- Michael Stone's lawyer has appealed for 'vital witness' to come forward urgently
- Stone is serving three life sentences for the murders of Lin and Megan Russell
- But in a four-page statement, Levi Bellfield formally confessed to 1996 murders
- Document will be handed over to Criminal Cases Review Commission this week
GIST: "The driver of a red 4x4 thought to have been in the same country lane as Lin and Megan Russell before they were murdered is being sought after Levi Bellfield's confession.
Paul Bacon, representing 61-year-old Michael Stone - who is serving three life sentences for the murders - appealed for the 'vital witness' to come forward urgently.
The lawyer is set to pass on Bellfield's confession document to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which has the power to refer a conviction to the Court of Appeal, this week.
Ms Russell, 45, her two daughters, nine-year-old Josie and Megan, six, as well as their dog Lucy, were tied up and beaten with a hammer in the village of Chillenden, Kent, 26 years ago. Only Josie survived, sustaining horrific injuries.
In a harrowing four-page statement, serial killer Bellfield, 53, formally confessed to the murders, providing chilling details of the attack in 1996.
Mr Bacon, who believes the driver drove past the family around 4pm - just 30 minutes before the fatal attack - told Kent Online: 'I know it's a long time ago.
'But this could be a vital witness who we need to speak to.'
The lawyer also wants a shoelace found at the scene and rediscovered in police storage last year to be untied and forensically re-examined.
Mr Bacon added that he would be visiting Stone at County Durham's HMP Frankland alongside defence barrister Mark McDonald.
He hopes to receive a signal from the CCRC within around a month, saying: 'If it is rejected we may have to go directly to the police.'
A spokeswoman for the CCRC said any evidence handed over would be 'carefully analysed, and appropriate enquiries made.''
She told The Times: 'Once the review of all material is complete, the CCRC will determine whether there is a real possibility the Court of Appeal will quash Mr Stone's conviction.'
It comes after Stone's sister, Barbara, called for an independent police force to take over any future investigation because she believes there is a 'conflict of interest with Kent Police'.
She said: 'I believe there is a conflict of interest with Kent Police. It has to be done the correct way through the correct legal process.'
Ms Stone said her brother also shares her request to have another force handle the case.
She added: 'Bellfield has come out with a lot of facts that can be checked including information about the murder weapons.'
Stone would be eligible for parole this year if he admitted killing the Russells.
Yet Bellfield's close female relative said she was 'convinced' the convicted serial killer was responsible for the Lin and Megan Russell's deaths.
'I've thought that for years,' she told The Sun. 'This confession is no shock to me. He's pure evil.
'This confession has got to be taken seriously. Bellfield is capable of anything. We all think Michael Stone is innocent.'
'Bellfield is the worst person in the world. The word monster doesn't do him justice.'
Bellfield's statement said he killed Lin and Megan and left sister Josie for dead with appalling injuries. He also said he killed the family dog after it bit his wrist.
Bellfield is already serving life for the murders of Millie Dowler, 13, Amelie Delagrange, 22, and 19-year-old Marsha McDonnell.
He was also convicted of the attempted murder of 18-year-old Kate Sheedy.
As well as admitting to murdering Lin and Megan in the 14-paragraph statement, Bellfield, also reportedly admits to the murder of a woman called Judith Gold in North London in 1990.
He has previously admitted being in the Chillenden area at the time of the killings.
But his new statement provides new details, and reveals how after the murders he stopped at services on the M25 in Surrey to wash off blood.
Bellfield then tells how he went home to Twickenham got changed and went to work as a nightclub bouncer.
He says the following day he threw the hammer into the Thames near Walton, Surrey.
He then went on holiday to Turkey, but claims he returned to have the beige Ford Sierra he was driving on the day of the murders cleaned, fearing it was full of DNA.
Stone was jailed in 1998 after being convicted of the murders of Ms Russell and her daughter.
