Two brothers have been jailed for the murder of a civil servant who was killed in north London more than 40 years ago during a violent campaign targeting men they believed to be gay.
Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, were convicted at the Old Bailey in June of murdering Anthony Littler, who was attacked as he walked home in East Finchley on 1 May 1984. The brothers were sentenced on Friday after denying any involvement in the killing.
Michael Stewart was jailed for 10 years, while Anthony Stewart received a 15-year prison sentence.
Mr Littler, a 45-year-old civil servant, was found dead in an alleyway near East Finchley Underground station after suffering devastating head injuries. Prosecutors said he sustained two skull fractures, one of which caused a "catastrophic" brain injury.
The court heard that the brothers, who were aged 15 and 18 at the time of the attack, had made a "hobby" of targeting lone men they believed to be gay.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Samantha Yelland described Mr Littler's killing as a hate crime.
Despite a murder investigation, no-one was identified as responsible for the attack at the time and the case remained unsolved for decades.
The breakthrough came on the 29th anniversary of Mr Littler's death when the brothers' younger sibling, Daniel Stewart, approached police following a family dispute.
Jurors heard that Daniel, who was 10 years old when Mr Littler was murdered, told detectives his older brothers had confessed to the killing and boasted about taking part in what they referred to as "queer bashing".
The court was also told that Michael Stewart later admitted his involvement to a former girlfriend and even showed her the location where the attack took place.
In 2022, detectives reopened the case and launched a fresh investigation using covert surveillance techniques, including recording devices placed in the brothers' vehicles and Michael Stewart's home.
The convictions bring a measure of justice for Mr Littler's family more than four decades after his death and highlight the long-lasting impact of anti-LGBTQ+ violence during a period when homophobic attacks were frequently underreported and often went unsolved.
Mr Littler's murder is one of a number of historic cases in which advances in forensic and investigative techniques, combined with new witness evidence, have enabled police to secure convictions many years after the original offences were committed.
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