Michael and Anthony Stewart have been jailed for the 1984 murder of Anthony Littler, a civil servant who was found dead in an alleyway in East Finchley, north London.
The two brothers were convicted at the Old Bailey in June. Police became aware of the brothers’ involvement in the crime after their younger brother revealed details of their actions following a family dispute.
The brothers had denied any involvement in Littler’s death. On Friday, a judge sentenced Michael Stewart, 57, to 10 years behind bars, describing him as the lookout, while Anthony Stewart, 60, was given a 15-year sentence after the judge said he believed him to have delivered the fatal blow.
The pair had been aged 15 and 18 respectively when the crime was committed.
On 1 May 1984, in the early hours of the morning, Littler, 45, was attacked in an alleyway on his way home from East Finchley Tube Station. He died at the scene after suffering two fractures to the skull, one of which caused catastrophic underlying brain injury.
Evidence showed that Littler’s train arrived at the station on time at 12:18am. The station foreman witnessed him leaving and said goodnight to him as he walked out to make his way home.
Minutes later, a call was made to the emergency services from a nearby public phone box. The caller said a man was seriously injured near the station but gave no personal details, no precise location and quickly hung up. No injured person was found in the immediate vicinity, and the call was stood down at 12.40am.
Anthony Littler’s body was discovered shortly afterwards in a nearby alleyway by a couple. One remained with him while the other ran to call the emergency services from a public phone box. That call was made at 12:58am, and a police officer arrived at the scene soon afterwards.
The prosecution argued that the timing of the first 999 call meant whoever made it must have been present in the alleyway when Littler was attacked and was keen to leave the area as quickly as possible. The evidence suggested it was Michael Stewart who made the call — something he later appeared to confirm himself by telling an associate: “I called the old bill.”
High Court judge Johannah Cutts said Anthony Littler was “a quiet, kind and gentle man who lived a quiet, decent and honest life”.
“This was no impulsive attack,” said 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.”
The judge also noted there was no evidence that Littler was gay.
“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,” she said.
The evidence that led to the convictions included police bugging Michael Stewart’s home and car and deploying undercover officers to infiltrate his life. Although detectives had reopened the case several times over the years, a fresh lead emerged in 2022.
During a family dispute, Michael Stewart threatened to kill his younger brother Daniel and burn down his house. Daniel, who had been just 10 years old when Littler was killed, was not involved in the attack but knew his older brothers were responsible and told police what he knew.
An undercover police officer spent three months cultivating a friendship with Michael Stewart while living in the same apartment block. Before long, they were watching gangster films together and spending hours playing computer games. When police called Stewart in for questioning over the 1984 murder, it was the undercover officer he asked to drive him home from the interview. During the journey, Stewart spoke about Anthony’s involvement, unaware he was being covertly recorded.
At the same time, another undercover officer established a separate friendship with Stewart and also recorded him discussing the crime. Eventually, police obtained recordings in which Stewart admitted his own involvement.
