Two UK brothers have been found guilty of the 1984 murder of a London civil servant after a reopened police investigation uncovered family confessions and fresh evidence.The case had remained unsolved for more than four decades before detectives reopened the investigation in 2022, eventually linking brothers Michael and Anthony Stewart to the killing of 45-year-old Anthony Littler in East Finchley, Metro reported.Littler was found beaten to death in a secluded alleyway near East Finchley station on May 1, 1984. His briefcase, cash and bank cards were untouched, leading investigators to believe he had been deliberately targeted rather than robbed.According to prosecutors, the brothers, who were aged 15 and 18 at the time, targeted lone men they believed were gay and viewed as vulnerable.A major breakthrough came when their younger brother, Daniel Stewart, provided information to police after a family dispute. He told investigators that Michael Stewart had admitted shortly after the killing that he and his brother had attacked a man.Daniel recalled Michael telling him they had “bashed his head in with a wooden object” and that Anthony Stewart had carried the weapon used in the attack. He also told police that Anthony later admitted his involvement and became emotional while discussing the murder.The investigation was further strengthened by testimony from Michael Stewart’s former girlfriend, who said he had confessed to the killing and frequently boasted about violent assaults carried out with his brother.Detectives also revisited evidence from the original inquiry. Working with transport records, they established that Littler left East Finchley station shortly after midnight before beginning the short walk home.Minutes later, a caller rang emergency services from a nearby phone box and reported that a man had been injured outside the station before abruptly ending the call. Prosecutors later linked the call to Michael Stewart after a witness told police he had admitted contacting authorities following the attack.A postmortem examination found Littler had suffered two skull fractures and a catastrophic brain injury.Police said the original investigation was hampered by false information about Anthony Stewart’s whereabouts. Family members had claimed he was living at the family home, but detectives later established he was staying elsewhere near the crime scene.After reopening the case, investigators used covert surveillance, including bugging vehicles and monitoring conversations, to gather additional evidence.Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said Littler was targeted because he was alone and defenceless.“They lay in wait for someone to cross their path and tragically for Anthony, he became their unsuspecting victim,” he said.Following a trial at the Old Bailey, the jury took less than three hours to find both men guilty of murder.Senior Crown prosecutor Samantha Yelland said the case had presented significant challenges because of the passage of time and the loss of key evidence.“I’m so pleased that we’ve managed to get justice all these years later for Anthony Littler,” she said, adding that the killing was a hate crime.The brothers are due to be sentenced in July.
