Brothers Sentenced for 1984 East Finchley Murder After Undercover Sting

After 42 years, brothers Michael and Anthony Stewart were sentenced for the 1984 murder of civil servant Anthony Littler in East Finchley, London, following an undercover police operation that uncovered their involvement.

Anthony Littler's 1984 Murder Remained Unsolved for 42 Years

Anthony Littler was 45 when he was fatally attacked in a dark alleyway in East Finchley, north London, in May 1984. Despite the severity of the crime, his killers evaded justice for over four decades.

Just after midnight on 1 May 1984, civil servant Anthony Littler disembarked from a train at East Finchley station and proceeded down a dimly lit alleyway toward his home. Within two minutes, he was found dying on the ground, having suffered two blows to the head. No items were stolen, and the case lacked eyewitnesses, forensic evidence, or a clear motive.

For 42 years, no arrests were made in connection with his murder.

On Friday, this changed when Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, were sentenced at the Old Bailey to life imprisonment with minimum terms of 10 and 15 years respectively for the murder. At the time of the attack, the brothers were 15 and 18 years old.

Mrs Justice Cutts noted that although there was no evidence Anthony Littler was gay, the brothers had targeted gay men for robbery. She remarked,

"1984 was a different time and in many respects a different place."

During the televised sentencing, the senior judge addressed the defendants:

"I am quite sure your group was lying in wait for a victim. You targeted that decent, honest individual and took his life."

Building a Case Through Undercover Investigation

Cold cases are often solved through advances in forensic science such as DNA analysis or fingerprinting. However, this investigation took a different approach. Detectives initiated a covert operation involving bugging Michael Stewart's home and vehicle, installing listening devices on his brother's car, and embedding two undercover officers into Michael's life. Their objective was to capture incriminating conversations, as Michael had a history of speaking about the crime.

Two police custody photographs side by side. On the left, a man in his fifties with receding brown hair, stubble and a dark jacket stares at the camera. On the right, an older man with short grey hair, wearing a dark top, looks directly ahead. — Image caption, For 42 years, brothers Michael (left) and Anthony Stewart got away with murder

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Anthony Littler was a tall man, standing 6ft 4ins, employed in the civil service, and living alone in East Finchley. Known as a "gentle giant" by friends, he was devoted to his mother and frequently traveled to St Helens, Merseyside, where he was born and raised, to visit her. His passion was real ale. On the evening of his death, he attended a meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood at a pub in Carshalton, where he consumed five or six pints of bitter with friends before departing at closing time.

After crossing London back to East Finchley, he took a shortcut along a narrow footpath beside the railway line toward his home. Minutes later, he was violently attacked and never regained consciousness.

Patricia McLure, one of Anthony's last surviving close relatives, recalled,

"He was a bit like a big brother. He used to push me around in my pram. He was always there at family birthdays, and he was always there at Christmas."

Patricia, from Bebington on the Wirral, added,

"What haunted me was that Anthony wouldn't have fought back. He wouldn't throw a stone at a dog when he was a kid. He was always a kind soul, and to die in such a horrendous way - it's just so unfair."

A woman with auburn hair, wearing a cream cardigan, a flower-patterned top and a black beaded necklace, stands in a bright conservatory holding up a small black-and-white photograph of a man in a suit. Her expression is serious. — Image caption, Patricia McLure, one of Anthony Littler's few surviving close relatives, holds a photograph of the cousin who was "like a big brother"

A colour family photograph from the 1970s. Anthony Littler, a large man in glasses and a green checked tank top with a blue tie, sits smiling on a sofa. Beside him to the left an older man in glasses and a green paper party hat leans towards a small girl in a blue dress opening a large present wrapped in red paper. — Image caption, Anthony (right) at a family Christmas in the 1970s. His cousin Patricia says his absence "would surface every Christmas when he wasn't there" for the next four decades

Despite appeals on ITV's Police 5 and BBC One's Crimewatch, the case remained unsolved. The initial inquiry closed in January 1985. Subsequent investigations in 1993 and between 2012-2015 also failed to identify suspects.

Patricia reflected,

"I resigned myself to the fact that he was gone and they hadn't caught the perpetrators. It just left an everlasting sadness that was always there. It would surface every Christmas when he wasn't there."

She assumed the killers believed they had escaped justice, and until the recent investigation, that was the case.

The original 1984 coroner's map, annotated by police, marks the location where Anthony's body was found in an alley just yards from East Finchley station.

A hand-annotated 1984 Ordnance Survey map of the streets by the police around East Finchley Underground station. A marked point labelled — Image caption, The original 1984 coroner's map, annotated by the police, marks where Anthony's body was found - in an alley just yards from East Finchley station

Initial Police Investigation and Family Connections

In the early days of the Metropolitan Police investigation, officers visited the Stewart family home, located a few hundred yards from the crime scene. They spoke with 15-year-old Michael Stewart and, a week later, with his 18-year-old brother Anthony. Police forms recorded both as being at home on the night of the murder, with a note on Anthony Stewart's form stating, "Does not use alley." This was later proven false.

The court heard that the brothers had a history of violence and prior police encounters.

