Happy Birthday Josie RussellIn the summer months of 1996, I recall the newsreader’s headline about a vicious attack which had left a mother and her six-year-old daughter dead and her elder daughter fighting for her life. And fight she did. Josie is now in her final year at Bangor University where she has been studying for an art diploma. She has a steady boyfriend Iwan and in 2006, she won an award for her work with the charity Born Free Foundation, for helping release three circus lions into a reserve in Africa. She’s also raised £45,000 working on a project with the Sun newspaper.
July 9th 1996 Chillenden, Kent.
On a warm summer’s afternoon on July 9 1996, while walking home from school, Lin Russell,
her six-year-old daughter Megan and their pet dog Lucy, were bludgeoned to death by a person or persons unknown. A that time and for some time thereafter, the country was on massive manhunt and nine-year-old daughter Josie Russell’s life 
hung in the balance. She suffered severe head
injuries and had to rebuild her life physically and emotionally. She still has trouble with language, spelling and writing which shows the catastrophic injury she suffered that day. Let’s remember that she needed a series of surgeries to repair her battered skull. She was never meant to live. Her resilience and willpower sustained her, the doctor’s use of their skills, pulled her through and her father’s dedication and love cherished her.
her six-year-old daughter Megan and their pet dog Lucy, were bludgeoned to death by a person or persons unknown. A that time and for some time thereafter, the country was on massive manhunt and nine-year-old daughter Josie Russell’s life 
hung in the balance. She suffered severe head
injuries and had to rebuild her life physically and emotionally. She still has trouble with language, spelling and writing which shows the catastrophic injury she suffered that day. Let’s remember that she needed a series of surgeries to repair her battered skull. She was never meant to live. Her resilience and willpower sustained her, the doctor’s use of their skills, pulled her through and her father’s dedication and love cherished her.Stone - Three life sentences
On October 6, 1998, Michael Stone went on trial charged for the murders of Josie’s mother Lin and her six-year-old sister Megan and with the attempted murder of Josie Russell. He pleaded not guilty, but was found guilty and given three life sentences. He was to appeal twice and turned down twice. He is currently launching yet another appeal, more on that tomorrow. I was going to speak more about Michael Stone but the more I’ve researched, the more it has brought up my own feelings about this man. I would rather put a separate blog entry tomorrow because this entry is for Josie and why overshadow her today. She has come a long way and it is her own determination which has got her there.“I'm ready to find out more about what happened to me and how it affected who I am today.”
One Life has another one of their excellent programmes next Tuesday 10.35pm dedicated to Josie in which she talks about her life now and the tragic events of the past or at least what Josie remembers. I remember watching news footage and having to switc
h off because I found it so distressing but was wowed by Josie’s father, Dr Shaun Russell, who was told by a police officer on that chilling day, that he had actually lost his whole family. A police officer at the scene then noticed that Josie was breathing and she was taken straight to hospital however Dr Russell was told to expect the worse. The Russell’s were to move back to their former home in Gwynedd, Wales, as the Kent home held too many memories. Josie started her long journey back to health but was so traumatised and so severely injured that she did not speak for months.
One Life has another one of their excellent programmes next Tuesday 10.35pm dedicated to Josie in which she talks about her life now and the tragic events of the past or at least what Josie remembers. I remember watching news footage and having to switc
h off because I found it so distressing but was wowed by Josie’s father, Dr Shaun Russell, who was told by a police officer on that chilling day, that he had actually lost his whole family. A police officer at the scene then noticed that Josie was breathing and she was taken straight to hospital however Dr Russell was told to expect the worse. The Russell’s were to move back to their former home in Gwynedd, Wales, as the Kent home held too many memories. Josie started her long journey back to health but was so traumatised and so severely injured that she did not speak for months.Confronting her demons
In the One Life programme, Josie revisits old faces, the doctor who first assessed her when she was admitted to King’s College Hospital, the little primary school in North Wales that made her feel so welcome and the police officers who spent two years putting evidence together. It was a year before the breakthrough was made which led to Michael Stone being arrested when Stone’s psychiatrist was watching a Crimewatch appeal and he realised that he could have the murderer as a client.
In the One Life programme, Josie revisits old faces, the doctor who first assessed her when she was admitted to King’s College Hospital, the little primary school in North Wales that made her feel so welcome and the police officers who spent two years putting evidence together. It was a year before the breakthrough was made which led to Michael Stone being arrested when Stone’s psychiatrist was watching a Crimewatch appeal and he realised that he could have the murderer as a client.
Now, at 21, Josie says she wants to confront her demons, but she cannot face Michael Stone who is now 46 and serving 25 years in Long Sutton Prison in York. Josie says: “I don’t really want to think about that now. It's been really good filling in the gaps and meeting all the people like the doctor, and Ed and Pauline, (police officers) But I don’t want to go to Kent again or talk about Michael Stone because there’s no point. The only thing I do think about it sometimes is why did he do it, if he did. I just want to think about the good memories of Lin and Megan and mostly about the future, now.”
Josie has minimal memories of her mother and sister which is such a shame but understandable. She has blocked out what happened on that July day and does not talk about it with her father. Maybe that is what is working for her? We all have different personalities and this may be right for Josie - But storing up problems which is what blocking a memory is, could be detrimental. I hope she's not making this worse for herself. Need to watch the programme to find out more however Josie Russell has grown into a beautiful young woman and Dr Shaun Russell deserves to be a very proud father.
Tomorrow’s blog entry is;
Did Michael Stone kill Lin and Megan Russell and attempt to kill Josie Russell?
BBC Link Josie Russell: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7317148.stm
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