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The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) continues to examine the case concerning Michael Stone’s conviction for the murders of Dr Lin Russell and her six-year-old daughter, Megan. Stone is currently serving life sentences for their killings, which took place in July 1996 in Chillenden, Kent. The CCRC’s ongoing inquiry follows an application submitted by Stone’s legal team, reflecting continuing efforts to challenge the reliability of his conviction.
The attack occurred while Lin Russell was walking her two daughters home from school along a rural lane. Tragically, Lin, aged 45, and young Megan were bludgeoned to death. Lin’s older daughter Josie, then nine years old, also sustained serious head injuries, and the family dog, Lucy, was killed during the incident. The family had recently moved to the Kent area from Gwynedd just months earlier. Stone has maintained his innocence throughout and also denies the conviction for the attempted murder of Josie Russell.
Stone’s barrister, Mark McDonald, has instructed forensic expert Angela Gallop to reassess the evidence originally used to convict Stone. McDonald emphasized that advances in forensic science since the 1990s now allow for far more precise examination of the material, which may reveal evidence that was undetectable at the time of the original investigation. He described the forensic review as the first comprehensive look at the exhibits that could yield new insights. McDonald also highlighted that no DNA matching Stone has been found on critical items, such as a bootlace believed to have been used in the attack and to bind the victims, suggesting the evidence presented at trial was “inherently weak and unreliable.”
In recent developments, the CCRC had earlier ruled in July that there was no real chance the Court of Appeal would overturn Stone’s convictions. However, by October 2025, they reopened the case for further review. A CCRC spokesperson explained that while previous assessments found no credible new evidence, the new inquiry explores all potential leads raised by the application to determine if a miscarriage of justice may have occurred. The commission refrained from providing additional comments during the active review. Meanwhile, Josie Russell and her father Shaun, who returned to Gwynedd after the attack, have since resumed life in their hometown, with Josie continuing her work as an artist
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