Serial killer Levi Bellfield ‘confesses to 1996 murders’

Serial killer Levi Bellfield reportedly told a notorious multiple rapist in prison it was ‘deeply hilarious’ Michael Stone was serving life for the murders of Lin and Megan Russell.

Lawyers acting for Stone said Bellfield made a ‘very detailed confession’ to fellow prisoner Richard Baker to the 1996 murders, it was claimed yesterday. 

Stone, now 57, is serving three life sentences with a minimum of 25 years in prison for the killings in Chillenden, Kent, which shocked the nation.

Lin’s elder daughter, Josie, nine, miraculously survived the frenzied attack, in which even the family dog, Lucy, was slaughtered.

Stone’s lawyers alleged Bellfield has admitted being the real killer. They claim the ‘confession’ to a fellow inmate – understood to be notorious sex offender Richard Baker – contains details known only to the person who really carried out the killings.

Baker claimed Bellfield told him it was ‘deeply hilarious that numpty Stone is serving life for what I did’, The Sun reported.

The rapist also said Bellfield told him at Durham’s Frankland Prison how he bludgeoned Lin and her daughters before performing a sex act on himself.

Stone(pictured outside the Court of Appeal in London) was convicted on the evidence of Damien Daley, who admitted in the witness box that he had lied about his drug-taking exploits at the first trial in 1998. Daley said Stone confessed to the hammer murders through a heating pipe into the next cell at Canterbury Prison

Serial killer Levi Bellfield (left, a police mugshot) allegedly confessed to murdering Lin Russell and her daughter Megan in 1996. Michael Stone, now 57, (right, outside the Court of Appeal in 2005) is serving three life sentences with a minimum of 25 years in prison

Lin, 45, and Megan, who was just six, were the victims of a frenzied attack as they walked along a quiet country lane in Kent, on their way back from a school swimming gala in the village of Chillenden. They are pictured in an undated handout photo

Lin, 45, and Megan, who was just six, were the victims of a frenzied attack as they walked along a quiet country lane in Kent, on their way back from a school swimming gala in the village of Chillenden. They are pictured in an undated handout photo

Stone’s legal team also claimed the alleged admission is ‘corroborated’ by forensic evidence and bolstered by a new witness who places Bellfield close to the murder scene.

His lawyers have submitted a dossier to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which could refer the matter to the Court of Appeal and lead to the possibility of Stone’s murder convictions being quashed.

The frenzied hammer killings of Mrs Russell and Megan is one of Britain’s most notorious murder cases. 

It also left Mrs Russell’s other daughter, Josie, then nine, with serious head injuries. 

Stone was first convicted of the two murders in 1998 and, after a retrial was ordered by the Court of Appeal, found guilty again in 2001, largely on the strength of a disputed cell confession.

But the heroin addict and convicted armed robber has always maintained his innocence. 

Bellfield identified serial 'DJ rapist' Richard Baker (pictured) as the inmate he allegedly confessed to but branded him a 'compulsive liar' and 'fantasist'

Bellfield identified serial ‘DJ rapist’ Richard Baker (pictured) as the inmate he allegedly confessed to but branded him a ‘compulsive liar’ and ‘fantasist’

Shaun Russell with his wife Lin and daughters Megan (second left) and Josie (right), who survived the attack. Claims by Stone's lawyers that Bellfield admitted to the murders have been denied by him in a recorded message from his cell

Shaun Russell with his wife Lin and daughters Megan (second left) and Josie (right), who survived the attack. Claims by Stone’s lawyers that Bellfield admitted to the murders have been denied by him in a recorded message from his cell

Josie Russell is now a successful textile artist, and is pictured at home in August 2014. It is not known what Josie thinks of the latest developments, but she has always maintained Stone is guilty

Josie Russell is now a successful textile artist, and is pictured at home in August 2014. It is not known what Josie thinks of the latest developments, but she has always maintained Stone is guilty

Josie as a child with her pet rabbit Domino, at her North Wales Hillside cottage home

Josie pictured in an undated handout photo

Josie as a child with her pet rabbit Domino, at her North Wales Hillside cottage home,(left) and in an undated handout photo

NEW EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY STONE’S LAWYERS 

Stone’s lawyers have provided three items of evidence they believe prove Bellfield’s guilt. These are:

  • A ‘very detailed’ confession by Levi Bellfield in which he admitted to the Russell murders.
  • An independent witness has said they saw Bellfield close to the scene of the murders at about the time they were committed.
  • They also claim to have identified forensic material from the scene of the murders which corroborates the confession made by Bellfield.

