0:00:02 > 0:00:04This programme contains some strong language
0:00:04 > 0:00:06and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10GREENWICH TIME SIGNAL
0:00:10 > 0:00:13- REPORTER:- Kent Police have begun a murder enquiry after
0:00:13 > 0:00:14the terrible deaths of Lin Russell
0:00:14 > 0:00:16and her six-year-old daughter, Megan.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19They died near Canterbury, from head injuries.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21A second daughter, nine-year-old Josephine,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24is alive but seriously injured in hospital.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29- REPORTER:- Their bodies were found huddled together
0:00:29 > 0:00:33on this isolated track just half a mile from their home in Nonington.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38The family were beaten with a blunt metal instrument, like a hammer.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44- REPORTER:- This tranquil corner of Kent,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47now the scene of a double murder.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Killings which have shocked this quiet, close-knit community.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56In the summer of 1996,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59a young family were brutally attacked
0:00:59 > 0:01:01down a quiet country lane in Kent.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06- REPORTER:- One of the most tragic events of the summer.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09A case unprecedented in British criminal history.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13The hunt for the killer became one of the biggest stories
0:01:13 > 0:01:14of the decade.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19The tragedy happened on a footpath coming home from school
0:01:19 > 0:01:22in one of the most rural and scenic parts of Kent.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27- REPORTER:- Since the investigation began, more than 9,000 people
0:01:27 > 0:01:30have been interviewed and 1,000 witness statements taken.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33- REPORTER:- Here, the best lead so far.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35This could be the image of the murderer.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42A year later, Michael Stone was arrested.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49He was tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51- REPORTER: - Michael Stone, heroin addict,
0:01:51 > 0:01:56a man with a violent personality disorder, a criminal record,
0:01:56 > 0:01:58now a convicted killer.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01The judge told him, "There can't be anyone in this country who does not
0:02:01 > 0:02:04"understand the horror of these offences."
0:02:04 > 0:02:06At that point, Stone shouted out,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08"It wasn't me, Your Honour. I didn't do it."
0:02:15 > 0:02:20Despite that verdict, the case is still in the headlines,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24and doubts continue to be raised about Michael Stone's guilt.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29Michael Stone's conviction hung on a very delicate thread.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31I think that there's a considerable
0:02:31 > 0:02:32question mark about whether this
0:02:32 > 0:02:34kind of evidence
0:02:34 > 0:02:35can safely be used at all.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42And for the last 20 years, Stone himself has stuck to the same story.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45- MICHAEL STONE:- I never murdered them people and I had nothing
0:02:45 > 0:02:48to do with it. I don't know who done it.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I had no involvement whatsoever, and that's why I'm innocent.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58But is Stone a liar and a killer, or could the wrong man be in prison?
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Now, to try and answer that question,
0:03:07 > 0:03:11a panel of independent experts with decades of experience
0:03:11 > 0:03:17in criminal justice has agreed to re-examine the original case files.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20I think you're missing that they have completely changed
0:03:20 > 0:03:22their account of what they're saying they've got!
0:03:24 > 0:03:25Lawyers...
0:03:25 > 0:03:29This one lace could contain the key to who killed this family.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31..detectives...
0:03:31 > 0:03:33This has left a lot of unanswered questions.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35..a forensic scientist...
0:03:35 > 0:03:36The DNA can't be Michael Stone.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42..all digging deep into one of Britain's most notorious crimes...
0:03:42 > 0:03:47To me, it puts him as prime suspect.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50..to see if justice has been done.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53If it's not Michael Stone, then who is it,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56and where's that individual been for the last 20 years?
0:04:32 > 0:04:35'In these files, we've got an extraordinary range of material.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38'It's a story of an investigation.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40'It's a story of a conviction.'
0:04:40 > 0:04:44You're cracking open a time capsule going back 20 years.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53In 18 archive boxes lie thousands of documents,
0:04:53 > 0:04:58a paper trail left behind by those involved in an infamous crime,
0:04:58 > 0:05:03investigation and controversial conviction.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04It's both daunting and exciting.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08In there are nuggets which are going to give you answers.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12I've never known a case not to produce surprises.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16A panel of leading experts is gathering
0:05:16 > 0:05:21to examine paperwork that's lain untouched for years.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25We're coming in with a such a neutral perspective
0:05:25 > 0:05:28that I'm looking to see whether the evidence is going to push me
0:05:28 > 0:05:30in one direction or the other.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34I come to it thinking, "This guy's been convicted."
0:05:34 > 0:05:38And so, one has to have some...
0:05:38 > 0:05:41faith that the jury came to the right view.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Together, they'll painstakingly reconstruct the events,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49examine the evidence and seek answers to any questions
0:05:49 > 0:05:50that remain.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57'You're looking at a case from 1996 with 2016 eyes,'
0:05:57 > 0:06:00as if anything may have slipped through the cracks.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11I'm going to talk you through what happened on that day,
0:06:11 > 0:06:139th of July, 1996.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15You've got a map in front of you.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18I've got a large one up there on the board,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21and we've also got up there some crime-scene photographs.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28Former Detective Chief Superintendent Jane Antrobus
0:06:28 > 0:06:31spent 30 years investigating serious crime for
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Greater Manchester Police.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37She begins any case review by focusing on the known facts
0:06:37 > 0:06:38of the crime.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42In the initial stages of an investigation,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45a senior investigating officer will put together what they call a
0:06:45 > 0:06:46timeline.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Where's that victim been?
0:06:49 > 0:06:52How many witnesses have they been past?
0:06:52 > 0:06:54What forensic has been gathered?
0:06:54 > 0:06:59So the timeline is a visual aid to understanding the crime.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04So, we've got here the school where Lin and her daughters
0:07:04 > 0:07:05and the dog started off from.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10The children have been to a swimming gala
0:07:10 > 0:07:14and at 3:55, they start their walk home.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18So they come along here and they turn up in the direction, left,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20towards Chillenden.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Their route home is along Cherry Garden Lane.
0:07:28 > 0:07:35Now, I've put that significant dot, because that is where their journey
0:07:35 > 0:07:36ended that particular day.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41By 8:30, Shaun Russell...
0:07:42 > 0:07:46..father of the girls and husband of Lin, was starting to panic.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Shaun reports his wife and the children missing.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54It's at quarter to one...
0:07:55 > 0:07:57..the following morning...
0:07:59 > 0:08:03..that the bodies are recovered.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Initially, thought to be three bodies.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Lin, Josie and Megan.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14When they then get out the medical practitioner
0:08:14 > 0:08:17to certify life extinct, like you do at any murder scene...
