha McDonnell,19, and Amélie Delagrange, 22, and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy.

He is currently serving life.

Sir Keir Starmer has 'no sympathy' for prisoner Levi Bellfield

In April 2022, Stone's solicitor claimed they were given a 'genuine' statement from Bellfield which detailed his supposed involvement, containing 'information only the killer would know.'

However, he withdrew it.

Bellfield's solicitor, Theresa Clark, told the mirror: "The statement made last year was never signed by him but he's subsequently done a written statement which he's signed."

"This is a new and more detailed one."

However, Kent Police have noted that Bellfield has a history of making false confessions.

Read more: Serial killer Levi Bellfield 'signs letter confessing to notorious double murder of Lin and Megan Russell'

Read more: Serial killer Levi Bellfield 'confesses to murder' of student who disappeared 24 years ago

Stone's legal team will launch action to challenge the Criminal Case Review Commission's (CCRC) refusal to refer his conviction to the Court of Appeal and their refusal to not continue DNA testing.

There is evidence that would be a part of his defence.

Fragments of DNA were found on a bootlace only a short distance from the bodies of Linn and Meghan Russell but no forensic link was established between Stone and where the murders took place.

Stone's defence team say that new DNA testing techniques could prove that Bellfield was responsible for the murders, instead of their client.