Christmas Day ‘maniac’ driver Anthony Gilheaney faces life sentence for murdering pedestrian

A drunk driver who murdered a pedestrian when he deliberately ploughed into six members of the public in a Christmas Day car rampage is facing a life sentence.

Racist and homophobic traveller Anthony Gilheaney, 31, had been disqualified from driving five times and never passed a test when he mowed down Aidan Chapman, 25, in London’s West End.

Mr Chapman was thrown into the air and died from his injuries on New Year’s Eve while five other people were taken to hospital when Gilheaney ‘drove like a maniac.’

Gilheaney had targetted some of his victims because they were gay and because of their race.

He had been drinking at the Bar Rumba nightclub with his pregnant wife Sophie Nash on Christmas Eve before he attacked a Sikh man on the way back to his car.

He shouted racial abuse at Arif Khan before driving his silver Mercedes Benz E Class car into him.

The Sikh man and his group beat him up but he rammed his car into an Uber before mowing down Dr Marcelo Basbus-Garcia and his partner Miguel Waihrich as they left midnight mass St James’s Church in Piccadilly holding hands.

Gilheaney then drove at Mr Chapman and his friend Tyrone Ithoro as he raced through the streets at speeds of up to 100mph using his car as a weapon.

A family pushing a child in a pushchair also had to jump out of the way of the Mercedes which was fitted with some of the fake plates Gilheaney carried in the boot of the car.

Dr Basbus-Garcia suffered a head injury and fractured collarbone while Mr Waihrich sustained a fractured elbow and knee injury.

Gilheaney, a father of three, denied but was convicted of murder, three counts of attempted murder and wounding with intent.

He admitted the manslaughter of Mr Chapman, dangerous driving, causing death by driving whilst disqualified and possession of a bladed article.

Jurors were heard Gilheaney was motivated by homophobia and racism when he carried out the attacks.

He was found guilty of one count of wounding with intent, two counts of attempted murder, one count of causing grievous bodily harm and one count of murder.

He was cleared of one count of attempted murder relating to Mr Waihrich, and the jury was discharged from returning verdicts on two counts of grievous bodily harm relating to Dr Basbus-Garcia and Othoro.

Gilheaney burst into tears as the jury delivered their verdicts and his relatives sobbed loudly in the public gallery.

He will be sentenced on 30 January next year.

Giheaney was out with Ms Nash and friend David McCarthy on Christmas Eve when he became aggressive with fellow drinkers at Bar Rumba.

The court heard he had previously been a heavy user of cocaine and cannabis but he inisted he no longer used either drug.

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett, KC said outside the club he punched a total stranger Hardeep Singh before going to his car which he had left on nearby Archer Street.

He shouted abuse at another complete stranger Arif Khan and called him a ‘Paki’.

When Mr Khan went into the street to remonstrate with Gilheaney he drove forwards before reversing back, knocking Mr Khan to the ground.

He then jumped out of the car to attack Mr Khan, throwing him to the ground and kicking him.

Four of Mr Singh’s friends had been looking for Gilheaney and they found him
attacking Mr Khan.

‘Hardeep Singh and his friends gave the defendant a taste of his own medicine. They beat him up, they punched him and they kicked him many, many times,’ said Mr Aylett.

‘This incident was recored on the dash-cam of an Uber driver, Hasan Mashood, who was waiting for the defendant to move his car which was blocking the road ahead.

‘Unbelievably, the defendant then got into his car and reversed hard into Mr Mashod’s car in yet another unprovoked attack.

‘Lest there be any doubt about the defendant’s intentions, when Mr Mashood tried to reverse out of the way, the defendant rammed him a second time.

‘He got out of the car again. In the course of being beaten up, the defendant had lost his shirt.

‘The defendant was caught by a CCTV camera as he stood, shirtless, in the middle of the road. He was shouting and swearing.

‘The defendant, who the prosecution suggest was now beside himself with rage, then set his sights on pedestrians in Great Windmill Street.

‘Having got back in his car, he drove up and down the road, mounting the kerb and causing pedestrians to flee in panic.

‘His attention was drawn to a gay couple walking along the street. They had been at Midnight Mass in Piccadilly and they were making their way home.’

Dr Basbus-Garcia told the court he was walking through Soho with Mr Waihrich after attending mass when he saw Gilheaney shouting at a man in a car ‘with a degree of rage I’ve never seen in my life’.

