Brothers found guilty of hate crime murder of Anthony Littler 42 years later

Two brothers who embarked on a campaign of horrific violence targeting gay men have been convicted of murdering a civil servant more than four decades ago. Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, were merely 15 and 18 years old when they killed Anthony Littler as he made his way home in East Finchley, north London, on 1 May 1984. Mr Littler, 45, was struck twice on the head with a blunt object and was discovered by passers-by lying in a pool of blood in an alleyway. He was found half an hour following the attack, still in possession of his briefcase, £80 in cash and credit cards. He had sustained a "catastrophic" brain injury during the assault. Michael Stewart had anonymously telephoned for an ambulance from a phone box moments after the attack, but the search for an injured man was abandoned after he ended the call. By spring 1984, the Stewart brothers and their associates had turned the targeting of solitary men they suspected of being gay into a disturbing "hobby", jurors heard, reports the Mirror . However, during door-to-door police enquiries, they maintained they were at home when Mr Littler was attacked, with refuse collector Anthony Stewart insisting he never used the alleyway. Despite appeals on BBC Crimewatch and ITV's Police 5, no significant leads emerged and the case went unsolved for decades, the Old Bailey was told. The breakthrough arrived on the 29th anniversary of Mr Littler's death, when the defendants' younger brother Daniel, who was 10 at the time, approached police following a family dispute. He informed officers that his elder brothers had admitted to the killing and bragged about taking part in "queer bashing", jurors heard. Years following the murder, Michael Stewart had also confessed his involvement to a girlfriend and even took her to the location where it occurred, the court was told. In 2022, police reopened the case and employed covert investigative methods against the brothers, placing listening devices in their vehicles and Michael's residence. Anthony was described as a man of few words, but Michael was found to have a "loose tongue" and boasted about his actions in 1984, the court heard. Following an Old Bailey trial, a jury took less than three hours to convict them of murder on Monday. The "unusual" choice to use covert tactics was taken due to the lack of other evidence available to prosecute the historic hate crime, Senior Crown prosecutor Samantha Yelland said. Following the guilty verdicts, Ms Yelland told reporters: "I'm so pleased that we've managed to get justice all these years later for Anthony Littler. It's never right that someone dies in these circumstances, in particular in a hate crime. I'm glad that we've been able to get justice for his family." Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, of Scotland Yard, said: "They targeted Anthony because he was alone, defenceless and walking down a dark alley in which they knew no-one would see them carrying out their horrendous assault." During the trial, prosecutor John Price KC outlined the sequence of events that led to Mr Littler's death. He arrived at East Finchley Tube station at 12.18am on May 1 and made his way down a narrow alleyway, where he was set upon. Mr Price said the attackers had lain in wait and "ambushed" Mr Littler, striking him over the head immediately, despite there being no evidence they had any prior knowledge of their victim. Roughly half an hour later, Annalieze and James Hainge discovered Mr Littler lying injured in the alleyway as they made their way home from the station. Mrs Hainge rushed to contact the emergency services from a nearby phone box while her husband remained with Mr Littler. He had sustained two skull fractures and a "catastrophic brain injury" from which he died at the scene. Earlier, at 12.22am, an unidentified individual had telephoned an operator requesting an "ambulance – quick". He told her: "I can't stop, just get an ambulance to East Finchley station, there's a man hurt outside the station." The London Ambulance Service recorded the caller stating the casualty was "bleeding heavily" before the line went dead. The call handler noted that the male appeared "abnormally concerned over the matter", was "well spoken" and had a "young sounding voice". Station staff searched the surrounding area but found no sign of an injured man, and the incident was stood down, the court heard. Mr Price informed jurors that, given the timing of the call, the unidentified caller must have been present during the attack on Mr Littler, yet had provided "wholly inaccurate information". He said: "The prosecution submits that 42 years later, the evidence now available shows that it was Michael Stewart who had made that first 999 call at 12.22am and then hung up without giving the operator his name or the information she needed." Both defendants, from north London, who chose not to give evidence, had denied any involvement. Following the guilty verdicts, the brothers were remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on July 3.