New letters have been uncovered in which Michael Stone, pictured, claims to have been the victim of a ‘deliberate fit-up’ that his seen him locked up for more than 20 years
Convicted killer Michael Stone has reportedly said he would rather starve to death than confess to the murder of Lin and Megan Russell.
New letters have been uncovered in which the criminal claims to have been the victim of a ‘deliberate fit-up’ that his seen him locked up for more than 20 years.
It comes after Stone’s lawyers claimed serial killer Levi Bellfield told a fellow prisoner that it was actually him who committed the murders.
Lin Russell, 45, and her daughters Megan, six, and Josie, nine, were tied up and attacked with a hammer in Kent in 1996 – with the older girl being the only survivor.
Stone was found guilty in 2001 largely on the strength of a disputed cell confession and has fought a protracted legal battle to clear his name.
The new letters could cause more doubts about Stone’s original conviction over the killings, which he denies to this day.
According to the Mirror, he wrote: ‘There is no way ever on this earth I would accept responsibility and guilt for murders that I did not commit.
‘I’d starve to death before confessing to murder I never committed.’
In the letters, he also claimed to have lost privileges in prison because he refused to accept responsibility for the crimes.
Stone, now 57, also said he was the victim of a ‘hate campaign’ by Kent Police and demanded ‘justice’.
He added: ‘I have stated over and over again that my case is riddled with police corruption and 99 per cent of the evidence was fabricated. When I do eventually win my appeal there will be a big cry out what’s been going on and an enormous public enquiry.
Lin Russell, 45, and her daughters Megan, six, and Josie, nine, were tied up and attacked with a hammer in Kent in 1996 – with the older girl being the only survivor.
The case has been the subject of renewed interest after serial killer Levi Bellfield is said to have confessed to the hammer murders.
Bellfield is said to have admitted the crimes to rapist Richard Baker in Frankland Prison, County Durham, where he is locked up alongside Stone.
But doubts have been cast over the apparent confession due to evidence from a police investigation in 2008.
Bellfield’s ex-wife Jo Collings said she and her then-husband were at a 25th birthday party in Twickenham, southwest London at the time of the hammer murders.
Collings, who testified against her former partner during his trial, said there was ‘absolutely no way’ that Bellfield travelled to Kent on the day of the killings.
Bellfield also branded the allegations from Stone’s lawyers the work of a ‘fantasist’ and ‘compulsive liar’.
The alibi was revealed by Colin Sutton, the detective responsible for catching Bellfield for his numerous attacks on women in London.
Serial killer Levi Bellfield is said to have admitted the crimes to rapist Richard Baker in Frankland Prison, County Durham, where he is locked up alongside Stone
He told the Sunday Times: ‘The testimony Collings gave us was that she believed Bellfield could not have committed the crime.
‘She said he was at a birthday party that day. She was a witness for the prosecution in his trial and would be the very last person who would try to protect Bellfield.
‘It was deemed credible enough at the time to rule him out.’
Stone’s lawyers announced they had submitted a dossier of new evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which could refer the matter to the Court of Appeal, which has the power to quash convictions.
Police have dismissed the basis of his appeal.
Stone’s solicitor Paul Bacon said: ‘We have seen evidence of a full confession by Levi Bellfield that he has admitted the Russell murders and in the confession Bellfield describes how he came across Lin Russell and her two children.
‘How he attacked them with a hammer and he explains his motivation for the killing. The confession is detailed and has a number of facts that are not in the public domain.
‘We now have an independent witness who has seen Levi Bellfield close to the scene of the murders at about the time they were committed and importantly we have identified forensic material from the scene of the murders which corroborates the confession made by Levi Bellfield.
‘The Russell murders by Levi Bellfield fits perfectly with his modus operandi. He is a man known to attack and murder women. His weapon of choice is a hammer.’
In a recording sent to national media this evening, Bellfield claimed the ‘vile and untrue’ allegations came from a conversation he had with serial rapist Richard Baker.
Bellfield, who is now known as Yusuf Rahim, said: ‘It appears Mr Baker has made an allegation of a so-called cell confession.
‘In my view such vile, untrue allegations don’t warrant a response. They are what they are – the words of a lonely… rapist who craves the spotlight.’
He alleges Baker was ‘obsessed with crime’ and watched BBC documentary The Chillenden Murders before he came forward alleging Bellfield has confessed.
Bellfield is said to have told him he had spotted the Russells walking home and approached them with a hammer. Mrs Russell had begged him not to hurt her children.
According to the prisoner, Bellfield said he struck her first and then Josie; then their dog was killed followed by Megan.
Even though he wore gloves, Bellfield was reportedly worried about DNA advances, saying ‘my life in jail would be over if they could prove it was me’ and that it would ‘tear his mother in two’.
HOW JOSIE MANAGED TO COPE AFTER HORRIFIC EVENTS OF 1996
Josie Russell’s rehabilitation after the murder of her mother and sister was a long, slow process – it was a year before she could speak again – but Josie stunned doctors with her progress.
She is now a successful textile artist, who announced her engagement to her boyfriend of 12 years, Iwan Griffith, in August aged 30.
The couple met in a pub in Caernarfon on December 31, 2005, while Josie was at university.
Josie, pictured with her Welsh mountain pony in 1997, announced her engagement to her boyfriend of 12 years, Iwan Griffith, in August aged 30
The couple met in a pub in Caernarfon on December 31, 2005, while Josie was at university. Pictured: Josie in 1997
Their romance was sparked by their love of the dramatic Welsh landscape. ‘We aren’t a lovey-dovey couple but there is love and mutual respect,’ Josie said.
Josie and Iwan now share home, in the foothills of Snowdonia, where she and Megan had lived with their parents.
In 2011, using money from a trust fund and compensation for her injuries, Josie was able to buy back the house which the couple have lovingly renovated.
Her studio is the bedroom that Lin decorated for her when she was a little girl.
Josie and Iwan now share home, in the foothills of Snowdonia, where she and Megan had lived with their parents. Josie is pictured in 2006