Michael Stone, now 59, is pictured leaving the Court of Appeal in London in 2005Convicted murderer Michael Stone has lost his bid for freedom after failing to convince appeals officials Milly Dowler's killer Levi Bellfield was to blame for his crimes. Stone, 59, was jailed for life following a retrial over the fatal hammer attack on Lin Russell, 45, and her six-year-old daughter Meghan in Kent in 1996. Her sister Josie, then nine, survived the brutal attack, leaving her traumatised and unable to speak for a whole year. In 2017 his lawyers launched an appeal against his convictions, claiming schoolgirl Milly Dowler's killer Levi Bellfield was behind the Russell murders. Josie, then nine, was tied up and bludgeoned with a hammer in the attack that also killed the family dog Lucy.

Source: Daily Mail November 06, 2019 01:45 UTC