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A man who turned his car into a weapon during a series of homophobic and racist attacks on Christmas Day in central London last year has been found guilty of murder.
Anthony Gilheaney, 31, was drunk driving up the road in his Mercedes and repeatedly wanted people to run over.
He was found guilty of murdering Aiden Chapman, 25, who suffered severe brain injuries after being hit by Gilheaney’s car. A family returning home from midnight was attacked again early on Christmas Day 2024 in London’s West End.
Jurors were told of the unexpected, criminal and violent incident in which one man defended his partner from being hit by a car with his body.
Four other people were seriously injured, and the rampage ended when Gilheaney, who had driven at more than 100mph to avoid police, crashed his car.
Gilheaney, who is British, was found guilty of Chapman’s murder, one count of wounding with intent, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of grievous bodily harm, after a trial at the Old Bailey.
His car hit Marcelo Basbus-Garcia when he came back at him at high speed, and he also drove over Miguel Waihrich as he tended to his injured teammate, Basbus-Garcia. Waihrich told jurors he encountered Gilheaney as he was driving them for the second time, when Basbus-Garcia was unconscious and “covered in blood”.
Waihrich said: “I remember his eyes and the way his hands were on the wheel, I remember his face and I cried for him to stop, and he didn’t stop.”
The pair had attended midnight mass in Piccadilly and were on Great Windmill Street when they saw Gilheaney screaming, naked from the waist up, in the middle of the street. Gilheaney got into his car and drove off, then turned back and headed for the pair.
Waihrich told the court: “It was very fast, the way he changed. It was so fast everyone in the street was scared – we started running.”
People ran for their lives as Basbus-Garcia was knocked down. He told the Old Bailey: “The car came after me – but it would be fair to say he (Gilheaney) loved everyone in that street. The last thing I remember was being hit by a car.
Waihrich ran to his friend, who was bleeding and unconscious, and saw the car backing up. He told the court: “He (Gilheaney) stopped and looked at me, and he was coming towards me, and I tried to make signs with my hands saying: ‘Stop please. The car did not stop and ran towards us, and I decided to protect Marcelo’s head with my body as a shield. I am counting the seconds until the final battle happens.’
Prosecutor Crispin Aylett KC said the attack on Waihrich and Basbus-Garcia was “disturbing for gay people”. Later, Gilheaney plowed into Chapman and his friend Tyrone Itorho as they crossed Shaftesbury Avenue.
Chapman He died in the hospital on New Year’s Evethrown into the air after being hit by a car. Doctors described the brain injuries he suffered as “unthinkable”.
Chapman’s parents said: “We cannot express the pain and sorrow that Anthony Gilheaney has caused us by his evil actions.” No amount of justice or prison time will be enough to pay for our death.
“Gilheaney has taken the best part of us. He has left us with a dark void in our lives that cannot be filled. He took our only son from us. Something we will never let go of. Something we will never forgive.”
Minutes earlier, Gilheaney, who had been drinking heavily, shouted at an Asian man before getting into a car, then got out of his car and attacked him.
He hit a taxi again, then ended up on the side of the road as a couple pushing a child in a car seat had to run to get out. Three people escaped by hanging themselves from the wall.
A witness described Gilheaney as “wandering up and down the street” between using his car as a weapon.
His blood alcohol content tested hours later was more than one and a half times the legal limit and he was said to have hit people at more than 30mph. They were drinking at Bar Rumba, leaving around 12:40 on Christmas morning. Another witness said that Gilheaney was “very angry, his whole body was rigid and rigid”.
His Mercedes had bottles of alcohol, including vodka, thrown on the floor, as well as mixed cans.
Between March 2012 and 2023 Gilheaney had six convictions for dangerous driving and was disqualified twice, including during a crime spree.
DCI Wayne Jolley, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “Gilheaney got behind the wheel of his car drunk, intent on causing as much damage as possible.” He targeted innocent people, who were out celebrating Christmas Day and killed 25-year-old Aiden Chapman.
“He refused to accept the magnitude of his mistakes, making every effort to show that he is suffering.
Gilheaney, of Harlow, Essex, denied murder. He faces life in prison and a judge will decide on January 30 the minimum time he should serve before he is released.
