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Levi Bellfield confessed to Russell murders, say convicted man's lawyers Levi Bellfield confessed to Russell murders, say convicted man's lawyers
(about 1 hour later)
The serial killer Levi Bellfield has confessed to the murder of Lin and Megan Russell more than 20 years after their deaths, according to the solicitor of the man who was convicted of the killings. Serial killer Levi Bellfield has confessed to the Russell murders, according to the legal team working for Michael Stone, who has spent nearly two decades in jail for the killings.
Michael Stone is serving three life sentences and has been in prison for 19 years for the murders of Russell, 45, and her six-year-old daughter, as well as the attempted murder of her nine-year-old daughter, Josie, in 1996. Stone is serving two life sentences after being convicted of the murders of Lin Russell and her six-year-old daughter Megan, as well as the attempted murder of her nine-year-old daughter Josie, near the village of Chillenden, Kent in 1996.
Bellfield is alleged to have given a “very detailed confession” to another prisoner but had subsequently denied both the murder and the confession, the BBC reported. But the claim that Bellfield has made a “very detailed confession” to a fellow prisoner that was corroborated by forensic evidence and witness testimony has raised the prospect Stone could be freed, his lawyers and sister Barbara said on Wednesday.
Stone’s solicitor, Paul Bacon, told a press conference also attended by Stone’s sister: “We have now received evidence of a full confession by Levi Bellfield to the Russell murders. “We have now received evidence of a full confession by Levi Bellfield to the Russell murders, Stone’s solicitor Paul Bacon told reporters. “In the confession, Bellfield describes how he came across Lin Russell and her two children, how he attacked them with a hammer, and his motivation for the killing. The confession is detailed and has a number of facts which are not in the public domain.”
“In the confession, Bellfield describes how he came across Lin Russell and her two children, how he attacked them with a hammer, and his motivation for the killing. Stone’s legal team said it had been made over the course of a few weeks and included “diagrams of where the murder took place and where the bodies were in situ”, as well as contemporaneous notes.
“The confession is detailed and has a number of facts which are not in the public domain.” Besides that, they said, a witness had come forward to say she saw Bellfield near the scene of the crime at about the time it was committed. The woman gave her evidence to the police soon after the murders, but nothing came of it, Bacon said.
Barbara Stone, Michael Stone’s sister, said the new evidence was the “biggest hope that my brother’s had for a long time”. She told reporters: “I understand there’s going to be some interest in the fact that it’s a confession of sorts, given that my brother was convicted by a confession. But ... the confession that convicted my brother, all that information was in the public domain. This information is different.” The lawyers acting for Stone also claimed to have forensic evidence that corroborated the claimed confession, though they declined to say what it was on Wednesday for fear of prejudicing any future proceedings. The new evidence has been handed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, said Stone’s barrister Mark McDonald, as the legal team called for it to be tested by the court of appeal.
Barbara Stone said the new evidence was the “biggest hope that my brother’s had for a long time”.
She told reporters: “I understand there’s going to be some interest in the fact that it’s a confession of sorts, given that my brother was convicted by a confession. But ... the confession that convicted my brother, all that information was in the public domain. This information is different.”
She said she would never stop campaigning until her brother was freed. “I’d like to think that this will go to the court of appeal, they’ll hear the evidence, see that it would’ve made a difference at the original trial and that Mick will be released. And then maybe we’ll hit our retirement years and we’ll be able to live in peace.”She said she would never stop campaigning until her brother was freed. “I’d like to think that this will go to the court of appeal, they’ll hear the evidence, see that it would’ve made a difference at the original trial and that Mick will be released. And then maybe we’ll hit our retirement years and we’ll be able to live in peace.”
Bacon stressed that in contrast to Bellfield’s alleged confession, the “only evidence” against his client was a “confession said to have been heard by a notorious criminal”, who had since admitted to lying to the jury during his evidence. Stone has always maintained his innocence and has fought a protracted legal battle to clear his name over the hammer attack on the Russells. He was originally convicted of the crimes in 1998, but that was quashed by the court of appeal. He was convicted for a second time in 2001 and jailed.
He said an independent witness had contacted him to say she saw Bellfield near the scene of the crimes around the time they were committed. On Wednesday, Stone’s solicitor stressed that, in contrast to Bellfield’s alleged confession, the “only evidence” against his client was a “confession said to have been heard by a notorious criminal”, Damien Daley, who had since admitted to lying to the jury during his evidence and was subsequently jailed for murder himself.