0:08:18 > 0:08:21..he finds Josie's not dead.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24She's still alive, but only barely alive.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26She's then rushed to hospital.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33All the victims have suffered significant blunt force trauma
0:08:33 > 0:08:35to their heads.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And how Josie has survived is beyond belief.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40It really is.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45So a murder investigation is launched.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47The scene's preserved and the forensic science team
0:08:47 > 0:08:49are called in to examine that scene.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01I was travelling on the M25
0:09:01 > 0:09:04when I received a phone call from
0:09:04 > 0:09:07the Principal Scenes of Crime Officer to say
0:09:07 > 0:09:10that they had found two bodies...
0:09:10 > 0:09:14and there was another person seriously injured...
0:09:15 > 0:09:21..and that they might need some coordination or advice about...
0:09:21 > 0:09:24the scientific potential of the scene.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30So I pulled off the motorway and headed back towards Kent.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37In 1996, Professor Jim Fraser was head of
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Forensic Investigation for Kent Police,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42and one of the first people on the scene.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47I was met by my Principal Scenes of Crime Officer,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50who basically took me to the scene and started to kind of
0:09:50 > 0:09:51walk me through it.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57At that stage, it still hadn't been fully examined yet.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59The bodies were still there.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01People were still forming their first impressions
0:10:01 > 0:10:04about what might have happened.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07The bulk of the...
0:10:07 > 0:10:12assault had taken place in a small, kind of enclosed copse.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18And all the bodies were found inside that area, including the dog.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25The main conclusion that I reached related not so much to the area
0:10:25 > 0:10:29where the bodies were found, but to the track adjacent
0:10:29 > 0:10:31to the copse where the bodies were found.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35And there were four groups of bloodstains on the track.
0:10:38 > 0:10:45That enabled me to conclude that the attack probably started on the track
0:10:45 > 0:10:49and then moved into the copse, where...
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Essentially, where the victims were murdered.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Outdoor scenes are not that common
0:10:56 > 0:11:00and they present kind of different problems.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Most people are murdered indoors,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05or in kind of enclosed spaces,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09so there is an immediate scene where the bodies were found
0:11:09 > 0:11:11and there is a wider scene.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Do you search the lay-bys that are along the road from the scene?
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Do you search some 500 metres?
0:11:18 > 0:11:19A mile?
0:11:21 > 0:11:24It's difficult to know where an outdoor scene like this
0:11:24 > 0:11:26begins and ends.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35As the forensic team searched for scientific clues,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39detectives began a nationwide search for witnesses.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43My appeal tonight is anybody who's got the slightest idea at all,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45please, please come forward.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Pick the phone up tonight and call us.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Dave, thank you very much. Well, we all here can only echo that.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Please call, if you can help.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56If you have any information. O500 600 600. It's a free call...
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Within the case files, the panel find the witness statements
0:12:01 > 0:12:03of the first people to come forward.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08It is quite a remote area.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12People stand out, so witnesses will come forward.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17You're looking to seek commonalities within those statements.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22In cases like this, it's those small pieces of information
0:12:22 > 0:12:26that all come together to make the full jigsaw.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Witness one, called Nicola Burchill.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Nicola was here at the junction.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35It was 4:43.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39- REPORTER:- A woman came across a beige car pulling away
0:12:39 > 0:12:42from a junction that led to the murder scene.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46So she sees a beige car.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50So Nicola was in her car.
0:12:50 > 0:12:51That's when she said,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55"Saw a car at the junction and it pulled off in front of me,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58"forcing me to come down a few gears.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00"I could tell he was angry.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02"He kept looking at me through his wing mirror."
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Now, this is key,
0:13:05 > 0:13:12because Nicola Burchill is the lady that later did an E-fit of the man
0:13:12 > 0:13:13she saw in the wing mirror.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17That's the E-fit.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22White male, very short, gingery hair, stocky,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25wearing a red T-shirt.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28I'm going to move on now to the next witness.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31She's driving past the windmill.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34About half a mile away, there's a local landmark outside
0:13:34 > 0:13:35Chillenden village.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38The woman was driving out of the village on Cave Lane,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40and approaching the windmill, when she saw a man standing by
0:13:40 > 0:13:42the road.
0:13:42 > 0:13:43She's driving.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46She doesn't see a vehicle.
0:13:46 > 0:13:47But what she does see...
0:13:48 > 0:13:51..is a man acting strangely.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54She says, "He's very agitated."
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Plus, the fact she said he's holding an implement in his right hand,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01and she actually says, "It's a claw hammer."
0:14:04 > 0:14:06The next key witness.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Now, he says it's ten past five.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12He sees a car and he says,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16"I thought it was an old Escort in beige."
0:14:17 > 0:14:20So a common theme coming here.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22Beige car, possibly an Escort.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Half an hour later, he takes his dog for a walk
0:14:26 > 0:14:29and he goes to where he saw that agitated man.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Dog pulled in towards the hedge
0:14:33 > 0:14:36and I noticed a bag had been stuffed in the bushes.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40He actually then saw it was a string bag.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44And it had strips of blue towel inside it,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48and the victims' blood were on the strips of towel.
0:14:49 > 0:14:55That is significant, because it is used to tie the victims up,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59put there by the suspicious, agitated man.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02The killer.
0:15:02 > 0:15:03- The killer.- Yeah.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07They had quite clear elimination criteria.
0:15:09 > 0:15:14Evidence implicating a white man, I think in about his 30s, in a beige,
0:15:14 > 0:15:15Ford Escort-type car.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18So anybody who didn't fit that description, you could eliminate.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Back at the crime scene, Jim Fraser and the forensic team
0:15:25 > 0:15:26were still searching for evidence.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31In the copse where the bodies were found,
0:15:31 > 0:15:36there were three items that kind of stood out.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39The first one was, there was a fingerprint that appeared
0:15:39 > 0:15:41to be in blood on one of the lunchboxes.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45The second one was that we found some hairs
0:15:45 > 0:15:49that looked as if they didn't come from any of the people
0:15:49 > 0:15:51at the scene.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57And then outside that area, on the track, found a little time later,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00was a black bootlace.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05The lace was considered to be so important because
0:16:05 > 0:16:08it was bloodstained from two of the victims.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10It was obviously used in the attacks in some way.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17Those items were tested, but offered no immediate link to an offender.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23And with no suspect, the Chillenden murders
0:16:23 > 0:16:25became Britain's biggest story.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30I got a...
0:16:30 > 0:16:33call from a mate of mine at the Daily Star...
0:16:34 > 0:16:38..who said there'd been an incident in a place called Chillenden.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42"Where's that?" So I looked at the map and he said,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44"Get your arse down there."