Last night, Bellfield, 49, rubbished the claims he murdered the pair in a chilling audio segment recorded in his cell.

Milly Dowler murderer Bellfield branded the allegations from Stone’s lawyers the work of a ‘fantasist’ and ‘compulsive liar’. 

Dismissing the new evidence, he said: ‘God help Mr Stone and our justice system if Mr Baker’s manipulation and lies are relied upon.’ 

Bellfield, who is now known as Yusuf Rahim, added: ‘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 alleged that Baker was ‘obsessed with crime’ and watched BBC documentary The Chillenden Murders before he came forward alleging Bellfield had confessed. 

Baker was given four life sentences in 1999 for a series of rapes the previous year.

He had already been jailed for six years for rape in 1987 and is suspected of raping more than 100 women, including scores of teenagers.  

In a statement, Stone’s solicitor Paul Bacon insisted the confession was credible. 

He 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.’

Police have dismissed the basis of his appeal.  

CRUCIAL DETAILS OF TRIAL THAT HAVE MADE IT SO CONTENTIOUS

Stone(pictured) was convicted on the basis of claims by three prison inmates that he had confessed to them

Stone(pictured) was convicted on the basis of claims by three prison inmates that he had confessed to them

Although Michael Stone was twice found guilty of murdering Lin and Megan Russell, his case has been contentious.

Stone was convicted on the basis of claims by three prison inmates that he had confessed to them. 

After one of the inmates admitted soon after the trial ended that they had lied and another was discredited, a re-trial was ordered.

But one of the witnesses, Damian Daley, held fast and said Stone confessed to the hammer murders through a heating pipe into the next cell at Canterbury Prison, something Stone maintains was a lie. 

There was no forensic evidence to support Stone’s conviction. 

One particular point of controversy was a shoe lace found near the murder scene, which Stone’s supporters claimed could prove his innocence but had been lost by Kent Police.

Officers said the shoelace was still in their possession but had been DNA tested so many times it was no longer of value.

Police have dismissed the merits of Stone’s appeal bid.  

Barrister Mark McDonald, who has been representing Stone for 15 years, added that Bellfield allegedly made the confession to a serious sex offender, whom he refused to name, at HMP Frankland in Durham following the BBC documentary on the murders.

Bellfield is said to have been anxious about the coverage and his confession allegedly includes diagrams made by the fellow inmate of the murder scene and where the bodies were left. 

Following many days of lengthy conversations the prisoner says he had with Bellfield, he made notes and reported what he had been told to his solicitor, a police officer and a prison liaison officer.

The prisoner alleged: ‘He [Bellfield] said ‘I’ve never told anyone this before…I killed another child and got away with it the police were never even close’.’

Paul Bacon told a press conference in London (pictured) yesterday afternoon that Milly Dowler's murderer Bellfield admitted the killings in prison

Paul Bacon told a press conference in London (pictured) yesterday afternoon that Milly Dowler’s murderer Bellfield admitted the killings in prison

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’.

Stone's barrister, Mark McDonald, said: 'This evidence needs to tested by the Court of Appeal and, if believed, will lead to the largest miscarriage of justice since the Birmingham Six'

Stone’s barrister, Mark McDonald, said: ‘This evidence needs to tested by the Court of Appeal and, if believed, will lead to the largest miscarriage of justice since the Birmingham Six’

Mr McDonald told the Mail: ‘The evidence has gone to the CCRC. It now needs to be referred to the Court of Appeal so it can be properly assessed. It has to be put in the context that the only thing that convicted Stone ironically was a cell confession.’

He added: ‘This evidence needs to tested by the Court of Appeal and, if believed, will lead to the largest miscarriage of justice since the Birmingham Six.’

Mr Bacon said there was concern over Kent Police’s investigation and Mr McDonald said the force were ‘unenthusiastic’ when passed the new evidence. 

Stone’s sister Barbara said the new evidence offered her and her brother the ‘biggest hope’ to clear his name.

She added: ‘Mick’s been in prison for 20 years and that’s 20 years too long for somebody who has not committed a crime. 

