Key facts
- Carpenter Ray Buck, who died in 2000, is reportedly a new prime suspect in the 1996 murders of Lin and Megan Russell.
- An eyewitness claims to have heard Buck confess to the killings on the day they occurred.
- One of Buck's sons has agreed to provide a DNA sample to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
- Michael Stone, who was convicted of the murders in 1998, has also provided a new DNA sample.
- Serial killer Levi Bellfield, who previously confessed to the murders, has also given a DNA sample.
A new suspect, carpenter Ray Buck, has reportedly emerged in the 1996 hammer murders of Lin Russell and her six-year-old daughter Megan. Buck, who died by suicide in 2000, is alleged to have confessed to the killings on the day they occurred, according to an eyewitness. This development comes as the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is undertaking a forensic assessment of the case, including taking new DNA samples from the man currently convicted of the murders, Michael Stone.
Lin and Megan Russell were brutally attacked with a claw hammer while walking on a country lane near Chillenden, Kent, in July 1996. Lin's nine-year-old daughter Josie survived the attack with severe head injuries. Michael Stone was convicted in 1998 of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. His conviction was based largely on testimony from a former inmate, as direct forensic evidence linking him to the crime scene was limited. Stone's original conviction was overturned on appeal due to a witness admitting to lying, but he was retried and found guilty again in 2001.
Lawyers for Michael Stone have indicated that a new suspect could be responsible for the murders. In addition to Buck, serial killer Levi Bellfield, who is serving a life sentence for other murders, has also provided a DNA sample after previously confessing to the Russell killings, though police did not believe his claims. Bellfield has reportedly boasted that his DNA will be found at the crime scene. Buck himself was questioned by detectives during the original investigation but was not treated as a suspect at the time. One of Buck's sons has now agreed to provide a DNA sample to assist the CCRC's review.