In a sparsely furnished cell at HMP Frankland, Michael Stone is anticipated to receive a small sample collection tube from an investigator looking into potential miscarriages of justice today.
Currently serving a life sentence for the murders of Lin Russell and her daughter Megan, Stone is scheduled to provide a DNA sample that may lead to his exoneration from the crime.
Coincidentally, the Criminal Cases Review Commission is conducting an investigation on the 30th anniversary of one of the most shocking crimes in recent British history.
On July 9, 1996, six-year-old Megan and her nine-year-old sister Josie had been at a swimming gala. Their mother, Lin, a 45-year-old geologist, along with their white terrier Lucy, picked them up from school in the Kent village of Goodnestone.
They took a shortcut through cornfields and a small wood towards Nonington, where they resided in a cottage with the girls’ father, Shaun. Later that day, a man in a car approached them, brandishing a hammer, leading to a brutal assault on the family.
Following the tragic incident, Josie was found alive, although severely injured, while her mother and sister were tragically killed. The case was marred by a lack of forensic evidence, and the motive behind the attack remained unclear.
Despite the conviction of Stone, doubts lingered due to the absence of concrete evidence linking him to the crime. The case largely relied on questionable prison confessions and witness testimonies.
As investigations continue, the possibility of a miscarriage of justice is being explored by the Criminal Cases Review Commission to ascertain the validity of Stone’s conviction and potential exoneration.
Should the court find grounds for appeal, there is a chance that Stone’s conviction could be overturned, shedding new light on the decades-old case.