“And, importantly, we have identified forensic material from the scene of the murders which corroborates the confession made by Bellfield.” It is not the first time Stone’s legal representatives have pointed the finger at Bellfield. In 2011, Bacon claimed Bellfield was a better match for an efit of the suspect issued during the police manhunt.
Stone’s legal team said Bellfield was a manipulative man who they expected to deny having made such a confession to his cellmate. They stressed, however, that the alleged inclusion of information not in the public domain added weight to the confession even if Bellfield now denied making it. In November last year, the Metropolitan police closed an investigation into serious crimes allegedly involving Bellfield, saying all lines of inquiry had been exhausted and officers had found no evidence linking him to any cases for which he had not already been convicted.
Stone’s legal team said the confession had been made over the course of a few weeks and included “diagrams of where the murder took place and where the bodies were in situ”, as well as contemporaneous notes. This week, Stone’s legal team said they expected Bellfield to deny having made the confession. They called him manipulative and stressed their allegation that he had divulged information not in the public domain and that his account was corroborated by the other evidence.
They added that it was corroborated by the new forensic evidence. However, they declined to give any details about the nature of the forensic evidence for fear of prejudicing any future proceedings. They said the confession came from conversations between Bellfield and another prisoner that started because the serial killer was worried about how he would be portrayed in a recent documentary about the murders.
Stone’s legal team said the confession had come from conversations between Bellfield and another prisoner that started because the serial killer was worried about how he would be portrayed in a recent documentary about the murders.
Bacon said the witness who told him she had seen Bellfield in the area had previously given her evidence to the police, but nothing had come of it.
“She had told the police about this and told me she had rung the police several times and the statement that was taken was dated a month after the event. So, Kent police had got this information, took some time to do anything with it and then she never heard from the police again.”
Stone’s legal team said they did not trust Kent police to be involved in investigating the new evidence and asked for it to be carried out by another force.
Mark McDonald, Stone’s barrister, said the evidence had been handed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission and said it should be tested by the court of appeal.
The Russells were bludgeoned to death in rural Kent in 1996 by a man wielding a hammer. Josie suffered severe head injuries but survived, and the family’s dog, Lucy, was killed.
Stone was convicted over the attack in 1998 but has always maintained his innocence and has fought a protracted legal battle to clear his name.
It is not the first time Stone’s legal representatives have pointed the finger at Bellfield. In 2011, Bacon claimed Bellfield was a better match for an e-fit of the suspect issued during the police manhunt.
In a two-part BBC documentary aired in May, a panel of independent experts re-examined the evidence and suggested another suspect.
Stone has been told he must spend a minimum of 25 years in prison for the attack on Russell and her daughters as they walked home from a swimming gala in July 1996.
Josie, now an artist, grew up with her father, Shaun Russell, in Wales.
In November last year, the Metropolitan police closed an investigation into serious crimes allegedly involving Bellfield, saying all lines of inquiry had been exhausted and officers had found no evidence linking him to cases for which he had not already been convicted.
Appeal court judges quashed Stone’s original convictions in 2001 after doubts were raised about a key witness, but he was convicted again at a second trial and, in October 2001, was given three life sentences.
Stone was convicted on the evidence of Damien Daley, who admitted in the witness box that he had lied during the first trial, but not in relation to the detail of what Stone had told him. Daley said Stone confessed to the hammer murders through a heating pipe into the next cell at Canterbury prison.
There was no forensic evidence against Stone, who pleaded not guilty and maintained that Daley was lying about his confession.
Bellfield, who now calls himself Yusuf Rahim, is serving two whole-life terms after being convicted of the murders of Amelie Delagrange, 22, Marsha McDonnell, 19, and Milly Dowler, 13, and of the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, 18.Bellfield, who now calls himself Yusuf Rahim, is serving two whole-life terms after being convicted of the murders of Amelie Delagrange, 22, Marsha McDonnell, 19, and Milly Dowler, 13, and of the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, 18.
He was found guilty in 2008 of the murders of Delagrange in 2004 and McDonnell in 2003 and the attempted murder of Sheedy also in 2004. In 2011, while already in jail, he was convicted of abducting and killing Milly, who was snatched from the street on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in March 2002.He was found guilty in 2008 of the murders of Delagrange in 2004 and McDonnell in 2003 and the attempted murder of Sheedy also in 2004. In 2011, while already in jail, he was convicted of abducting and killing Milly, who was snatched from the street on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in March 2002.
Stone’s legal team said they did not trust Kent police to be involved in investigating the new evidence and asked for it to be carried out by another force.