A top human rights lawyer says she is convinced one of Kent’s most notorious killers is innocent and should have his conviction quashed.
Karen Todner believes Michael Stone should never have been convicted of the Chillenden attacks, which happened on this day 30 years ago.
Michael Stone – serving three life sentences for Chillenden murders
Lin and daughters Megan and Josie Russell were bludgeoned with a hammer in a quiet country lane in an attack which shocked the nation.
While the mum and six-year-old Megan died from their wounds, Josie, nine, miraculously survived and later recovered from her horror injuries.
Speaking to KentOnline this week, Ms Todner explained how she has been brought in to help with attempts to clear Stone’s name.
And she says in the coming weeks, she hopes to be in a position to discuss the identities of people she believes the police should be questioning in connection with the killings.
She said: “All cases I have dealt with are different, but this has to be one of the biggest cases of injustice in British criminal history.”
Lin Russell and daughter Megan were budgeoned to death
The Cotswolds-based solicitor gained global recognition from 2002 to 2012 for representing British hacker and computer expert Gary McKinnon.
He was accused by the US government of carrying out “the biggest computer hack of all time” against the Pentagon and NASA.
The Asperger’s syndrome sufferer claimed he was simply searching for evidence of UFOs, with Todner successfully arguing he would be a suicide risk if extradited to America.
More recently, she represented former UBS Swiss bank trader Tom Hayes – getting his 2015 conviction over the LIBOR financial rigging scandal overturned.
On the back of this, she was approached by Stone’s barrister, Mark McDonald at a legal conference.
Josie Russell miraculously survived the hammer attack
She said: “I have been on the legal team since February with a view to kick-start the review process, which, largely down to being under-resourced and understaffed, is painfully slow.
“All those years in prison is a long time. Michael has certainly been through the mill.
“I’m an aggressive litigator and have always been passionate about this case. I am 100% sure he didn’t do it.
“Kent Police may say they have a safe conviction, but I shall prove them wrong. This case has been allowed to drift along, but I’m going to bring it back together.
“An innocent man has been in prison for too long. I’m not going away on this.”
Karen Todner will be representing Michael Stone, who is serving time for the Chillenden murders
Former Gillingham resident Stone, who is being held in HMP Frankland, County Durham, was a heroin addict and known criminal at the time of the attacks.
He was arrested a year later and has always protested his innocence despite being twice convicted.
Last October, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said that previous assessments “found no incredible evidence or argument that raised a real possibility of the convictions being quashed”.
But since then, there has been a significant breakthrough in forensic science, and today (Thursday) the 66-year-old will undergo new tests.
A CCRC team will visit the high-security prison to take a sample of his saliva, which could prove he was not at the scene.
The picturesque countryside at Chillenden, where the horror attacjk took place 30 years ago
The lack of physical or DNA traces connecting Stone to the murders in an isolated village lane near Canterbury has been a key factor in the decades-long campaign to exonerate him.
Lin, 45, and the girls were walking home from a school swimming gala when they were set upon.
Scientists will examine samples from a bloodstained shoelace used to tie one of the victims’ wrists and tapings from their bodies, which have not been tested since 1996.
Stone’s conviction relied almost entirely on the testimony of a fellow prisoner, Damien Daley.
He claimed he confessed to the hammer attacks through a heating pipe while they were in adjoining cells at HMP Canterbury.
Timeline of the events in the Michael Stone case
Daley, described as a “habitual liar”, is currently serving life for the murder of a drug dealer.
Stone was eligible for parole in 2022, but has refused to apply, believing it would be an admission of guilt.
He has been through two trials, a failed appeal and numerous bids to overturn the conviction by the CCRC.
The case took a shocking twist when serial killer Levi Bellfield reportedly claimed he was responsible.
However, these claims were dismissed in 2022 following an investigation.
Karen Todner will be representing Michael Stone, who is serving time for the Chillenden murders
Following the attack, Josie, who is now 39, grew up in Wales after moving there with her father Shaun.
Ms Todner, who says she has been following the case for several years, has spoken to Stone on video link and will soon meet face-to-face.
She added that once the DNA results are back, they will be holding a strategy meeting to decide what needs to be examined next.
Stone’s younger sister Barbara has stood by him since his arrest and speaks to him every day in prison.
She told KentOnline: “He’s happy at the way things are going at the moment – and I know we’ve got our hopes up many times before – but so am I.”