Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, are charged with murdering Anthony Littler on May 1, 1984. At the time of the alleged crime, Michael was 15 and Anthony was 18. Littler was discovered lying in a pool of blood in an alleyway in Finchley, north London, having suffered a catastrophic brain injury from blunt weapons and died at the scene.
The prosecution's case relies on alleged confessions and phone call evidence. Michael Stewart allegedly called for an ambulance from a nearby phone box after the assault but hung up, leading to a search being called off. According to Daily Express - UK News, Michael Stewart described later confessing to someone that he had called the police, referred to as 'the old bill'.
called the old bill
He also allegedly admitted his guilt to a girlfriend years after the killing and showed her the location where it happened. The defendants' younger brother Daniel, then aged 10, knew his brothers had made a 'hobby' of attacking solitary men in public, and the brothers separately confessed to Daniel what they had done to Anthony Littler. On the night of his death, Anthony Littler had spent the evening at a pub in Carshalton, Surrey, at a meeting of the Ponds Branch of The Society for the Preservation of Beer from the Wood.
18am on May 1 and walked down a narrow alleyway, where he was attacked. Resident Edward Dyer heard a loud shout while walking his dog; according to Daily Express - UK News, Edward Dyer described it as sounding like a cry of pain. Around half an hour later, Annalieze and James Hainge found Littler lying injured in the alleyway as they walked home from the station.
sounded like a cry of pain
22am asking for an ambulance. The prosecution contends the attack was part of a spate of violence carried out by the teens as they revelled in targeting lone homosexual men.