New DNA samples to be taken from Lin and Megan Russell killer 30 years after murders

Image source, PA Media Image caption, In 2005, a second appeal by Stone against his convictions was thrown out by judges By Brendon Williams , BBC Wales  and  Michael Keohan , BBC Kent Published 8 July 2026 Updated 5 hours ago New DNA samples will be taken from a man jailed for a double murder, exactly 30 years after a mother and daughter were beaten to death. The bodies of Dr Lin Russell, 45, and her daughter Megan, six, were found in Chillenden, Kent, on 9 July, 1996. Megan's sister Josie Russell, then nine, was left for dead with severe head injuries. Following the murders, Josie returned with her father to live in Gwynedd, where she works as an artist. Michael Stone is serving three life prison sentences, but the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is re-examining evidence after serial killer Levi Bellfield reportedly admitted the murders. The DNA will be taken from Stone on Thursday. Stone's solicitor, Paul Bacon, said he was "very hopeful" the CCRC review and DNA test "will eventually lead to the real culprit being found". "We hope then to be able to bring Michael before the Court of Appeal and for him to regain his freedom after all these years of incarceration," he said. Image source, Press Association/Kent Police Image caption, The family moved to Kent from Gwynedd a few months before the murders Lin Russell and her young daughters were accosted as they walked along a country lane before being bound, blindfolded and bludgeoned with a claw hammer. They had moved to the area from Dyffryn Nantlle, Gwynedd, a few months before. On the day of the murders, Dr Shaun Russell was told that he had lost his whole family. It was only when a policeman at the scene noticed Josie move that he realised she had survived the attack. The killings sparked a huge manhunt and drew media attention from around the world. Image source, PA Media Image caption, Despite fears all three had been murdered, a police officer noticed Josie was alive Stone was first found guilty of two counts of murder and one of attempted murder in 1998 and again in 2001, after the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction due to doubts over a prosecution witness. An application to the CCRC was rejected in 2010 and an attempt to seek a judicial review of the decision also failed in 2011. But Stone and his legal team continued to maintain his innocence. Image source, PA Media Image caption, Michael Stone was found guilty in 1998, aged 38 In 2021 Stone's team said a shoelace found at the scene could provide DNA evidence in their bid to overturn his conviction. They said no DNA belonging to their client had been found on key exhibits in recent tests, including the lace. In 2023, the CCRC confirmed Stone's convictions were to be reviewed. That decision came after serial killer Levi Bellfield - whose victims include schoolgirl Milly Dowler - was reported to have confessed to the crimes. Bacon, who has represented Stone for 20 years, welcomed the CCRC's ongoing forensics investigations a