0:16:44 > 0:16:46So we got our arses down there.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50You had The Express, The Sun, Star, Mirror.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52The whole lot all descended on the middle of nowhere.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58We obviously knew that this was going to be a big...
0:16:58 > 0:17:01It would be page-one news in every paper.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04You know, it dominated your life for weeks.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08It was dramatic from the get-go and it didn't let up.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16Despite the media frenzy, after several weeks,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Kent Police were no closer to solving the case.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23- REPORTER:- Since the investigation began, more than 9,000 people
0:17:23 > 0:17:26have been interviewed and 1,000 witness statements taken.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- REPORTER:- With the killer still on the loose, there's an uneasiness
0:17:29 > 0:17:31in this quiet Kent village.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35The police were obviously under a lot of pressure.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37I know that, because myself and my colleagues were the ones
0:17:37 > 0:17:40putting them under pressure. We were the ones that wanted answers,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and we were the ones asking them.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58Because they are a fairly ordinary middle-class family,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01it just means that everybody could see themselves in the Russells,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03and the question you would ask yourself is,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06"What if it was my family? What would I have done?
0:18:06 > 0:18:07"What would I want to happen now?"
0:18:09 > 0:18:11And everybody wanted to see somebody go to prison for it.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Four weeks after the attacks,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22nine-year-old Josie Russell was finally able to leave hospital...
0:18:24 > 0:18:27..and, over time, told police what she could recall.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Her mother was hit by this man,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36and told Josie to run for help.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Josie did run for help, but she didn't get very far,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43cos the man caught her up, and hit her with the hammer as well.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48She identified a hammer as the weapon,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52and she said that her hands were tied with a shoelace.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55And she describes the man...
0:18:56 > 0:19:00..as "rooting through the lunchboxes."
0:19:03 > 0:19:07She mentions that the man asks for money.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11A suggestion that robbery was the motive
0:19:11 > 0:19:14connected to a separate lead the police were following -
0:19:14 > 0:19:18the burglary and theft of a lawnmower near to the crime scene
0:19:18 > 0:19:20on the same day.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22But it still didn't connect them to a suspect.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28To understand what was going on behind the scenes
0:19:28 > 0:19:31of the investigation, the panel turn to the logbook
0:19:31 > 0:19:33of the operation, known as the Policy File.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40It's the daily record of every decision made, and the reasons why.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47For the Chillenden murders, it covers months of enquiries,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and runs to over eight books, and hundreds of pages.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Well, the months after the investigation, obviously,
0:19:55 > 0:19:56it's going 100 miles an hour.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02I've looked at the Policy File, I've looked at the case papers,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06they are following all those leads and potential leads.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Speaking to MO suspects - you know, paedophiles...
0:20:13 > 0:20:14..cars are being looked at.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17The beige car is being looked for, for months.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22The SIO is still under the spotlight.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24"Why haven't you cracked this case?"
0:20:26 > 0:20:28But ultimately, they're not producing any new leads.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33They're not getting anything.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49A full year after the deaths, the police were forced, once again,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51to turn to the public.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56A year ago today an unprecedented crime took place
0:20:56 > 0:20:59which astonished and sickened the whole nation.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Dave Stevens, a year has passed, you still haven't found the murderer.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05How have the public helped you in that year?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08The public, really, have helped enormously.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Their support has been overwhelming.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13We've pieced together a story which hasn't led to the killer.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16We still haven't received that vital piece of information
0:21:16 > 0:21:18that's led to an arrest.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22- REPORTER:- A renewed appeal on the BBC's Crimewatch programme last week
0:21:22 > 0:21:25- resulted in 600 calls to the police. - PHONES RING
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Amongst hundreds of calls, one stood out -
0:21:33 > 0:21:37from a psychiatrist who said his nursing staff had named a patient
0:21:37 > 0:21:39as a potential suspect.
0:21:41 > 0:21:42The patient's name...
0:21:44 > 0:21:45..Michael Stone.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Stone lived 40 miles from the scene of the attacks,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00in the Medway area of Kent.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09He was arrested at his mother's house on the 17th of July 1997.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19There he is, in the middle.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Early in the morning, they knocked the door,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30and said they were arresting him
0:22:30 > 0:22:33for the murder of the Russells.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37And then they come back...
0:22:38 > 0:22:40..the next day, and searched my flat.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Took all the washing off the line, which belonged to Michael.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49And then the next minute, you'd get the paper people.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51I couldn't go out of this door for months.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55They even...
0:22:56 > 0:23:01I know it's naughty, but they kept shouting through the letterbox,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03and I emptied the kettle on them, you know...
0:23:05 > 0:23:07..to shut them up.
0:23:07 > 0:23:08Good job the water was cold.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I remember the day when they
0:23:14 > 0:23:16came to the door, the police.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19But me, I was not only in a state of shock,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21but felt I ought to listen to them.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25And they were saying to me, things like, "He looks like the Photofit."
0:23:25 > 0:23:29We actually went out into the road, myself, with a police officer,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and we were holding this Photofit up in the street
0:23:32 > 0:23:35with a picture of Mick, and he was pointing out the features
0:23:35 > 0:23:39on the Photofit that he felt were looking like Mick.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40And I'm going...
0:23:40 > 0:23:42And even then, I kind of thought to myself,
0:23:42 > 0:23:44"Oh, perhaps somebody just did a poor drawing,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46"or a poor description or something."
0:23:48 > 0:23:50This was a horrible crime.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52And if my brother had done this, you know, I would agree,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56he would have had to have been prosecuted, and convicted for it.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58But I gave them a chance to show me,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00cos they were so keen to show me that he did it.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02But they never could quite manage it.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08I just, you know, couldn't believe it.
0:24:08 > 0:24:09Stunned, really.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15How can you be left feeling?
0:24:15 > 0:24:16You know what I mean?
0:24:18 > 0:24:21I can't say heartbroken, because Mick is Mick, isn't he?
0:24:23 > 0:24:26No, he's done some things he shouldn't have done.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Police now had a suspect in custody.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43But was he capable of committing the Chillenden murders?
