London - Josie Russell (9) was left for dead, tied and blindfolded to a tree beside the battered bodies of her mother and six-year-old sister after the family was subjected to a vicious hammer attack in Kent, in 1996, a court heard yesterday.
Mr Michael Stone (38) confessed to the crimes and told a fellow prisoner that the attack was "like smashing an egg", Maidstone Crown Court heard. Mr Stone, unemployed and from the Kent town of Gillingham is charged with the murder of Lin, a doctor of theology, and Megan Russell, and the attempted murder of Josie. He has pleaded not guilty to all three counts.