- Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, have been found guilty of murdering civil servant Anthony Littler in East Finchley, north London, on 1 May 1984, 42 years after the crime.
- The brothers, who were teenagers at the time, ambushed Littler, 45, striking him twice with a blunt weapon, causing a "catastrophic" brain injury from which he died at the scene.
- Jurors at the Old Bailey were told that the siblings had made a "hobby" of targeting lone men they believed to be gay, with their younger brother later testifying that they boasted about "queer bashing".
- The cold case saw a breakthrough on the 29th anniversary of Littler’s death when the defendants' younger brother, Daniel, came forward to police following a family dispute , revealing his brothers had confessed to the killing.
- Police reopened the investigation in 2022, deploying covert techniques, including bugging the brothers' cars and Michael's home, which led to their conviction for murder after a jury deliberated for less than three hours.
IN FULL
Brothers found guilty of murdering civil servant in homophobic hate crime 42 years ago