0:24:47 > 0:24:50To help answer that, the panel's legal team put Michael Stone's
0:24:50 > 0:24:53criminal history under the microscope.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57It's led by Stephen Kamlish -
0:24:57 > 0:25:00a QC with 35 years' experience
0:25:00 > 0:25:02working on the country's most serious crimes.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Including acting for Stephen Lawrence's family.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12He's supported by junior counsel Sheryl Nwosu.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20Their examination of Stone's history reveals he was a
0:25:20 > 0:25:24long-term heroin user with multiple convictions for burglary.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30And a regular thief of items, such as lawnmowers.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36People's previous convictions show basic propensity to commit a crime.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39In a case like this, a person with previous convictions -
0:25:39 > 0:25:41and he was a drug addict -
0:25:41 > 0:25:43you're not judging them by your own standards,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47they don't live the same sort of life as the jury lives.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52You've got to be careful that they aren't stereotyped into being guilty
0:25:52 > 0:25:53because they're criminals.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58But Stone's record also reveals a more violent side.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06This is someone who's got a background with extreme violence,
0:26:06 > 0:26:08apart from the fact that he's...
0:26:09 > 0:26:13..a burglar - a shed burglar, really, low-level shed burglary
0:26:13 > 0:26:17for the most part, he has also got some significant convictions.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21There was an armed robbery of a bank and a theatre,
0:26:21 > 0:26:22where he used a shotgun.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29So this was someone who was clearly violent, potentially very dangerous.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33There was a previous conviction for a stabbing in 1983.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Attacked a man he'd known from childhood,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37stabbing him in the chest when he was sleeping.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40- Whilst he was sleeping? - Whilst he was sleeping.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44He had a previous conviction for a hammer attack,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46for which he received a two-year sentence.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Who was the hammer attack of?
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Stone went to a man's house, he got into an argument,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54which turned into a fight.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57And it appears that he wasn't armed, but in the man's house,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00there was a mallet on a workbench which Stone picked up, swung it,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03hit the man, and then ran away.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06From a police point of view, you know, this is going
0:27:06 > 0:27:07to be significant.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11You're asking us to compare this to what the man's alleged to have done.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14He's not adverse to committing acts of violence, right?
0:27:14 > 0:27:18So he's prepared to get money, to be violent, to get his own back,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21to be violent, that's what his record shows.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25But it doesn't show that he is a man who lies in wait for women
0:27:25 > 0:27:27and children to kill them.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32Questions raised by the panel during their investigation
0:27:32 > 0:27:34are put to Stone in prison.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40'Yeah, I was violent then, but this is a different type of violence.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43'I've got no form for violence against women or children.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46'Yeah, I've done robberies and stuff,
0:27:46 > 0:27:47'but whenever I've done robberies
0:27:47 > 0:27:49'I've not hurt anybody, unnecessarily.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54'I'm a thief. When I commit crime, I nick things.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56'I go into the house when no-one's there.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59'I nick a car when no-one's in the car.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02'I don't touch the people.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05'The nature of the crime, and the victims in this case,
0:28:05 > 0:28:07'it's not the kind of crime that I'd do.'
0:28:09 > 0:28:11There's violence, and then there's this.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14But the idea that he couldn't do this crime because he hadn't done it
0:28:14 > 0:28:17before is a nonsense, because there's a first time for everything.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20It puts him in that percentage of the population
0:28:20 > 0:28:22of people who could have done it.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25- But it doesn't mean he did it.- And who've got pre-cons for violence.
0:28:25 > 0:28:26- Yeah.- Sure.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35- REPORTER:- Detectives investigating the murders of Lin and Megan Russell
0:28:35 > 0:28:39have questioned a man in connection with their deaths.
0:28:39 > 0:28:4213 months after the attacks, Stone was being held
0:28:42 > 0:28:46at Chatham police station, where officers were interviewing him.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54Within the case files are the transcripts of more than 22 hours
0:28:54 > 0:28:55of interviews.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00There are three types of police interview.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04One is where people are advised to make no comment.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06That doesn't mean they're guilty,
0:29:06 > 0:29:08but the advice comes from the solicitor.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12The second type of interview is where a person makes some comment,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15and then refuses to answer certain questions.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20And the third one is one where the person essentially says,
0:29:20 > 0:29:25"You can ask me anything, and I'll answer anything."
0:29:25 > 0:29:27And this was what happened here.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35Stone was saying that he was innocent throughout,
0:29:35 > 0:29:37and he basically said to the investigators,
0:29:37 > 0:29:41"Do everything you want, you'll find it's not me."
0:29:41 > 0:29:43He has no trouble explaining himself.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46He's really clear on answering all the questions.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48I think it's significant,
0:29:48 > 0:29:53the fact that throughout these hours and hours of interviews,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57Michael Stone's actually spoke and answered questions,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00rather than done the conventional...
0:30:01 > 0:30:02..no comment.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05A solicitor would be expected to advise that in this case,
0:30:05 > 0:30:06cos there's so much detail.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09- Yeah.- And who knows who might put their foot in it?
0:30:09 > 0:30:12- It's just a standard advice a solicitor would give.- Yeah.
0:30:12 > 0:30:1425 hours, answering every question.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20'The reason why I answered the questions - cos normally I
0:30:20 > 0:30:23'would have done no comment in the police station,
0:30:23 > 0:30:24'I've always done no comment.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27'But because it was a little girl that got murdered,
0:30:27 > 0:30:29'and the murderer was out there loose,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33'I spoke with the police to help them eliminate me,
0:30:33 > 0:30:35'so they could go and catch the real murderer.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38'Do you know what I mean? That's the only reason why
0:30:38 > 0:30:40'I answered all those questions.'
0:30:42 > 0:30:46In interview, the police challenged Stone to provide an alibi
0:30:46 > 0:30:48for the day of the murders.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53It was a year after.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55And I couldn't give an alibi.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00I had no reason to remember 4:30 on the 9th of July.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Former senior detective Jane Antrobus tries to piece together
0:31:07 > 0:31:09Stone's movements that day.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14She finds a receipt, pinpointing him to a location.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17On the 9th of July, the day of the murders,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21he was in a shop in Chatham high street.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24At 12:20, a Cash Converters.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30So, at 12:20, he was in Cash Converters...
0:31:31 > 0:31:33..40 mile away from the murder scene.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40That would give him ample opportunity to get
0:31:40 > 0:31:42to the scene of the murder.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48Although we can't physically put Michael Stone at the scene,
0:31:48 > 0:31:49we can't alibi him out of it.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53So he could have been there.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00With Stone unable to rule himself out,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03police are examining his links to the evidence.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07In particular, the beige car spotted by multiple witnesses.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14There's a lot goes on, especially in the interviews of Michael Stone.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18About what cars he owned and had access to
0:32:18 > 0:32:20during that relevant period.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Before the murder, he wasn't driving a beige car.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28- I believe he was driving... - White Toyota Tercel.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30A policeman gives a statement,
0:32:30 > 0:32:34that four days before the murder he sees Stone in a pub,
0:32:34 > 0:32:39and that Stone's driven there in this white Toyota Tercel.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43And on the 16th of July, which is after the murder,
0:32:43 > 0:32:48he's stopped again, a few days after by a different police officer
0:32:48 > 0:32:50and he's actually driving it.
