A letter of “confession” from the serial killer Levi Bellfield, admitting to murdering mother and daughter Lin and Megan Russell, has yet to be received by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
The Commission has told GB News the four page document has so far not been passed by the legal team representing Michael Stone, who has served 25 years in prison for the murders.
Mr Stone’s lawyer Paul Bacon revealed at the weekend that Levi Bellfield had sent him a letter claiming to have carried out the murders in Kent in July 1996.
Michael Stone was found guilty of their murders in 1998, but has always protested his innocence.
His legal team lost a retrial, after the Court of Appeal quashed the initial conviction, because of concerns over the testimony of a key prosecution witness.
Levi Bellfield is serving a whole life sentence, after being found guilty in 2011 of the murder of schoolgirl Millie Dowler in Surrey 9 years earlier.
He was also convicted of murdering French student Amelie Delagrange in South West London in 2004 and murdering Marsha McDonnell a year earlier.
He had repeatedly denied involved in the murders of Lin and Megan Russell, who were attacked as they went walking in country lane, near Chillenden in Kent.
Megan’s 9 year old sister Josie was badly injured in the claw hammer attack but survived.
Paul Bacon said Bellfield had now changed his story and claimed it was him who carried out the murders.
Mr Bacon said he would now pass on the letter to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
A spokesman for the CCRC told GB News:
“We have yet to receive any additional material from Mr Stone’s legal representatives.
“Once it is received, the material will be carefully analysed, and appropriate enquiries made.”
The Commission said it remained “in close contact with Kent Police on this case to ensure the Russell family is kept fully informed of any developments.”
Michael Stone’s legal team applied to the CCRC in 2017 for the second time to have his case re-examined.
A previous decision in 2010 not to refer Mr Stone’s case to the Court of Appeal was taken after a four year review by the CCRC.
The Commission said: “As part of this second review the CCRC has carried out extensive investigations - including forensic tests - on additional information and materials supplied by Mr Stone’s legal representatives.
“The CCRC contacted Mr Stone’s legal representatives before Christmas on the results of those investigations and has given them until the end of February to respond.
“We await their response to what was shared with them.”
The Commission said that once the review of all material is complete, the CCRC will then determine whether there is a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would quash Mr Stone’s conviction.
