Levi Bellfield: Lawyer of man jailed for Russell killings believes he could be acquitted

7 February 2022, 10:03 | Updated: 7 February 2022, 12:01

A lawyer representing the man convicted of the murders of Lin Russell and her daughter Megan has told LBC he believes he could be acquitted following Levi Bellfield's alleged confession.

Michael Stone is currently serving three life sentences for the murders of Ms Russell and six-year-old Megan, who were found bludgeoned to death in Chillenden, Kent, in July 1996.

Ms Russell's other daughter, Josie, then nine, suffered severe head injuries in the attack and the family's dog, Lucy, was killed.

Milly Dowler's killer Bellfield is said to have admitted the murders in a four-page statement.

Barrister Mark McDonald, acting for Stone, told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast he "remains optimistic" after "many ups and downs over the years and potential grounds of appeal".

READ MORE: Milly Dowler killer Levi Bellfield 'confesses to hammer murders', lawyer says

READ MORE: Police say no further action over Sir Keir's lockdown beer footage

The Sun On Sunday reported that Bellfield gave details of what he was wearing and how he made his escape.

Mr McDonald said "it came a surprise" to Stone that news of the alleged confession, which will be referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), was leaked to press.

He added: "Yesterday was a bit of a curveball to everybody because it was the first we knew that it had been out there in public but a lot had been going on, meetings with Levi Bellfield over the years, to obtain a full confession from him that he in fact did this crime."

Bellfield is the only criminal in UK legal history to be serving two whole-life orders - for her murder, the killings of Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange as well as the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy.

Mr McDonald said when Stone was first tried for the murders Kent Police "were under a lot of pressure to be able to identify a suspect".

He added: "In fact, initially he wasn't charged with the murder, he was charged with a burglary that they had found when they initially arrested him for the murder, but they didn't have enough evidence and when he was placed on remand waiting for the hearing for the burglary it is said that he confessed to the murder.

"However, it would be fair to say that many of those people, fellow prisoners that he is said to have confessed to, were wholly unreliable and some of them had been paid by the tabloid press at the time and were dismissed.

"In the end he was convicted on two confessions, one of which the following day went to the Daily Mail and said the police told him to lie and the conviction was overturned and as a consequence there was a full inquiry into the behaviour of the Kent Police by the Hampshire Police force.

"He was retried on one single confession, one person, the judge directing the jury that if they didn't believe him then they have to acquit.

"He was convicted on a 10-2 majority verdict after over 10 hours and no forensics, no identification evidence at all, simply this man who later went on to tell numerous people that he had lied to get off a serious charge himself and that person then went and committed a murder and is currently serving life imprisonment for murder."

Kent Police said its position on Stone's conviction remains unchanged.

Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Fotheringham of Kent Police 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.

"Michael Stone made an application to apply for a Judicial Review in respect of his conviction in September 2012. The Honourable Mr Justice Blake ordered that permission for the application should be refused.

"The Criminal Case Review Commission commenced an extensive re-examination of the murder investigation in 2017 and has had access to all forensic evidence, documentation and exhibits from the original investigation, the review by Hampshire Police, details of the two Crown Court trials and appeals to the High Court.

"The shoelace which was seized as part of the original investigation was made available to the CCRC. All evidence from the examinations on the shoelace were recorded and disclosed to the CCRC."