The Chillenden Murders

Abstract
Prof. Meakin will present about a case that took place in 1996, where Lin Russell and her daughter Megan were murdered and 9-year-old Josie was almost murdered as well. These murders led to one of the biggest manhunts ever undertaken by British police. One year later, Michael Stone, a local heroin addict and petty criminal, was arrested, charged and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Almost 20 years on, Stone maintained his innocence, and questions remained over his conviction. A team of experts with backgrounds in policing, forensic sciences, law, and criminology - including Prof. Meakin – got access to the collection of original case files. They re-examined the evidence for the BBC2 documentary ‘The Chillenden Murders’. Georgina will present us the case, discuss what the team discovered, and the implications of the forensic evidence found at the scene.

About the Speaker
Prof. Georgina Meakin joined the Centre for Forensic Science in October 2019, having spent six years at University College London’s Centre for the Forensic Sciences, where she taught on the MSc programme and conducted and supervised forensic science research. In addition to a PhD and employment history in molecular genetics, she completed an MSc in Forensic and Analytical Science at the University of Huddersfield in 2008 and practiced as a Forensic Scientist at The Forensic Institute in Glasgow from 2010 to 2012. She continues to provide advice and consultancy in casework in the UK, USA and various other countries, and her research focuses on investigating the transfer, persistence, prevalence and recovery (TPPR) of DNA and other trace evidence. She is particularly interested in the indirect transfer of DNA and how this affects the evaluation of trace DNA in casework: she has co-authored two of the major review articles on this subject.