A thirty-one-year-old, Anthony Gilheaney from Harlow, Essex, has been found guilty of murder following a series of hate-filled vehicle attacks in Central London on Christmas Day 2024.
Gilheaney was convicted at the Old Bailey for the murder of twenty-five-year-old Aiden Chapman and for several other violent offences including attempted murder and wounding with intent. The court heard how Gilheaney used his Mercedes as a weapon to target pedestrians across the West End during the early hours of the morning, driven by a combination of heavy intoxication and deep-seated prejudice.
The rampage began when Gilheaney, who was disqualified from driving at the time, got behind the wheel while more than one and a half times over the legal alcohol limit. He deliberately mounted pavements and drove at innocent bystanders, including Marcelo Basbus-Garcia and Miguel Waihrich, a couple who were returning from midnight mass in Piccadilly.
The prosecution, led by Crispin Aylett KC, described the incident as a “clearly homophobic attack,” with victims recalling Gilheaney making eye contact before accelerating towards them. The violence also took on a racial dimension when Gilheaney struck an Asian man with his vehicle before exiting the car to physically assault him while shouting racial abuse.
The most tragic moment of the morning occurred on Shaftesbury Avenue, where Gilheaney struck Aiden Chapman and his friend Tyrone Itorho. The impact threw Chapman into the air, causing “unsurvivable” catastrophic brain injuries. Despite the efforts of medical staff, he passed away in hospital on December 31, 2024.
Witnesses described a scene of absolute terror, with a family pushing a child in a pram only narrowly escaping the path of the Mercedes by diving out of the way. DCI Wayne Jolley of the Metropolitan Police remarked that Gilheaney was in a "drunken rage" and seemed determined to inflict maximum damage.
Gilheaney’s criminal history revealed a persistent disregard for road safety, with six previous convictions for dangerous driving recorded between 2012 and 2023. At the time of the Christmas Day attacks, he was already barred from the road, yet he chose to embark on a spree that left one man dead and four others seriously injured. Following the jury’s verdict, Gilheaney now faces a mandatory life sentence. The judge at the Old Bailey is scheduled to determine the minimum term he must serve behind bars during a sentencing hearing on 30 January 2026.