Man convicted of murdering university student outside Strawberry Hill station

A 21-year-old man from Ealing has been found guilty of murdering an accounting student in a fatal stabbing at a west London railway station.

Dino Donaldson was convicted at the Old Bailey on Tuesday 14th April. Jurors heard how a planned exchange of £50 for MDMA tablets escalated into deadly violence on Monday 8th January 2024 at Strawberry Hill station.

The victim, Anojan Gnaneswaran, had arrived at the station just after Donaldson, and was joined by his brother after tensions began to rise.

After an argument broke out, the situation quickly spiralled. The court heard Donaldson became increasingly aggressive during the confrontation, producing a knife and chasing the group onto the railway tracks. He then stabbed Gnaneswaran multiple times, inflicting fatal injuries to his chest, abdomen and thigh.

Despite desperate attempts by his brother and emergency services to save him, the 21-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the attack, Donaldson fled the area. CCTV footage later showed him travelling through nearby areas before boarding a night bus. He appeared to be smiling and laughing less than an hour after the killing.

In further evidence presented to the court, he was recorded boasting about the attack.

Donaldson was also caught bragging about the attack by a doorbell camera: “I stabbed him through the back bro, I stabbed him fully. I watched it and I felt it go in him…”

Police launched a swift investigation, tracking his movements using CCTV and forensic evidence. A knife and glove recovered from the scene were found to contain DNA linking both Donaldson and the victim. Officers arrested him three days later at his home, where he was discovered hiding in a cupboard. Drugs with a street value of more than £1,000 were also recovered from his bedroom.

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British Transport Police Detective Chief Inspector Paul Attwell said: “What started as an argument over a drug deal ended in a young man’s life being cut short by a remorseless thug.

“Donaldson showed his true colours as a coward by arming himself with a knife that night. His cowardice has continued by never accepting responsibility and admitting his crime – thankfully the jury saw through his lies.

“He will live the rest of his life knowing he has taken someone else’s, and when he’s sentenced he will learn that he has a long time behind bars ahead to mull over his actions.

“While no verdict can ever compensate for the loss of Anojan, I hope today’s outcome provides his family with some sense of closure. Thanks to our extensive investigation, justice has now been served to the man responsible for killing their loved one.”

The court heard Donaldson had shown little remorse and had denied responsibility throughout the trial.

Gnaneswaran’s family paid tribute to him as a dedicated student with a bright future ahead. His family described him as a “deeply loved son and brother whose loss has left a lasting impact.”

Donaldson is due to be sentenced on Friday 19th June.

If you have been affected by the contents of this article, you can contact the Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123, or contact Shout, a 24/7 text messaging service, by texting the word “Shout” to 85258.

Featured image via UnfriendlyShoe under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 and British Transport Police