Legal experts urge caution over Levi Bellfield 'confession' to Russell murders

Legal experts are warning that serial killer Levi Bellfield's alleged confession to the murders of Lin and Megan Russell in Kent 26 years ago should be treated with "extreme caution".

Bellfield, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, has written a statement with details of the killings of both Lin and Megan, according to the legal team representing Michael Stone.

Stone was twice found guilty of their murders in Chillenden, but his lawyers now say Bellfield's admission casts doubt on that conviction. 

But criminologists say if Levi Bellfield has indeed confessed, there are many reasons why he may not be telling the truth.

Danny Shaw, Crime and Policing Analyst said: "I think this alleged confession has to be taken seriously, and I'm sure it will be.

"But I think there also needs to be a lot of caution attached to it, because firstly, there is a man in prison, Michael Stone, who was convicted by a jury, and whose attempts so far at appealing against his conviction have failed.

"Secondly, there may be many reasons why Levi Bellfield has come up with this apparent confession.

"Those reasons may not include the fact that he did commit the crimes.

"It needs to be treated with a lot of caution and this alleged confession will have to be gone through with a fine-toothed comb to examine whether or not he is indeed telling truth, or whether he is making it up for some motive, that only he probably knows."

Lin Russell and her six-year-old daughter Megan were bludgeoned to death on a rural footpath in July 1996. Ms Russell’s other daughter Josie, then nine, suffered severe head injuries in the attack but survived.

Danny Shaw, Crime and Policing analyst

Mr Shaw continued: "Levi Bellfield is a serial killer. He is a manipulative man, a narcissist, and an attention seeker. It may be by making this alleged confession, he's putting himself back in the news.

"He's gaining attention and more and more notoriety.

"Perhaps he thinks people will view him more sympathetically, because he's coming clean and admitting to an offence as it were. That may be his motive.

"It is possible that Levi Bellfield is in fact lying."

Peter Squires, professor in criminology at the University of Brighton, said Levi Bellfield has a "track record of admitting to things which do not materialise".

Prof Peter Squires, University of Brighton

He added: "I think it may well be that he is bored, calculating and out to cause mischief.

"I think he is motivated by malice, and there have been suggestions in the past that he has drip fed information to the media through his lawyers, just to pile on the agony for the families of his victims."

Bellfield's alleged confession statement will be passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission as Michael Stone's lawyers prepare for a fresh appeal.