18 hours ago
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Metropolitan Police
Anthony Gilheaney was convicted of killing Aidan Chapman by running him over
A driver who killed a man and mowed down four others in a drink-fuelled rampage in London's West End on Christmas Day has been jailed for life for murder and attempted murder.
During his trial in December, the Old Bailey heard how Anthony Gilheaney, 32, deliberately drove his Mercedes into a gay couple, a pair of friends and another man on Shaftesbury Avenue, following an evening of drinking and fighting.
One of the men, Aidan Chapman, 25, was thrown into the air by the car and died in hospital of catastrophic head injuries on New Year's Eve.
Gilheaney, from Harlow, Essex, was also convicted of wounding with intent and causing grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to a minimum of 37 years.
Met Police
Aidan Chapman was thrown into the air as he was hit by Gilheaney's Mercedes
Gilheaney was cleared of attempting to murder a third man but was convicted of the alternative charge of causing him grievous bodily harm with intent.
The jury heard that after leaving a nightclub, he racially abused and knocked down Arif Khan before getting out to physically attack him.
After being attacked by a group of men who stepped in, Gilheaney got in his high-powered car and began mounting pavements, driving first at Marcelo Basbus-Garcia and his partner Miguel Waihrich.
Then, after narrowly missing a couple with their child in a pushchair he then drove across the street and hit Chapman and his friend, Tyrone Itorho - his trial was told.
Gilheaney was finally arrested in Lincoln's Inn Fields near Covent Garden after a police pursuit which recorded his car at speeds of over 90 mph.
The prosecution alleged he targeted people for racist and homophobic reasons.
The 32-year-old had told the jury he was not in control of the vehicle after he had been attacked by a group of men earlier that night, and that he did not intend to hurt anyone.
PA Media
Shaftesbury Avenue was cordoned off on Christmas Day following the attack
Prosecuting, Crispin Aylett KC read out Victim Impact Statements from Mr Chapman's family, including one from his father Darren who told the court that work was his only respite from grief.
"I am left doubting my own prowess as a parent - that is what Anthony Gilheaney has done - he is a monster, he has shown no remorse, just narcissistic self-pity.
"By pleading not guilty he put us through weeks of trauma at court."