‘He wants you to know he is very hopeful, he fully believes Bellfield has committed these crimes. 

Known as the bus stop killer, Bellfield, 49, is currently serving two whole life terms, for the murders of Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, and for the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy (pictured, outside the Old Bailey in 2008)

Known as the bus stop killer, Bellfield, 49, is currently serving two whole life terms, for the murders of Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, and for the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy (pictured, outside the Old Bailey in 2008)

‘Although we’ve had our doubts in the past, when he has seen the contents of the new evidence, he is quite confident it’s him that’s done it.

‘He’s quite hopeful but, like myself, we won’t allow ourselves to believe the justice system will be kind to us this time so we remain hopeful but it all depends and relies on the CCRC making the referral.’  

A spokesman for the CCRC said they received the application from Stone’s lawyers on August 23 and the case is currently under active investigation.    

Known as the bus stop killer, Bellfield, 49, is currently serving two whole life terms, for the murders of Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, and for the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy. 

Now going under a new name after converting to Islam, the former wheel clamper caused outrage by finally admitting raping and murdering 13-year-old Milly during a prison interview in May 2015.

It is widely believed by detectives that Bellfield is responsible for numerous other crimes dating back to the 1980s. 

He has been linked to 24 violent attacks and rapes in the two decades before he was caught in 2004. 

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

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

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

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

It is not the first time Stone’s legal representatives have pointed the finger at Bellfield. 

In 2011, Mr Bacon claimed Milly’s killer was a better match for the e-fit of the suspect issued during the police manhunt.

The claims also come months after a two-part BBC documentary aired in May saw a panel of independent experts re-examine the evidence and questioned whether Bellfield might be a more likely suspect, an accusation he has fiercely denied.

The Russells were killed in 1996 within months of moving to Kent from north Wales. Josie, nine, survived despite dreadful injuries.

All three were blindfolded with strips of Josie’s swimming towel as they returned home from a school swimming gala and she and Megan were tied to trees. 

The two girls were each struck seven times with a hammer, while her mother, a geologist, sustained 15 blows to the head, almost severing her brain at the stem. 

In October 1998, a jury at Maidstone Crown Court found heroin addict Stone (pictured inside a prison van) guilty of counts of murder and attempted murder

In October 1998, a jury at Maidstone Crown Court found heroin addict Stone (pictured inside a prison van) guilty of counts of murder and attempted murder

Josie needed intensive neurological treatment for a year before she could even speak again. She lives and works as an artist in north Wales, having returned to Gwynedd with her father soon after the attack.

Stone was found guilty in 1998.

Without any forensic evidence, the jury believed the main thrust of the prosecution’s case – three prison inmates who claimed Stone had confessed. 

One of the inmates admitted soon after the trial ended they had lied and another was discredited. 

Stone’s legal team challenged his conviction and a retrial was ordered. 

But one of the inmates, Damien Daley, then aged 26, maintained Stone had confessed the crime to him. 

In late 2001, Stone was once again found guilty and given three life sentences.

Bellfield,(pictured in an undated photo) who now calls himself Yusuf Rahim, is serving a whole-life tariff after being found guilty of abducting and killing Milly following a trial at the Old Bailey. He was jailed in 2011

Bellfield,(pictured in an undated photo) who now calls himself Yusuf Rahim, is serving a whole-life tariff after being found guilty of abducting and killing Milly following a trial at the Old Bailey. He was jailed in 2011

As the judge addressed him, Stone shouted: ‘It wasn’t me your Honour, I didn’t do it!’

Since then Stone has failed in two appeal bids.

Josie, now 30, recently announced her engagement to her boyfriend of 12 years Iwan Griffith, 31, and plans to start a family of her own.

Milly was snatched from the street while on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in March 2002

Milly was snatched from the street while on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in March 2002

She is convinced the right man is behind bars for the murder of her mother and sister and was angry about the way the family’s wounds were reopened when the BBC screened the documentary earlier this year called The Chillenden Murders.  

‘It didn’t seem to prove anything,’ she said. ‘We just want to get on with our lives. We don’t want it to come back again.’ 

Meanwhile Bellfield has accused Stone of attempting to bribe him to take the blame for his crimes.  

After a stream of letters from Stone, Bellfield contacted his lawyers to urge the correspondence to stop, calling it ‘quite intolerable’. 