In 2013, a family dispute led to revelations. Daniel Stewart, the youngest brother who was 10 at the time of the murder and not involved in the attack, reported that Michael had threatened to burn down his house and kill him. More significantly, Daniel disclosed a family secret: Michael had boasted about the killing shortly after it occurred, and Anthony had spoken about it years later.

Daniel told police that his brothers targeted men they believed to be gay, and that the attack on Littler was an attempted robbery that went wrong.

"They just wanted to rob him, but he died,"

Daniel said.

Another family associate, who cannot be named for legal reasons, recalled Michael pointing toward the station from a car and saying,

"That's where we killed him."

The 1984 ambulance log recorded a mysterious 999 call reporting a man "bleeding heavily" near the alley, but the caller hung up and the call was dismissed as a false alarm. Prosecutors later identified the caller as 15-year-old Michael Stewart.

A handwritten London Ambulance Service emergency call form from 1984. It records the location as East Finchley station, the caller stating a person was — Image caption, The 1984 ambulance log of the mystery 999 call. The caller reported a man "bleeding heavily", then hung up - and it was dismissed as a false alarm. Prosecutors said it was 15-year-old Michael Stewart

Reinvestigation and Operation Snowpitch

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John took over the case at the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime command in 2019, inheriting this and another legacy case. He described challenges including missing paperwork, lost exhibits, absence of CCTV footage, and the passing of many original witnesses.

His team reconstructed the case using remaining materials. A museum curator assisted in decoding the 1984 train timetable, and original Ordnance Survey maps were sourced from the British Library due to changes in the East Finchley area. Police searched through over 200 crates in the Metropolitan Police's property warehouse seeking missing exhibits.

Despite these obstacles, the combination of paperwork, witness statements, and alleged admissions by the brothers provided a foundation for further action. In September 2023, approval was granted for a covert operation named Operation Snowpitch.

Detective Chief Inspector John stated,

"I've never had a case like it before, and I will never have a case like it again."

Operation Snowpitch emphasized patience and surveillance. Listening devices were concealed in Michael Stewart's flat and car, as well as on Anthony Stewart's car. Crucially, two undercover officers, known as JJ and Anna, were embedded into Michael Stewart's life.

JJ initiated contact by discussing a broken lift in Michael's block of flats. Over three months, JJ developed a close relationship with Michael, engaging in activities such as watching gangster films, playing video games, and listening to his stories. When Michael was arrested for murder, he requested JJ to collect him from the police station. During the car journey, Michael confided,

"I know who it was."

He implicated his brother and three associates, stating they had been "gay bashing," cornered a man in an alleyway, and struck him over the head. The court heard there was no evidence that Anthony Littler was gay.

Two colour photographs from 1984 of a long, narrow paved footpath stretching into the distance, bordered on both sides by dense overgrown bushes and trees, with a lamppost and wire fencing to one side. — Image caption, One of the police photographs taken during the original 1984 investigation, showing the alleyway where Anthony Littler was ambushed and killed by the Stewart brothers

Michael repeatedly accused his brother while denying his own involvement. However, recordings captured inconsistencies and contradictions.

Separately, Anna engaged Michael in conversation. In a covertly recorded December 2023 café discussion, when confronted with the claim that his nephew had killed someone, Michael responded,

"My nephew didn't kill nobody. It was my brother."

Following Michael's arrest and release, the undercover operation continued undetected.

In a March 2024 police interview, Michael inadvertently placed himself at the crime scene. Denying being covered in blood that night, he said,

"Well if I'm up the top of the alleyway keeping look[out]... how would I have got blood all over me? Come on."

Prosecutor John Price KC told the jury that no one had previously accused Michael of being the lookout. This detail was unique to Michael's own recollection.

This admission explained a longstanding mystery: two minutes after the attack, a young man called 999 from a nearby phone box reporting a man "bleeding heavily" before hanging up. The call was initially dismissed as a false alarm. The prosecution argued that only someone present at the scene could have made such a call so promptly.

They concluded that the caller was 15-year-old Michael Stewart, who acted as the lookout and was the first to flee, leaving the victim behind.

A colour 1984 photograph of a traditional red telephone box standing on a street corner, with parked cars and low buildings behind it. — Image caption, One of the public phone boxes near the alley, photographed during the 1984 investigation. Prosecutors said it was from a box like this that one of the killers dialled 999 - then vanished into the night

Family Reaction and Justice Served

For Patricia McLure, the conviction of the men responsible for her cousin's murder brought mixed emotions. She expressed,

"How dare you? You ruined my cousin's life - and you've had a nice life, I assume. They've had 42 years of freedom, and my cousin has had 42 years of missing out on life. He's missed out on the possibility of maybe getting married and having a family of his own."

She added,

"It's a sense of relief that justice has finally been done. It's not going to take away the upset. It's not going to bring him back. But at long last, he has got closure. They've got the blighters."

A faded colour photograph of Anthony Littler and an older woman sitting side by side on a bench in front of a brick wall and wooden fence. He wears glasses and a short-sleeved shirt; she wears a dark pinafore over a white blouse. Both are smiling. — Image caption, Anthony, pictured with his mother, to whom he was devoted. She died without ever knowing who killed her son

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