Two brothers convicted of murdering a civil servant in a north London alleyway more than 40 years ago have been told they must serve a combined minimum of 25 years in prison before they are eligible for release.
Anthony Littler, who was an executive officer at HM Customs and Excise, was attacked on his way home from East Finchley Tube Station in the early hours of 1 May 1984. He died at the scene, having suffered two fractures to the skull, one of which was associated with catastrophic underlying brain injury.
Michael Stewart and Anthony Stewart were convicted of his murder by a jury at the Old Bailey last month. Their trial followed a cold-case investigation that pieced together admissions the brothers had made to family members and others over the intervening four decades.
Michael Stewart is now 57 and Anthony Stewart is now 60. At the time of the killing they were 15 and 18 respectively.
Sentencing the pair on Friday, Mrs Justice Cutts said they had been part of a gang that targeted gay men to attack and rob – but said there was no evidence that Littler was homosexual.
She said that both Stewarts were in a group of boys or young men who set on Littler with a baseball bat – or something similar – as he made his way home from a real-ale society event where he had spent the evening.
“This was no impulsive attack,” she said. “I am sure 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.”
She said the evidence presented to jurors suggested that Michael Stewart had acted as a lookout on the night of the attack and that Anthony Stewart may have dealt the fatal blow to the head that Littler suffered.
Anthony Littler Photo: Met Police
Mrs Justice Cutts said that in addition to the baseball bat-style weapon used in the attack, Littler had also received a blow to the head from a lighter weapon – indicating that at least one more person may have been involved in his murder.
The judge said the brothers had “targeted a decent, honest individual” and taken his life.
She said Anthony Stewart must serve a minimum of 15 years in prison before he is eligible for release. Michael Stewart must serve a minimum of 10 years. The men have been on remand for more than a year, and that time in prison can be deducted from the minimum sentences.
Both Stewarts were handed “life” sentences, meaning that even if they are released after serving their minimum terms, they can still be recalled for any further offending.
The Littler murder was featured in an episode of the BBC TV programme Crimewatch in 1984, but the case went cold and was not reopened until 2022 after new evidence emerged.
In the intervening years the Stewart brothers made a number of admissions to associates and relatives. Shortly after the attack, Michael Stewart told one person that they had killed a man in an alleyway during a robbery gone wrong. Years later, Anthony Stewart made a similar confession to the same individual and was said to have broken down in tears as he admitted involvement in the killing.
Police subsequently used a number of covert techniques to capture further admissions.
Police were also told by associates that, around the time of the killing, Michael and Anthony would target men because of their sexuality, referring to this as “queer bashing”.
The Crown Prosecution Service took the view that there was a significant amount of evidence which showed that other attacks had been carried out on lone men in the area around the same time, demonstrating that Littler was not the victim of an isolated incident, but one of a series of targeted attacks.