Brothers jailed for 1984 murder during violent spree against men they thought were gay

Two brothers were jailed for murdering a civil servant in 1984 during a spree of violence against men they thought were gay. Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, were convicted by an Old Bailey jury of killing Anthony Littler in East Finchley. The siblings had denied any involvement. Michael Stewart, the "lookout", was told he will serve a minimum of 10 years in prison, while his elder brother, who the judge said was likely to have delivered the fatal blow, received a minimum term of 15 years. Mr Littler, 45, was set upon as he walked home in north London. The civil servant was found dead in an alleyway close to East Finchley Tube station, with no one identified as responsible for his murder at the time. Judge Mrs Justice Cutts described Mr Littler as a "quiet, kind and gentle man who lived a quiet, decent and honest life". Passing life sentences on both men, she said: "This was no impulsive attack. I am quite sure that 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. "You were not planning to rob just anyone. You were targeting a group in particular, and that was homosexual men. You were not just threatening violence, you were perpetrating it." She added that there was "no evidence" that Mr Littler, who had attended a real ale club meeting on the night of his murder, was gay. The judge said: "There is no evidence that Mr Littler was homosexual, but he was a lone man in an area you frequented to target homosexual men, and I have no doubt that he was targeted for that reason." SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos:    / @skynewscourts   Follow Sky News on Twitter:   / skynews   and   / skynewsbreak   Like us on Facebook:   / skynews   Follow us on Instagram:   / skynews   For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps: Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-n... Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...