UK - Lin, 45, & Megan Russell, 6, Chillenden, Kent, 9 July 1996

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves

New Posts

Serial killer Levi Bellfield has reportedly signed a confession to a double murder, which 'contains information only the killer would know'.

While jailed murder Michael Stone believes that the new confession from Milly Dowler's killer will lead to his own release.

In a signed statement, Bellfield reportedly confessed to killing Lin, 45, and her daughter Megan Russell, six, in a vicious hammer in Kent in 1996. It comes after he 'admitted' to killing a 19-year-old student last week.

Stone was jailed for life for killing the mother and daughter but has maintained his innocence and last year serial killer Bellfield confessed to the murders, but later retracted the statement.

Now Stone's solicitor says Bellfield has signed a new statement of confession which contains information about the attack which only the killer would know, The Mirror reported.

[...]

www.dailymail.co.uk

Levi Bellfield signs confession to killing Lin and Megan Russell

Serial killer Levi Bellfield (pictured) has reportedly signed a confession to a double murder, which 'contains information only the killer would know'.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
I think Bellfield is playing a game again and didn’t kill Lin and Megan Russell, but the use of a hammer to kill is a really unusual feature and that just can’t be ignored.

I am sceptical about the “only the killer would know” detail because I suspect it will be something Bellfield has made up, e.g. Megan or Lin’s last words as reported by him, and which Josie can’t remember. But the case against Michael Stone has always been highly questionable, and Bellfield may be the answer.
 
Rusty Braincells said:
I am sceptical about the “only the killer would know” detail because I suspect it will be something Bellfield has made up, e.g. Megan or Lin’s last words as reported by him, and which Josie can’t remember.
Click to expand...
If it's anything like that, it would have no value. It would need to be something known to the police but never made public. They usually do keep some details back so as to filter out false confessions.
 
Other than the publicity, what would Bellfield have to gain from this admission if it wasn't true? He's not going anywhere in any case. Is he bored and just fancies a few days out for a trial? Always possible.

I'm not sold 100% on it being him, although I think he's more likely than the guy who was convicted.
 
Cherwell said:
If it's anything like that, it would have no value. It would need to be something known to the police but never made public. They usually do keep some details back so as to filter out false confessions.
Click to expand...
I totally agree, but given this report is only from Stone’s lawyers and Bellfield has previously been looked at for this case, that’s my suspicion. The press often report briefings from defence solicitors when there is nothing there. Prepared to hold my hands up to being wrong if there is actually something here though.
 
Let's go round again....l'll wait and see if anything actually comes of this or if he retracts it again.
 
Apparently Sky are producing a documentary this year. I really hope it's as good as Murder in the Valleys.

There's absolutely no way Stone did it. You don't travel 40 miles from Medway to Chillenden just to steal..... and then mug a mother walking home from school. If it wasn't for some random phone call to Crimewatch and Stone not remembering where he was a year earlier, he would never have been charged. The police just wanted an easy win.
 
There was a channel 5 documentary last night 05/09/23, 1.5 hours long covering “Who killed Lin & Megan Russell”.

Nothing really new in it, however, it did highlight just how a conviction can be obtained with just circumstantial evidence.
Even the bootlace which was supposedly used by Stone during his drug taking didn’t have Stones DNA on it (very unusual).

Bellfield did make an appearance at the end, but they left out some facts that tended to implicate him.
One being his partners Ford Sierra Saphire, which his partner said was ivory and not beige. One witness picked out a beige Ford that she followed.

What is interesting is that this car was burned out shortly after the Russell murders. As you know it’s in Bellfields MO to get rid of the cars he used for his crimes.

If I remember correctly Bellfield is left handed (Stone right handed) and the autopsy report indicated that the killer was left handed.

I read Bellfields confession just prior to its release to the news media. IMO it was a work of fiction, I can’t work out his motive, but he & Stone spent time in the same prison.
That’s the only link tha springs to mind.
 