0:32:50 > 0:32:56So two separate days, each side of the murder, he's in that Tercel.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59They spent a lot of time trying to tidy Stone down to a beige car.
0:32:59 > 0:33:06But the Toyota Tercel is constantly being confirmed as Stone's.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08That's a definite.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10That's the only definite at the time.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14- MICHAEL STONE: - 'At that time I only had one car.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18'Nobody's in any doubt that that car was in my possession before,
0:33:18 > 0:33:20'during and after the murders.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25'They took the car apart, and looked for blood and stuff like that,
0:33:25 > 0:33:28'anything, and checked all the forensics at the murder scene.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31'There's no way that car was involved in the murders.'
0:33:33 > 0:33:37But anyway, the car used by the offender wasn't a white car.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39- No.- Nobody says white.- Nope.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42It still comes back to the main point - there is no beige car.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45You look at every possibility -
0:33:45 > 0:33:48purchases, scrappings, thefts - nothing.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52It doesn't actually mean that he didn't get another car.
0:33:52 > 0:33:57If he planned and intended to commit a crime that day,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00would he go and do it in his own car that everybody knows?
0:34:00 > 0:34:04How do you get another car without being able to prove that?
0:34:04 > 0:34:08He either steals one, in which case the owners would report it.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11- Borrows one.- He either borrows one, nobody says that.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15It's quite a big deal to get another car and for the police
0:34:15 > 0:34:17not to be able to prove that.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19I'm really surprised about the car.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21It seems extraordinary, because it's the only piece
0:34:21 > 0:34:24of consistency that we can lock onto.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26- And link the witnesses. - And link the witnesses.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- REPORTER:- Police are questioning a man over the murders of Lin Russell
0:34:35 > 0:34:38and her six-year-old daughter Megan.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41After being arrested at his home in Gillingham, they were given
0:34:41 > 0:34:44until late last night to either charge or release him.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51After questioning Stone for 24 hours, the police were forced
0:34:51 > 0:34:54to apply to the courts to hold him for another 48.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00Vital to the investigation was testing whether Stone
0:35:00 > 0:35:03could be linked forensically to evidence at the scene.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09The blood-covered towelling, the black lace...
0:35:10 > 0:35:14..the bloody fingermark inside the lunchbox
0:35:14 > 0:35:17and the strands of unknown hair found on items, including the shoes.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22That evidence is examined by forensic scientist
0:35:22 > 0:35:26Dr Georgina Meakin, who has worked on more than 100 criminal cases.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30She starts with the bloodstained bootlace.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35The reason the bootlace is really important is that we think that this
0:35:35 > 0:35:38was used in the tying up of one or more of the victims.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41It appears to have been brought by the perpetrator,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44it's then been left down the path, away from the scene.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48So presumably dropped by the perpetrator walking away?
0:35:48 > 0:35:51And, in total, 75 sections were examined.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57And there's no forensic link to Michael Stone.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06We also have a string bag found with the six strips of blue towel
0:36:06 > 0:36:10inside, that we believe had been ripped into strips, and used.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14- The blood staining that we see that's covering them...- Yeah.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16..that was sent for DNA testing, and it comes from Lin.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19And the bag itself was heavily bloodstained,
0:36:19 > 0:36:20and that also comes from Lin.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25So, again, we've got no forensic link to Michael Stone.
0:36:28 > 0:36:29OK, let's talk about the lunch bag.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32And this was found at Lin's feet.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37And it's actually on the top of this lunchbox,
0:36:37 > 0:36:40that a potential fingermark is found.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43It's been found in blood.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47But what the fingermark examiner finds is that there is a low count
0:36:47 > 0:36:49loop pattern. So this...
0:36:51 > 0:36:55..loop pattern, Michael Stone doesn't have it on his fingerprints.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58So this actually excludes Michael Stone from having left
0:36:58 > 0:37:00- that fingermark. - But Lin Russell.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02- But Lin Russell. - Lin does on one of hers.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05So it says, "Could be her right middle finger,
0:37:05 > 0:37:07"could have left that mark."
0:37:07 > 0:37:09This is where there's a real issue with that.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12And one of the things to really remember is that
0:37:12 > 0:37:15when the crime scene examiner arrived at the scene,
0:37:15 > 0:37:18those lunch bags we've just seen were zipped up.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21They were closed. They were not open.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24So what I find really hard to believe
0:37:24 > 0:37:28is that that fingermark would come from one of the victims,
0:37:28 > 0:37:32because it would suggest it was then closed up afterwards.
0:37:32 > 0:37:33And I feel...
0:37:33 > 0:37:36I feel that the fingermark's much more likely to have come from
0:37:36 > 0:37:38the perpetrator.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43With none of the DNA pointing to Stone,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46perhaps the unknown hairs found at the scene
0:37:46 > 0:37:47could provide the missing link.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52- REPORTER:- It emerged today that the police have discovered a hair
0:37:52 > 0:37:55belonging to the offender at the scene, and have succeeded
0:37:55 > 0:37:56in compiling a DNA profile.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01The test has worked, we have a profile.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05We have something to compare suspects with.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08The only problem with this is that we have two have the suspect in the
0:38:08 > 0:38:11first place, before we can compare it,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14because we need to take a sample from that person.
0:38:15 > 0:38:20Now that they had a prime suspect, they could compare that DNA.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23So this was a pair of children's jelly shoes
0:38:23 > 0:38:25that were found near Megan's head.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28Hairs were taken from the soles of those shoes,
0:38:28 > 0:38:30and they were examined microscopically.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32They were found to be different from the victim's.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34So they were submitted for DNA analysis.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38They found that those hairs could not have come from the victims,
0:38:38 > 0:38:40and they could not have come from Michael Stone.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43So now we have some unknown DNA, at this point.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47We cannot connect Michael Stone's DNA to these murders.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51- Yeah, exactly.- OK, so it's another example of a lack.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53I'm saying it's not his DNA.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Is it possible to commit a crime like this
0:38:55 > 0:38:58and not leave any forensics?
0:38:58 > 0:39:01I find it really difficult to believe that an assailant could
0:39:01 > 0:39:04commit this offence and not leave traces of himself behind.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Obviously, he's manhandling them, he's tying up the shoelaces,
0:39:07 > 0:39:09he's tying up the piece of the towel.