Bellfield added that he had challenged Stone to a lie detector test. 

Stone has spoken about his reluctance to do this claiming he had been advised that his history of psychiatric problems and drug addiction could impact its accuracy. 

The killers are both in Durham’s top security Frankland jail, where they are being held in separate wings.  

Last night police dismissed the merits of Stone’s latest appeal bid. 

Assistant Chief Constable for the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, Nick Downing, said: ‘We feel it is no longer contemporaneous and is unfair on the victims to continue to raise questions or re-release details about the murder investigation and subsequent conviction of Michael Stone.’ 

Colin Sutton, the former Scotland Yard detective who secured the Delagrange and McDonnell convictions, said Bellfield’s confession was just a cruel ‘mind game’.

He said: ‘I think he was capable of it but I don’t think he did it. He is playing mind games here. He loves being the centre of attention, he likes to create a story and he knows it will cause greater pain and anguish for his victims’ families.’

He added that Bellfield would likely go back on his confession: ‘He is a manipulative and cunning liar.’ 

Marsha McDonnell

Amelie Delagrange

Bellfield had been given a whole-life term for murdering Marsha McDonnell, 19, in 2003, (left, in 2011) and murdering Amelie Delagrange, 22, (right, in 2000) and attempting to murder Ms Sheedy, 18, in 2004

HAMMER KILLER’S 20-YEAR FIGHT TO CLEAR HIS NAME IN ONE OF UK’S MOST NOTORIOUS CRIMES

July 9 1996 – At around 4.25pm Lin Russell and her daughters Megan, six, and Josie, nine, are walking home along Cherry Garden Lane, near the village of Chillenden in Kent, when they are attacked by a man.

Dr Russell and her daughters are blindfolded, tied up with towels and shoelaces and bludgeoned over the head with a hammer, leaving the mother, Megan and the family dog Lucy dead. Josie survives.

December 1996 – Josie, who is still recovering from serious head injuries, moves with her father Shaun to begin a new life in North Wales.

July 1997 – More than 9,000 people are interviewed in connection with the case and over 1,000 statements taken. 

July 17 1997 – Michael Stone, from Gillingham, Kent, is arrested and held at Chatham police station, then charged.

September 1997 – Josie attends an identity parade at Rainham police station near Gillingham to try to pick out the man who killed her mother and sister. 

October 1998 – Unemployed Stone appears at Maidstone Crown Court charged with the hammer attack. He denies the charges.

Stone is alleged to have admitted committing the attack in a discussion with another prisoner – Damien Daley – while being held at Canterbury Prison.

Stone must serve a minimum of 25 years in jail before he can be considered for parole

Stone must serve a minimum of 25 years in jail before he can be considered for parole

October 23 1998 – At the end of a three-week trial Stone is found guilty of murdering Dr Russell and Megan and trying to murder Josie, and is given three life sentences.

2000 – Doubt is raised over the convictions after the Daily Mail reports that two key witnesses against Stone – Barry Thompson and Daley – were paid Kent Police informers.

Thompson had told the 1998 trial that Stone described his failure to kill Josie as a ‘mistake’.

January 2001 – Stone is given leave to appeal against the convictions.

February 2001 – Three judges at the Court of Appeal formally quash the murder convictions and order a retrial.

October 2001 – Stone is convicted a second time after a trial at Nottingham Crown Court. 

March 2004 – Stone’s lawyers win the right to another appeal.

January 2005 – Three Court of Appeal judges throw out his second appeal.

September 25 2006 – An independent inquiry report is published and reveals Stone, who had a history of mental disorder, drug abuse and violence, had an ‘aggressive outburst’ on July 4 1996, and told a psychiatric nurse that he wanted to kill his previous probation officer and his family.

December 21 2006 – High Court judge Mr Justice Royce tells Stone he must serve a minimum of 25 years in prison before he can be considered for parole.

October 26 2010 – The Criminal Cases Review Commission refuses a fresh appeal over his conviction.

June 24 2011 – Stone’s solicitor Paul Bacon says Levi Bellfield should be considered as a suspect in the Russell murders, following his conviction over the abduction and murder of schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

November 29 2017 – Lawyers for Stone say they have new evidence of his innocence, including a ‘very detailed confession’ to the killings from Bellfield.

 

 



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