Moment man walks into London police station and confesses to murder more than 40 years ago

This is the moment a man who got away with murder decided to finally do the right thing and hand himself into a London police station after more than 40 years:

John Paul, 61, from Kensington, London, murdered Anthony Bird, 41, in 1980. Despite handing himself in last year, he pleaded not guilty when it came to trial.

However, there was no going back after Paul walked into a police station and confessed to the unsolved crime, and he was handed a minimum sentence of 19 years behind bars at the Old Bailey on Friday, 4 November.

The alarm was first raised about Anthony - known as Tony - in June 1980 following his murder that May when he stopped attending work.

A subsequent welfare check not only found him dead, but bruised, marked and tied up with an electrical cable.

Officers at the scene noted that his home had been ransacked with alcohol and electrical goods stolen.

But despite the clear evidence of a crime, the police were unable to ever identify a suspect and all avenues police identified had been explored by 1981.

While the case was revisited in the hopes of solving the 41-year-old's murder, it never happened.

Metropolitan Police

Prior to Paul's sentencing this month, he was convicted of murder on 24 October.

Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Reeves said: "Paul's sentence reflects the serious nature of his actions in 1980. They led to the needless death of a man who had his whole life ahead of him.

"The murder of Tony had been under regular review and although we had never given up on solving the case, the unexpected actions of Paul in May of last year, have finally allowed us to get justice for Tony's family and friends.

"This was a vicious and brutal attack, carried out with considerable force. Although we may never know the reason for Paul's actions that day, there is no doubt in my mind that the streets are a safer place following today's outcome."

Despite no suspect ever being identified in at the time or after, police did obtain three fingerprints from the murder scene and they matched Paul's.

Alamy / Christopher Holt

According to the police, the two men met the night of the murder and Paul initially set out to rob Tony, but he decided to kill him too.

Tony had agreed to let Paul, who was 19 and had just been released from borstal, come back to his home for sex before he was attacked.

Tony's family said: "We came to terms with Tony's death many years ago but we're pleased that after 42 years, his killer has come forward and has been convicted.

"Sadly, his brother died last year and was therefore unable to take comfort from the closure that the court case has brought."