Two British brothers have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a civil servant in north London in 1984, a case that remains unsolved more than four decades after the murder.Anthony Stewart, 60, and Michael Stewart, 57, were convicted of the murder of Anthony Littler, 45, who was attacked while walking home in East Finchley on 1 May 1984. After pleading guilty at the Old Bailey, Anthony Stewart was ordered to spend a minimum of 15 years in prison, while Michael Stewart was given a minimum of 10 years, The Independent reports.Sentencing the pair, Mrs Justice Cutts said: “This was not an impulsive attack. I am convinced that your group were waiting for a victim, someone to attack and rob.” He described Littler as “a quiet, kind and gentle man” who had lived “a quiet, decent and honest life”.The court heard Littler was ambushed and brutally beaten with weapons as he walked home just after midnight. Although there was no evidence that he was gay, the judge said that the defendants were targeting men they believed were gay at the time, adding: “1984 was a different time and in many respects a different place.”The case remained unsolved for nearly three decades, but a breakthrough came when the brothers’ younger brother contacted police and said he had confessed to the murder and claimed to have attacked the men whom he believed were homosexuals.The investigation was restarted in 2022, when detectives used covert surveillance, including listening devices placed in the brothers’ vehicles and Michael Stewart’s home. Prosecutors said the recording captured Michael discussing the 1984 attack. John Price Casey told the court that Michael had a “loose tongue” and bragged about what he had done.As quoted by The Independent, in a tribute to the victim, Littler’s cousin Patricia McClure said: “I am particularly outraged that these murderers have had 42 years of freedom,” adding that he was “kind” with a “great sense of humour”. He said that the family is devastated by his death and it has taken a long time to get justice.