Brothers jailed for 1984 murder during violent spree against men they thought were gay

Two brothers have been jailed for murdering a civil servant in 1984 during a spree of violence against men they thought were gay.

Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, were convicted by an Old Bailey jury in June of killing Anthony Littler in East Finchley and sentenced on Friday.

The siblings had denied any involvement.

Michael Stewart, the "lookout", was sentenced to 10 years behind bars, while his elder brother, who the judge said was likely to have delivered the fatal blow, received a jail term of 15 years.

Mr Littler, 45, was set upon as he walked home in north London on 1 May 1984.

The civil servant was found dead in an alleyway close to East Finchley Tube station, with no one identified as responsible for his murder at the time.

Judge Mrs Justice Cutts described Mr Littler as a "quiet, kind and gentle man who lived a quiet, decent and honest life".

"This was no impulsive attack," said Mrs Justice Cutts. "I am quite sure that your group was lying in wait in and around the alley for a victim, someone to attack and to rob. This is what I am satisfied you were in the habit of doing.

"You were not planning to rob just anyone. You were targeting a group in particular, and that was homosexual men. You were not just threatening violence, you were perpetrating it."

She added that there was "no evidence" that Mr Littler, who had attended a real ale club meeting on the night of his murder, was gay.

The judge said: "There is no evidence that Mr Littler was homosexual, but he was a lone man in an area you frequented to target homosexual men, and I have no doubt that he was targeted for that reason."

In a statement, Patricia McClure, Mr Littler's cousin, said: "I am particularly angry these murderers have had 42 years of freedom, and they picked Anthony at random for fun, while I am glad that people have been found accountable."

Mr Littler was "kind" with a "great sense of humour", but did not talk much about his job because of the Official Secrets Act, she added.

Jurors were told how the brothers, who were aged 15 and 18 respectively at the time of the murder, had made a "hobby" of targeting lone men who they believed to be gay.

Mr Littler suffered two fractures to the skull, one of which was associated with "catastrophic" brain injury, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Senior crown prosecutor Samantha Yelland said Mr Littler had been the victim of a hate crime.

The case remained unsolved for decades, but a breakthrough came on the 29th anniversary of Mr Littler's death.

Following a family falling-out, the defendants' younger brother Daniel, who was 10 at the time, came forward to the police.

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He told officers his older brothers had confessed to the killing and boasted about being involved in "queer bashing", jurors were told.

Years after the killing, Michael Stewart had also admitted his guilt to a girlfriend, and even showed her where it happened, the court had heard.

In 2022, police reopened the investigation, and deployed covert investigative techniques against the brothers, bugging their cars and Michael's home.

(c) Sky News 2026: Brothers jailed for 1984 murder during violent spree against men they thought were gay