‘So we were really scared,’ he said.

He said they were ‘terrified’ and wanted to run away.

Gilheaney followed the other car but then reversed back towards Dr Basbus-Garcia.

‘We were surprised at seeing him again and terrified because this time he looked at us directly into our eyes,’ the doctor said.

‘At that very moment the situation was so scary that we held hands and I do remember him looking at that, looking at our eyes and going down and looking at our hands.

‘He looked at us with such a rage, it was like seeing Linda Blair’s eyes in ‘The Exorcist,’ I’ve never seen a person looking so furious looking at me.

‘It was clear he was going to drive towards us so we started running.

‘The car came after us, I saw the car coming.

‘The last thing I remember is being terrified and then hit by the car.’

His partner went to help him and used his own body as a shield in front of his head as the car drove at them again.

Dr Basbus-Garcia added: ‘When I woke up the paramedics were assisting me.’

Hesaid he was in hospital for several days over Christmas and his injuries led him to struggle to sleep and use crutches for six months.

Gilheaney then drove down Great Windmill Street and turned left into Shaftesbury Avenue where Mr Chapman was walking with his friend.

‘They were almost at the pavement when the defendant, already driving at speed, suddenly careered onto the other side of the road,’said Mr Aylett.

‘He clipped the one who was on the edge of the pavement- the other man, who was a little further back, was run over and thrown into the air.

‘Much of this, of course, was caught on different CCTV cameras. In due course, I am afraid that we will have to look at the film. It is as shocking as it is distressing.

‘In his wake, the defendant had left a trail of carnage: in all, six people went to hospital that night.’

Mr Chapman was hit ‘full-on’ in Shaftesbury Avenue and suffered such massive brain damage that he never recovered.

The prosecutor said: ‘Gilheaney continued to drive like a maniac. He skipped traffic lights and drove on the wrong side of the road. Inevitably, he attracted the attention of the police.

‘By the time he got to Ludgate Hill, a police car was in pursuit. Just past St. Paul’s Cathedral, the defendant double-backed on himself and headed back towards the West End.

‘When he reached Holborn underground station, the defendant turned left onto Kingsway. By now, and no doubt as a result of the defendant having repeatedly mounted the kerb at speed, all four tyres were damaged and the car had become undriveable.

‘As the car was still moving, the defendant jumped out and ran off. The car smashed into a signpost and came to a halt.

‘The police found the defendant in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. He had temporarily passed out.’

Gilheaney was tearful and told officers: ‘I hold my hands up. I don’t care… I’m so sorry for everything I have ever done. I will admit to everything. I am guilty. I am sorry.’

He said his actions were due to the death of his brother from a cocaine overdose 18 months earlier.

When interviewed by police Gilheaney said he could not remember anything and when shown CCTV said ‘As far as I’m cornered, I haven’t got a clue whether that’s me or not’

In the witness box Gilheaney said he had regained his memory having watched the CCTV footage.

He said was punched and kicked 87 times by the Sikh men in a ‘brutal attack’ which had left him disorientated.

Gilheaney said the attack was so severe he could not control the vehicle and did not mean to drive into anyone.

He said he was scared of attackers and the police as he had a warrant out for his arrest and thought he would be sent back to prison.

Gilheaney said: ‘I was using racist slurs. But just out of anger, I’m not racist.’

He insisted he is ‘definitely not’ homophobic and said he did not see that the gay couple were holding hands.

Gilheaney said he hit Mr Chapman by accident because he was distracted by a moped in his rear view mirror.

He has never taken a driving test or had a lesson.

The traveller admitted dangerous driving and was disqualified from driving for 12 months in August 2012.

Gilheaney admitted dangerous driving two years later and was disqualified from driving for 12 months and was told to take an extended driving test before he could take the wheel again.

He was disqualified for 12 months for dangerous driving in December 2015.

Gilheaney was then disqualifed for 75 months for dangerous driving in March 2018.

He admitted dangerous driving again in March 2023 and was handed another three year ban.

Gilheaney, of Harlow, Essex, denied murder, three counts of attempted murder, and wounding with intent.

He had admitted manslaughter, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm, unlawful wounding and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He admitted dangerous driving, causing death by driving whilst disqualified and possession of a bladed article.