Stones lawyers are asking for the case to be reopened given how the crrc handled the recent Andrew Malkinson case there must be a concern they are wrong again.


www.dailymail.co.uk

Man convicted of 1996 hammer double murder blames Levi Bellfield

Michael Stone, 63, has always maintained his innocence regarding the gruesome murders of Linn Russell and her daughter Meghan and has now blamed Milly Dowler's murderer Levi Bellfield.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
Stone was a wrong 'un, no doubt. Heroin addict, with armed robbery, GBH, and attacking a policeman on his record. However, it's a almighty jump to then commit this heinous crime. The paper thin evidence is supported by Josie saying he asked for money initially, and linking that to his drug habit, but the prosecution said he was there to steal lawnmowers from people's gardens. If he was there just to thieve, why would he target a family walking home from school in the country? Best he could of got was maybe £10-£20. Don't buy it. The guilty man only wanted to kill. That was the ONLY motivation here. Josie described the perputator as a tall man, Stone is 5'8 and the e-fits and witness descriptions of the man in the beige car talked of a cherubic man, + Stone didn't own a beige car.
Not convinced it's Bellfield, as it doesn't match his previous crimes, but it wasn't Stone.
 
Westchester76 said:
Stone was a wrong 'un, no doubt. Heroin addict, with armed robbery, GBH, and attacking a policeman on his record. However, it's a almighty jump to then commit this heinous crime. The paper thin evidence is supported by Josie saying he asked for money initially, and linking that to his drug habit, but the prosecution said he was there to steal lawnmowers from people's gardens. If he was there just to thieve, why would he target a family walking home from school in the country? Best he could of got was maybe £10-£20. Don't buy it. The guilty man only wanted to kill. That was the ONLY motivation here. Josie described the perputator as a tall man, Stone is 5'8 and the e-fits and witness descriptions of the man in the beige car talked of a cherubic man, + Stone didn't own a beige car.
Not convinced it's Bellfield, as it doesn't match his previous crimes, but it wasn't Stone.
Click to expand...
I agree on Stone, at the least it should be looked again if the advances in DNA come into play, the CRRC shouldn't play the cost card in this.
 
Just watched the 3 part sky documentary. Utterly gut wrenching to see the blood stained blue and white checked school dress one of the girls was wearing that day :( I still can’t believe it actually happened. A mother, her 2 young daughters and the family dog bludgeoned with a hammer at 4.30pm in the afternoon on a beautiful summers day, for no reason what so ever.
It is absolutely horrific. I don’t believe Michael stone was the killer; but im not sure I believe it was bellfield either. Which is even more chilling really. Because it means Whoever it was, is still out there and has got away with this for 25 plus years.
I still don’t understand how whoever it was got away with it. There had to have been so much contact between the killer and all 3 victims and the dog.
He tied them up, he tore their swimming towels, he rummaged through their belongings.
2 witnesses saw him. 2 very credible witnesses who both described a man in a beige car. The witness who saw a man with the car boot open acting agitated around a hedge, which is where later the bag with the bloodied towels was found, this is a huge eye witness.
Also the murderer would have been covered and I mean covered in blood. His car seats would have had blood stains. He would have been cleaning that car to within an inch of its life in the days afterwards. I find it incomprehensible that no one who knew this man noticed anything suspicious following this murder. It just doesn’t add up.

I Definitely recommend the 3 part series if you have a chance to watch it.
 
Also, bellfield has an alibi. The 9th of July was his girlfriends birthday. It’s not a day you simply get mixed up or forget what you did, it’s a pivotal day as opposed to a random date ten years ago which she might struggle to remember properly. so I fully believe her when she says he did not leave her side that day.
The documentaries I’ve seen all seem to try and ignore this major flaw and try to explain it away like she must have got her days mixed up… if it was any other day, maybe there’s a possibility but extremely unlikely when it was her birthday!
 
Honeybirdette said:
Also, bellfield has an alibi. The 9th of July was his girlfriends birthday. It’s not a day you simply get mixed up or forget what you did, it’s a pivotal day as opposed to a random date ten years ago which she might struggle to remember properly. so I fully believe her when she says he did not leave her side that day.
The documentaries I’ve seen all seem to try and ignore this major flaw and try to explain it away like she must have got her days mixed up… if it was any other day, maybe there’s a possibility but extremely unlikely when it was her birthday!
Click to expand...
I'm going from memory here, so I'll need some slack:

In the BBC documentary the investigators said she got the murder day/date wrong. I believe the issue was something like the day of the murders was a Tuesday but she implied it was a Saturday (hence they went to a club to celebrate her birthday).

So her alibi isn't as credible....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 180 more.
Total: 3,264 (members: 181, guests: 3,083)

Online statistics

Members online
181
Guests online
3,083
Total visitors
3,264
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
599,898
Messages
18,101,141
Members
230,951
Latest member
Yappychappy
Back
Top