0:39:09 > 0:39:15You'd expect him to be leaving his trace, his DNA, on these items.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18The problem is, you have to bear in mind, this is 1996.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20DNA testing was in its infancy.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23You know, people now are a lot more aware of forensic science
0:39:23 > 0:39:26and the kind of testing that can be done.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28So, back then, you weren't so aware of it.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31There are forensic... You know, potential for forensic links,
0:39:31 > 0:39:34they just haven't... A person hasn't been found that links with them.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Hairs are a wonderful thing in forensic science,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38- because you shed hair. - But they're also really...
0:39:38 > 0:39:41- Exactly. And so they're really easily transferred.- Yes.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44And these three victims had just been to the swimming baths.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47Yes, exactly. I'm not saying they're necessarily the perpetrator's,
0:39:47 > 0:39:49- but they're not Michael Stone's. - But they're not Michael Stone's.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Where does this put us in...
0:39:52 > 0:39:54- It's no more... - ..Michael Stone's case?
0:39:54 > 0:39:57Well, basically, it's not providing any forensic link
0:39:57 > 0:39:58to Michael Stone, still.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02So just because there is no forensic link,
0:40:02 > 0:40:06doesn't prove that Michael Stone didn't do it.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08We know the crime occurred, therefore we know there's
0:40:08 > 0:40:11an offender. That offender could have been Michael Stone,
0:40:11 > 0:40:12it could have been someone else.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16Based on the scientific evidence, we simply don't know.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19What's Stone got to say about the forensics and DNA?
0:40:19 > 0:40:21Well, the thing is, he was quite confident.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24The officer actually puts to him on one of the very first days
0:40:24 > 0:40:28that he was interviewed, you know, "We're trying to get to the bottom
0:40:28 > 0:40:29"of a very serious double murder."
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Stone says this. "I'm confident it's going to come back, and it ain't me.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35"You've had my mouth swab, as well.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37"I've given it, and I'm confident it's going to come back,
0:40:37 > 0:40:39"it won't be me."
0:40:42 > 0:40:44'They said, "We've put the hair under the microscope."
0:40:44 > 0:40:48'I said, "I guarantee you, you'll see that it's not me,
0:40:48 > 0:40:49'"it can't be me."
0:40:49 > 0:40:52'I was confident. I knew straightaway, as soon as they said
0:40:52 > 0:40:55'there was hairs on the body and that, I knew it wasn't mine,
0:40:55 > 0:40:59'you know what I mean? But I was confident and bold with my answers
0:40:59 > 0:41:02'all the time, because I knew that it wasn't, you know...
0:41:02 > 0:41:04'Cos I knew I hadn't been there.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08'And I said, "Take my hair, take my DNA and that.
0:41:08 > 0:41:09'"That'll show you."
0:41:09 > 0:41:11'I was keen to give it, you know?'
0:41:14 > 0:41:16I've dealt with cases where there has been no forensic link.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22That is a huge disappointment.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25It would be a huge disappointment as an SIO.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31The police were running out of time, and had to charge Stone,
0:41:31 > 0:41:33or release him.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36They had no evidence directly linking him to the murders,
0:41:36 > 0:41:39but they did have evidence of other unrelated crimes.
0:41:41 > 0:41:42Stone was charged with those,
0:41:42 > 0:41:46and remanded in prison while the investigation continued.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55It's been ages since I've been down here.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58In the weeks that followed, he was visited regularly in prison
0:41:58 > 0:42:00by his sister, Barbara.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06I worried about Mick, and what would happen to him in prison
0:42:06 > 0:42:10as somebody who was thought of as somebody who'd killed children.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12That's quite bad, in the prison system.
0:42:13 > 0:42:18The media were showing a lot of interest in everything
0:42:18 > 0:42:20to do with our family life,
0:42:20 > 0:42:23and everybody was being led to believe...
0:42:23 > 0:42:24that he did it.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27Everybody else hated him.
0:42:27 > 0:42:28The public hated him.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Even the once-a-week trips to court -
0:42:32 > 0:42:36I saw a crowd had gathered and they were all throwing rocks
0:42:36 > 0:42:37at the van.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45That was probably the lowest point, I think.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49But, nevertheless, the back of my mind, I thought,
0:42:49 > 0:42:50"It won't last for long."
0:42:51 > 0:42:54He would come home, and, therefore, it wouldn't be a problem any more.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00While Michael Stone was on remand in prison,
0:43:00 > 0:43:02police finally had their breakthrough.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07A prisoner named Damien Daley came forward,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11claiming Stone had confessed to the killings in graphic detail
0:43:11 > 0:43:15during a conversation they were having via a central heating pipe
0:43:15 > 0:43:17connecting their cells.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23I was, sort of, like, intrigued to hear what he did have to say,
0:43:23 > 0:43:25even though it was sickening and frightening.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29Something was just, sort of, like, drawing me to the
0:43:29 > 0:43:31actual conversation, you know, listening to it.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Basically, I didn't like what I was hearing.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37It was like being told a horror story.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43Daley's statement was the evidence police needed to make their case.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50And on the 20th of October 1997, Michael Stone was charged
0:43:50 > 0:43:54with the murders of Lin and Megan Russell
0:43:54 > 0:43:56and the attempted murder of Josie.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09- REPORTER:- The man accused of murdering Lin Russell
0:44:09 > 0:44:13and her six-year-old daughter, Megan, has gone on trial.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16One year later, the trial of Michael Stone
0:44:16 > 0:44:19began at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22It's the most crowded courtroom I've ever been in.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24You had to have a ticket to get in,
0:44:24 > 0:44:26cos there was such massive interest.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31You could have said it was the hottest ticket in town.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33They were so many people here.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36Every national paper had at least one reporter here.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39Every morning, there would be the photographers' ballet
0:44:39 > 0:44:41of trying to get the van shot.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49- REPORTER:- In custody - the 38-year-old man
0:44:49 > 0:44:51accused of murdering a mother
0:44:51 > 0:44:55and her daughter and attempting to kill a third member of the family.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59You're sitting there, and they bring him up
0:44:59 > 0:45:02out of the cells for the first time, you know, you do look at him.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04You do want to see what this guy looks like.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07And there's a lot of anticipation and a lot of suspense.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10Everybody wanted somebody to be guilty of this,
0:45:10 > 0:45:11because it was so horrible.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16Opening the prosecution, Anne Rafferty QC
0:45:16 > 0:45:18said that although witnesses would be called,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21there was no scientific evidence to link him to the scene
0:45:21 > 0:45:22of the crime.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28The theory was that Stone had travelled to Chillenden
0:45:28 > 0:45:31to feed his drug habit, by committing a robbery...
