A new suspect has emerged in the notorious 1996 hammer murders of Lin Russell and her six-year-old daughter Megan, with the Daily Mail revealing that the man, Raymond Buck, left behind a suicide note allegedly stating "I cannot cope with the guilt." Buck, a carpenter and plumber said to have been obsessed with the occult, took his own life in 2000, and his emergence as a possible alternative culprit strengthens efforts to overturn the conviction of Michael Stone, who has spent almost 30 years in prison for the killings while consistently maintaining his innocence.

Buck was named after his family members gave sworn statements to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the UK's miscarriage of justice watchdog, and a relative has agreed to provide a DNA sample to be tested against crime scene evidence. Stone's solicitor, Karen Todner, said she has been unable to locate the note via the coroner's office but believes its existence, combined with prior confessions from serial killer Levi Bellfield, could be enough to force Stone's case back to the Court of Appeal even without a DNA match. Stone's sister Barbara also welcomed the development, saying she does not believe a jury would have convicted her brother had this evidence been available at trial.