Brothers jailed for murder in 1984 hate crime spree against men they thought were gay
Brothers Michael and Anthony Stewart were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 10 years and 15 years respectively at the Old Bailey for the 1984 murder of constable Anthony Littler “for fun”.
Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, were just 15 and 18 when they encountered Anthony Littler as he walked home in East Finchley, north London, on May 1, 1984.
The victim, a true ale enthusiast, had spent the evening in a pub in Carshalton, Surrey, at a meeting of the Ponds Branch of the Forest Beer Preservation Society.
He was ambushed and left for dead as he walked home down a narrow side street from East Finchley Tube station at 12.18am.
Mr Littler, 45, was shot twice in the head with a blunt weapon and was found fatally wounded half an hour later, along with his briefcase, £80 in cash and credit cards.
Moments after the attack, Michael Stewart had called an ambulance anonymously from a phone booth, but after he hung up the search for the injured man was called off.
Half an hour later Mr Littler was found by members of the public lying in a pool of blood, suffering from a “catastrophic” brain injury.
Jurors were told that in the spring of 1984 the Stewart brothers and their friends made a “hobby” of targeting lonely men they believed were gay.
But during house-to-house police inquiries, Mr Littler claimed they were at home at the time of the attack, while sweeper Anthony Stewart also insisted he had never used the street.
Despite calls on BBC Crimewatch and ITV’s Police 5, no meaningful leads were found and the case remained unsolved for decades, the Old Bailey heard.
The breakthrough came on the 29th anniversary of Mr Littler’s death, when the defendants’ younger brother Daniel, then 10, contacted police following a family dispute.
Jurors were told he told officers his brothers confessed to the murder and boasted about being involved in the “bizarre beating”.
The court heard that years after the murder, Michael Stewart also confessed his crime to a girlfriend and even showed her where the incident took place.
In 2022, police reopened the investigation and employed undercover investigative techniques against the brothers, bugging their car and Michael’s home.
The court heard that although Anthony was said to be a man of few words, Michael proved to have a “loose tongue” and boasted about his actions in 1984.
Both defendants, from north London, who refused to give evidence, denied involvement.
The Old Bailey jury deliberated for less than three hours on Monday to find them guilty of murder.