0:45:33 > 0:45:36..during which the Russell family were attacked.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40The case was mostly circumstantial,
0:45:40 > 0:45:44but there were now three prisoners testifying about what Stone had
0:45:44 > 0:45:46allegedly said in jail.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51Mark Jennings and Barry Thompson
0:45:51 > 0:45:55claimed he'd suggested to each of them an involvement in the crimes.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59But the Crown's key witness was Damien Daley.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08Stephen Kamlish QC is examining Damien Daley's testimony.
0:46:10 > 0:46:15He says Stone started confessing to him through a pipe in the wall.
0:46:15 > 0:46:16And this is what he said...
0:46:16 > 0:46:20I'm going to summarise, but I'll read out some of the bits in full.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25"On Tuesday the 23rd of September 1997, about 8pm,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28"I was alone in my cell when I became aware of a prisoner
0:46:28 > 0:46:29"in a cell next to me.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34"Michael Stone talked about smashing an egg,
0:46:34 > 0:46:36"and that the inside was mush.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42"He then said, "I tied them up with the towels,
0:46:42 > 0:46:44"but I didn't need to, because they were out of the game."
0:46:50 > 0:46:54And then he got the impression that Stone was actually getting off
0:46:54 > 0:46:56on telling this story.
0:46:58 > 0:46:59"He said the towels were wet,
0:46:59 > 0:47:02"and mentioned something about shoelaces.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07Then he talked about the dog barking, and he told
0:47:07 > 0:47:11Stone to shut up, because he was sickened by what he was hearing.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14And he said, "I told him, "I'll tell the screws what you said.""
0:47:14 > 0:47:17So that is Daley's story.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20Powerful stuff, powerful stuff.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25- REPORTER:- The lawyer defending Michael Stone has told the court
0:47:25 > 0:47:28that the prosecution's case relies on evidence from what he called
0:47:28 > 0:47:30"a bunch of convicts."
0:47:31 > 0:47:35It was now up to Stone to decide whether to take the stand
0:47:35 > 0:47:38and defend himself against the prisoner's claims.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42The decision whether to give evidence or not
0:47:42 > 0:47:46is clearly a vital decision in any trial.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50Particularly in one as important as this.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55Daley was quite a consistent witness
0:47:55 > 0:47:59in the sense that he wouldn't be budged from his story.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03In all these cases, it's only his word against Michael Stone's.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07There was only one person who could speak to that,
0:48:07 > 0:48:09other than the witness for the prosecution,
0:48:09 > 0:48:11and that was Michael Stone himself.
0:48:13 > 0:48:15- REPORTER: - Lawyers acting for Michael Stone,
0:48:15 > 0:48:17the man accused of the Russell murders in Kent more than
0:48:17 > 0:48:20two years ago, say he will not go into the witness box.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26Why didn't we hear from Stone?
0:48:26 > 0:48:29The impact on the jury of not...
0:48:29 > 0:48:32- Not denying it.- ..not hearing from him, I mean, it's a massive risk.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34- Not having his day in court. - It's a massive risk, isn't it?
0:48:34 > 0:48:37- Yeah, course it is.- The real question the jury were going
0:48:37 > 0:48:38to be asking themselves is -
0:48:38 > 0:48:41all the other evidence is circumstantial evidence,
0:48:41 > 0:48:43so it may or may not be him.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46So the one thing the jury wanted to hear
0:48:46 > 0:48:49was his account of not having confessed to Daley. Right?
0:48:51 > 0:48:55That is the reason why he ought to have given evidence, to deny it.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57You want to hear what his response is.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00You want to see the look in his eye when he says, "I'm not guilty."
0:49:00 > 0:49:02You want to hear that and you want to see it.
0:49:02 > 0:49:07What about the impact on the jury of not seeing Stone defending himself?
0:49:07 > 0:49:09I would infer that there's something to hide,
0:49:09 > 0:49:12otherwise they'd be saying, "This wasn't me,
0:49:12 > 0:49:15"and I certainly didn't make that confession to him.
0:49:15 > 0:49:16"He's lying."
0:49:21 > 0:49:26The decision is always made by the defendant and not by his lawyers.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30It has to be his decision, whether to give evidence or not.
0:49:30 > 0:49:35I found it very easy to form a view early on
0:49:35 > 0:49:37that he would be a disastrous witness.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42- MICHAEL STONE: - 'I did very, very, very much
0:49:42 > 0:49:43'want to defend myself.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46'I wanted to scream it out.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52'You know, when they said to me, "Did you confess to Damien Daley
0:49:52 > 0:49:56'"through the pipe?" I would go, "No, of course I never.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58'And as soon as they started going, "Yes, you did, you did,
0:49:58 > 0:50:02'"we know you did, he said you did," I would have just lost my rag.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05'I would have just lost my rag. I would have just started screaming
0:50:05 > 0:50:07'at the prosecution, "You're setting me up, you dirty load
0:50:07 > 0:50:10'"of corrupt bastards." I would have started screaming at them,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12'and then I would have come across like a nutcase.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15'Clegg said, "You will come across exactly like the
0:50:15 > 0:50:17'"sort of person that's done this crime.
0:50:17 > 0:50:18'"Like a nutcase."'
0:50:23 > 0:50:26After 14 days, the trial was now over.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33You can see the jurors on the other side, and they're there,
0:50:33 > 0:50:34sitting in front of you.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38And you know that they're going to decide whether he goes to prison for
0:50:38 > 0:50:40the rest of his life, or not.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43- REPORTER:- The jury in the trial of Michael Stone has gone
0:50:43 > 0:50:46in to consider its verdict. The judge finished his summing up
0:50:46 > 0:50:49this morning and told the jury not to hurry in making their decision.
0:50:54 > 0:50:59After deliberating over two days, the jury returned its verdict.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06- REPORTER:- Michael Stone has been found guilty of murdering
0:51:06 > 0:51:08Lin Russell and her daughter, Megan, and trying to murder
0:51:08 > 0:51:10her other daughter, Josie.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20- REPORTER: - Michael Stone - heroin addict,
0:51:20 > 0:51:23a man with a violent personality disorder,
0:51:23 > 0:51:26a criminal record, now a convicted killer.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29The judge told him, "There can't be anyone in this country
0:51:29 > 0:51:32"who does not understand the horror of these offences."
0:51:32 > 0:51:35At that point Stone shouted out, "It wasn't me, Your Honour!
0:51:35 > 0:51:37"I didn't do it!"
0:51:39 > 0:51:42- REPORTER:- So tonight, Stone starts three life sentences for murder.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56I heard the guilty verdict,
0:51:56 > 0:51:58I actually couldn't believe it.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02It's like a big emotional kind of pain, in your heart, really.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06I saw Mick, and Mick was going, "I didn't do it!
