In 1996 the murders of Lin and Megan Russell and attempted murder of Josie Russell on a quiet country lane in Kent horrified the nation. The Chillenden Murders II
Doubts being raised about Stone’s guilt. And Stone himself has stuck to the same story. But is he a liar and a killer, or could the wrong man be in prison? ibid.
But Jo-Ane Goodwin’s article questioning Sheree Batt’s evidence and Michael Stone’s guilt was published. ibid.
Its star witness – a former prisoner called Damien Daley … ‘I said, You’re fitting Stone up, and he said, Yes.’ ibid.
Every area where they’ve got a positive [DNA], it’s not him [Stone]. ibid.
One name keeps cropping up – Levi Bellfield … he used a hammer as a weapon. ibid.
A mother, Lin Russell, her two daughters Megan and Josie, and Lucy their family dog, are making their way home after a swimming gala … One of the most controversial and tragic cases Britain has ever witnessed. Who Killed Lin & Megan Russell? Channel 5 2023
One of the eye-witnesses who had seen a man in a beige car driving away from the scene helped police to produce an e-fit. ibid.
More than two years after the murders, the trial of Michael Stone begins at Maidstone Crown Court. ibid.
Within days of the verdict, a revelation in the media shocked the nation: ‘I Told a Pack of Lies’ [headline]. ibid. witness
‘I was very surprised he was found guilty the second time because the second jury had even less to go on than the first one.’ ibid. journalist
‘No DNA evidence was actually found on the bootlace. None of it could be linked to Stone.’ ibid.
The car that Stone owned at the time was a white Toyota. ibid.
Michael Stone lost a second appeal against his conviction in 2005. In 2011 Stone’s legal team was refused permission to apply for judicial review of the CCRC decision not to refer his case to the Court of Appeal. ibid. captions
I’ve suffered for it mentally and I just want to get some closure. The Russell Murders: Who Killed Lin & Megan? I: Horrific Crime, No Suspect, rozzer revisits scene, Sky Documentaries 2023
Police investigating the murder of a mother and daughter in Kent say they were victims of a brutal frenzied attack. ibid. BBC new
We have now received a full confession from Levi Bellfield. ibid. rozzers’ press conference
A mother and her two daughters bludgeoned by a hammer was just horrendous. ibid. woman
The motive at the moment is incomprehensible. The Russell Murders: Who Killed Lin & Megan? II: The Media vs Michael Stone, rozzer
It Wasn’t Me. I Wasn’t There. ibid. Michael Stone
Police will be very reluctant to admit they made a mistake. ibid. journalist
They [rozzers] were set on me like a pack of hounds. ibid. Michael Stone
They [rozzers] always assured me there was DNA found at the scene. ibid. Michael Stone’s sister
The first muttering of doubt over the [Stone] conviction were beginning to emerge. The Russell Murders: Who Killed Lin & Megan III: Confessions & Serial Killers, journalist
The appeal judges insisted on a retrial. ibid.
He [prison witness] would have sold his grandmother down the pan to get the charges dropped. ibid. Michael Stone
The jury came back with guilty. I nearly had a heart attack on the spot. ibid.
RUXTON, BUCK: News Reports - Daily Mirror - Gabriel Weston: Catching History’s Criminals TV -
Yard Called In To Ravine Crime: Bodies Dissected by Expert? News report
Cyclops Eye Find In Ravine: Suggestions That There Were Three Bodies. News report
Doctor Accused Of Murder: Sensation During Ravine Mystery Inquiries. Daily Mirror front page
The bodies were of two women. Great Crimes & Trials s3e12: Buck Ruxton, BBC 1996
Lancaster police were already interested in Dr Ruxton since not only had his nurse-maid disappeared but his wife as well. ibid.
In 1930 Ruxton bought a substantial general medical practice in Lancaster. ibid.
When she [housekeeper] came to clean the carpets Mrs Hampshire found that they had been soaked in what appeared to be blood. ibid.
Ruxton was questioned at length, and finally at 7.30 that evening he was charged with the murder of his wife and Mary Rogerson. ibid.
