BROTHERS SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR 1984 MURDER AFTER 42-YEAR INVESTIGATION

Michael Stewart and Anthony Stewart were sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday at the Old Bailey for the murder of Anthony Littler on 1 May 1984. Michael Stewart received a minimum term of 10 years; his brother Anthony Stewart received a minimum term of 15 years. The brothers were aged 15 and 18 respectively at the time of the killing. Littler, a 45-year-old civil servant, was struck twice over the head after stepping off a train at East Finchley station in north London just after midnight.

The investigation into Littler's death remained unsolved for 42 years without eyewitnesses, forensic evidence or a clear motive. The court heard that the brothers carried out attacks on men they believed to be gay. Police resolved the case through an undercover operation that involved bugging Michael Stewart's home and car, placing listening devices on Anthony Stewart's car, and deploying two covert officers into Michael Stewart's life. Littler had travelled to East Finchley after attending a real ale society meeting in Carshalton and took a shortcut along a narrow footpath beside the railway line towards his home.

The method of solving the case differed from typical cold case investigations, which frequently depend on DNA analysis, fingerprints or re-examination of exhibits with modern techniques. Instead, detectives relied on recorded conversations from the suspects over many years. Patricia McLure, one of Littler's surviving close relatives, described him as devoted to his mother and passionate about real ale.