However, his police record dates back to 1971 when he was aged 12 and continued into his adult life, serving three prison sentences in the 1980s and 1990s.
Stone has previous convictions for crimes including ABH, robbery, burglary and GBH and was known to carry weapons.
He was sentenced to two years' in prison in 1981 for attacking a man with a hammer during a robbery.
He then received a four-and-a-half year sentence for stabbing a friend while he slept in 1983, an attack that penetrated the friend's lung and nearly killed him, and he tried to wound a police officer in the eye after this arrest.
Stone was jailed for a third time and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for two armed robberies in Maidstone and Brighton respectively during the same week in 1986.
He was released from prison in 1993, three years before the Russells were murdered.
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The fight to find how killed the Russells: Bellfield and Stone's criminal careers
Levi Bellfield:
1981: His first conviction was for burglary
1990: Convicted of assaulting a police officer
October 14, 2001: Anna-Marie Rennie, 17, was attacked in Hospital Bridge Road, Witton, southwest London. She manages to escape but four years later identifies Bellfield as the man who tried to kidnap her. The jury failed to reach a verdict on a charge of false imprisonment and kidnapping
March 21 2002: Milly, 13, is walking home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, when she disappears. Her remains are found six months later 25 miles away.
February 2003: Marsha McDonnell, 19, gets off a bus near her home in Hampton after a night out with friends, and is struck three times on the back of the head with a blunt object by Bellfield.
May 2004: Kate Sheedy, 18, is left for dead after Bellfield runs her down in his car after she gets off a bus in Isleworth after spending the evening with friends.
August 2004: Amelie Delagrange, 22, is battered to death by Bellfield after she gets off at the wrong bus stop and is attacked walking across Twickenham Green. She dies of head injuries.
February 2008: Bellfield is convicted of the murders of Marsha and Amelie, and the attempted murder of Kate.
March 2010: Bellfield is charged with killing Milly.
May 2011: Bellfield goes on trial at the Old Bailey after he denies abducting and murdering Milly.
June 2011: Bellfield yawns as he is found guilty of Milly's murder. The following day he refuses to attend court where he is jailed for life. Bellfield becomes the first person to receive two whole-life terms.
February 2012: Bellfield loses a Court of Appeal bid to challenge his conviction for Milly's kidnap and murder.
January 2016: Bellfield admits abducting, raping and killing schoolgirl Milly Dowler for the first time, Surrey Police say.
2017: Bellfield allegedly claimed he was behind the murders of Lin and Megan. He later retracted his confession and has never been charged.
2021: Bellfield issues a statement putting himself near the scene of the crimes - but denies murder.
February 2022: Bellfield has made a formal confession to murders of Lin and Megan Russell. Michael Stone's lawyer, Paul Bacon, says killer had confessed in a four-page statement with details he claimed only the killer would know.
Michael Stone:
1981: Sentenced to two years' imprisonment for attacking a man with a hammer in a robbery.
1983: Stone received a four-and-a-half year sentence for stabbing a friend while he slept and later tried to wound a police officer in the eye after being arrested
1986: He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for two armed robberies in Maidstone, Kent and Brighton during the same week.
1993: Stone was released from prison.
1996: Mother and daughter Lin and Megan Russell were murdered along with the family dog as they walked home after a swimming gala around 4pm on Tuesday, July 9, 1996.
1997: Police arrested and charged 37 year-old Stone
1998: Michael Stone was found guilty of the murders and an attempted murder.
2001: Stone faced a retrial after one of the prisoners withdrew the claim against him. But he was found guilty once more and sentenced to three life-sentences.
21 December 2006: A judge decided that Stone should spend at least 25 years in prison before being considered for parole.
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10492781/New-clue-murders-Lin-Megan-Russell-Levi-Bellfield-confession.html
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10492781/amp/New-clue-murders-Lin-Megan-Russell-Levi-Bellfield-confession.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