Public interest was intense. ibid.
He was sentenced to death. ibid.
More bundles were discovered: each contained decomposing human remains … The remains were mutilated beyond recognition … They knew they were dealing with a murderer who probably had medical training, but who were the victims? … They established there was two victims … It was enough for police to question Buck Ruxton on suspicion of murder … But then Glaister had an idea … He took the original photo and superimposed it over his own macabre recreation. Gabriel Weston: Catching History’s Criminals I: A Question of Identity, BBC 2015
It was the first time entomology had been used as part of a murder investigation. ibid.
RYAN, MICHAEL: Crimes that Shook Britain TV - BBC online - Killing Spree: Hungerford Massacre TV - Britain’s Most Evil Killers TV - The Hungerford Massacre TV -
August 1987: a lone gunman Michael Ryan took to the streets of Hungerford in Berkshire with an armoury of weapons. In the space of one hour he fired over a hundred and ninety shots, killing sixteen people and injuring a further fifteen. Crimes that Shook Britain s1e1: Michael Ryan, CI 2008
Michael Ryan was a twenty-seven-year-old who lived with his mum in Hungerford. ibid.
Police hear a single muffled shot from inside the school. ibid.
Gun laws in the UK were changed. ibid.
A man has shot 14 people dead in the Berkshire town of Hungerford.
Police identified the gunman as Michael Ryan, 27.
Local people described him as a ‘loner’ and a ‘gun fanatic’.
Ryan was armed with an automatic rifle, a pistol and at least one hand grenade when he went on the rampage early on Wednesday afternoon.
His victims included his mother and a police officer who tried to tackle him in Hungerford which lies about 60 miles (96km) west of London.
At least 16 people are known to have been injured. BBC online article On This Day 19th August
In August 1987 something in 27-year-old Michael Ryan snapped causing him to embark on a devastating killing spree on the streets of his hometown of Hungerford. Killing Spree: Hungerford Massacre, CI 2017
During a killing spree that had so far lasted six and a half hours sixteen people had died and fifteen others had been injured. ibid.
His mother reportedly doted on him and continued to indulge his every whim. ibid.
19th August 1987: This rural idyll was about to become the setting for one of the worst mass shootings in British history. Britain’s Most Evil Killers s1e11: Michael Ryan, Pick 2017
A gun-obsessed local man named Michael Ryan had taken to the streets firing randomly at strangers. ibid.
By shooting 16 people in less than 2 hours Michael Ryan had undoubtedly become one of Britain’s most evil killers. ibid.
Calls to make drastic changes to the firearms laws in the UK. ibid.
On a summer’s day in 1987 a quiet English town became the victim of a one-man killing spree. The Hungerford Massacre, BBC 1994
He belongs to two gun clubs. All his weapons and licensed and legal. He’s never been in trouble with the police. ibid.
Killing his mother slows the pace of the shootings. ibid.
16 people are dead; 15 others are seriously wounded. ibid.
RYEN FAMILY MASSACRE: viz Murder & Miscarriages of Justice: KEVIN COOPER
RZESZOWSKI, DAMIAN: The Jersey Slayings TV - David Wilson TV - BBC online -
What drove a seemingly devoted father and husband to slaughter his entire family? The Jersey Slayings, CI 2013
August 2011: news of brutal multiple stabbings. ibid.
Medical experts differing on whether this killer was sane at the time of the stabbings. ibid.
There was a chilling Gothic clarity about the order in which he chose his victims and the method by which he killed his victims. Professor David Wilson
A man who killed six people, including his wife and children, in Jersey has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by Jersey’s Royal Court.
Damian Rzeszowski, 32, stabbed Izabela Rzeszowska, 30, Kinga, five, and Kacper, two, in St Helier on 14 August last year.
He also killed his father-in-law, his wife’s friend and her daughter.
After five hours of legal arguments earlier, the Jurats took two hours to consider their verdict.
Rzeszowski was sentenced to 30 years for each victim, the sentences to run concurrently in a UK prison. BBC online news article 29th October 2012