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Netflix Revives Focus on Chillenden Murders as Michael Stone Remains in Prison

The new streaming release renews scrutiny of a long-disputed conviction, with the case still under review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Overview

  • The one-off documentary The Chillenden Murders: Who Killed Lin and Megan? first aired on Channel 5 and is now available on Netflix.
  • In July 1996, Lin Russell and her six-year-old daughter Megan were killed on a country lane in Chillenden, Kent, and nine-year-old Josie survived the hammer attack.
  • Michael Stone was arrested after a Crimewatch appeal, convicted, and given three life sentences with a 25-year minimum term; he is currently held at HMP Full Sutton.
  • Stone maintains his innocence, lost a second appeal in 2005, was refused permission for a 2011 judicial review, and his case has been under active CCRC investigation since 2017 without a decision.
  • Serial killer Levi Bellfield confessed to the murders in 2022 before retracting the claim, while survivor Josie Russell has rebuilt her life in Wales as an artist.