A three-part television series will once again look into whether Michael Stone was responsible for the notorious Russell murders in which a mother and her six-year-old daughter were bludgeoned to death with a hammer.

The in-depth documentary will re-examine one of the most shocking crimes of the 1990s and ask whether former heroin addict Stone, from Gillingham, the man who was found guilty, could be innocent.

After two trials and an appeal, doubts still remain for some over Stone’s conviction due to the lack of any physical evidence linking him to the crime.

Michael Stone’s family, including his sister Barbara, who has fought tirelessly for his release, were “devastated” after learning his convictions for the savage murders in an isolated country lane in Chillenden, near Canterbury, will not be referred to The Court of Appeal.

Stone was 37 when he was handed three life sentences for the murders committed in July 1996.

The prisoner, 62, has always maintained his innocence, with renewed hope last month when Milly Dowler killer Levi Bellfield, 54, allegedly confessed to being behind the attack which also left Megan’s sister Josie, with severe head injuries.

However, it was a confession he has since withdrawn.

The new documentary – entitled The Russell Murders: Who Killed Lin and Megan? – features interviews from those closest to the case, many who have never spoken before, including the police officer who discovered the bodies and saved the life of Megan’s sister, Josie, then aged nine.

Reporters talk to a former prisoner who claims evidence against Stone was based on the lies of a fellow inmate, Damien Daley.

It also includes exclusive interviews with Stone, from HM Prison Frankland, Co Durham via the legal team fighting to clear his name for the last 20 years.

The opening episode tells of how Lin Russell and her two daughters were attacked by a man with a hammer as they walked home from school through the Kent countryside.

Lin and Megan were killed, yet miraculously, Josie, left for dead, survived the attack and became a key witness in the police’s hunt for the killer.

The series will be premiering on Sky Documentaries and NOW at 9pm on Saturday, September 16. The second and third episodes will air on subsequent Sundays.