0:52:06 > 0:52:08"It wasn't me! I didn't do it, Your Honour!"
0:52:08 > 0:52:10And there was, like, tears in his eyes.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13And I think my arm went out, and there was tears in mine.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18I just wanted to maintain a bit of self-respect and dignity
0:52:18 > 0:52:19for Mick, really.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26But from then on, I made a determined effort
0:52:26 > 0:52:28that I wasn't the sister of a murderer.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30I was the sister of a convicted murderer,
0:52:30 > 0:52:33and the two things are something entirely different.
0:52:36 > 0:52:41But within 24 hours of the verdict, there was a dramatic turn of events.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57One of the three alleged cell confessions they used
0:52:57 > 0:53:00in the first trial - Thompson - subsequently admitted
0:53:00 > 0:53:01that it was all false.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06He admitted, voluntarily, without being pressured,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09that he lied about the confession.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11So he actually contacted a journalist
0:53:11 > 0:53:14after the first conviction to say,
0:53:14 > 0:53:16"What I said wasn't true."
0:53:16 > 0:53:20And the second prisoner who received...
0:53:20 > 0:53:23said a confession, was a guy called Jennings,
0:53:23 > 0:53:29who it turned out had been paid £5,000, via his sister,
0:53:29 > 0:53:33by The Sun, with the promise of another 10,000 to come.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42With two out of the three of the prisoners discredited,
0:53:42 > 0:53:44Michael Stone's defence team lodged an appeal.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48- REPORTER:- The Crown had accepted that one of their key witnesses
0:53:48 > 0:53:51in the original trial had lied.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54For this reason alone, the appeal court judges said they
0:53:54 > 0:53:56were minded to allow the appeal.
0:53:58 > 0:54:03Stone's conviction was overturned and a retrial ordered.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05In the eyes of the law, he was innocent once again.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19But there was some evidence that the jury never got to hear.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23Buried within the case files is a statement taken after
0:54:23 > 0:54:25Stone first became a suspect.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28It's from a psychiatric nurse,
0:54:28 > 0:54:30part of the team that raised concerns after
0:54:30 > 0:54:31the Crimewatch programme.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37The testimony was never heard in court.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43I think we should just set out some of the things that
0:54:43 > 0:54:45his psychiatric nurse says.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48She said she only started seeing him in October '95,
0:54:48 > 0:54:51so that's, what, nine months before the killing?
0:54:51 > 0:54:54So this isn't historic, in that sense.
0:54:54 > 0:54:55And this is what she said -
0:54:55 > 0:54:58"Michael's behaviour was increasingly agitated and voluble,
0:54:58 > 0:55:01"and he was not amenable to reasoning."
0:55:01 > 0:55:04In fact, this is on the 4th of July '96,
0:55:04 > 0:55:07five days before the Chillenden murders.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10So, "Michael's behaviour was increasingly agitated,
0:55:10 > 0:55:14"focusing much of his angst towards a previous probation officer.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17"The intensity of Michael's anger increased,
0:55:17 > 0:55:21"followed by a series of explicit threats to harm or kill this person,
0:55:21 > 0:55:23"and his family."
0:55:29 > 0:55:33"He was, by now, shouting various threats of violence,
0:55:33 > 0:55:35"causing me to fear for my own safety,
0:55:35 > 0:55:38"and that of the probation officer and his family.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43"He asserted and emphasised his dangerousness,
0:55:43 > 0:55:47"suggesting he's too violent to be accommodated in prison
0:55:47 > 0:55:50"and would need to be admitted to Broadmoor Hospital,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53"with notions of achieving fame and glory for his crimes."
0:55:57 > 0:55:59It's made the hairs on my arms come up. It's just...
0:56:01 > 0:56:03It's so cold.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05So this would have been four or five days before the killings,
0:56:05 > 0:56:07where he was so aroused that he started shouting
0:56:07 > 0:56:10about what a danger he was to others.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13To me, it puts him as...
0:56:15 > 0:56:17- ..prime suspect. - The number one suspect.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:56:20 > 0:56:25On the 4th of July, which was the last time she saw him
0:56:25 > 0:56:27before the killing, she says this -
0:56:27 > 0:56:32"Michael's behaviour was increasingly agitated and voluble,
0:56:32 > 0:56:34"and he was not amenable to reasoning.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37"Followed by a series of explicit threats to harm or kill
0:56:37 > 0:56:40"the probation officer and his family."
0:56:40 > 0:56:43To have this much uncontrollable anger,
0:56:43 > 0:56:47this begins to change your perception of him.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51And none of this actually indicates that he has done this crime
0:56:51 > 0:56:53that we're talking about.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55None of them prove this crime at all.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58This case, and piecing together who done it,
0:56:58 > 0:57:01is about the group of people included within
0:57:01 > 0:57:03the killer's profile.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05Anybody that says, "I want to go out and kill people,
0:57:05 > 0:57:09"and I don't care about it," you'd say was in the broad group of people
0:57:09 > 0:57:11who might have committed this crime.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13Cos everybody reading about this crime would say,
0:57:13 > 0:57:15"Who the hell could do that?"
0:57:15 > 0:57:17It's a crime of a psychopath.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23- MICHAEL STONE:- 'So far as my probation officer goes, right...
0:57:26 > 0:57:28'Obviously, like, he...
0:57:28 > 0:57:29'He, he...
0:57:29 > 0:57:32'He has decided, right, that...
0:57:32 > 0:57:34'Me and my girlfriend, Rachel,
0:57:34 > 0:57:36'right, were in a relationship together,
0:57:36 > 0:57:42'and he's decided that we're a bad influence on each other, right?
0:57:42 > 0:57:46'Then I said, "How would he like it if I did things to him?"
0:57:46 > 0:57:49'And I said, "That fucking bastard's been up there,
0:57:49 > 0:57:51'"and splitting me up with my girlfriend.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54'"How would he like it if I go round his house and fucking kill him,
0:57:54 > 0:57:57'"kill his fucking family, and burn his fucking house down?"
0:57:57 > 0:57:58'Do you know what I mean?'
0:58:05 > 0:58:08- REPORTER:- The jury has begun hearing evidence in the second trial
0:58:08 > 0:58:09of Michael Stone.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13If the jury believed Daley, he goes down.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16If they don't, Stone walks.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20She does remember, distinctly, blood on his top.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23I mean, you've got the worst crime in Kent,
0:58:23 > 0:58:26and the principal exhibit goes missing.
0:58:27 > 0:58:29I'm angry at this situation.
0:58:29 > 0:58:31You're on the jury.
0:58:31 > 0:58:33Is Stone guilty?