Train tracks killer sentenced to life for student murder

Summarised from 4 outlets · 6 reports · Updated 6 Nov, 22:45 · Archive

Dino Donaldson, 22, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years for murdering Anojan Gnaneswaran, 21, at Strawberry Hill station in Twickenham in January 2024.

Dino Donaldson, 22, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years for murdering Anojan Gnaneswaran, 21, at Strawberry Hill station in Twickenham on 9 January 2024. Gnaneswaran, who studied accounting and finance, died at the scene shortly after midnight. Donaldson, who was 19 at the time, had followed the victim onto the railway tracks and stabbed him in the chest during an altercation.

The fight broke out on the platform between two groups of men over a drug deal involving £50 for 10 MDMA tablets. According to Judge Angela Rafferty KC, an initial interaction between Donaldson's group and Gnaneswaran developed into a confrontation after Gnaneswaran's younger brother Ashvin and friends arrived. Tensions rose and members of Donaldson's group were challenged to identify themselves.

Less than an hour after the killing, Donaldson was caught on CCTV on a night bus appearing to smile and laugh. He was also recorded on a doorbell camera saying 'I stabbed him through the back bro, I stabbed him fully' and 'I watched it and I felt it go in him, yeah.' Three days later, police found him hiding in a cupboard at his home in Ealing, west London, and discovered 74 wraps of crack and heroin with a street value of more than £1,000 in his bedroom.

Donaldson was found guilty of murder in a retrial at the Old Bailey in April and received his sentence on Friday from Judge Rafferty.

How it is being reported

• Killer jailed for life after stabbing student to death at west London train stationDino Donaldson was seen laughing on the bus less than an hour after stabbing his victimEvening Standard · 6 Nov, 22:44
• Horror moment killer brags ‘I stabbed him fully’ after murdering student on train tracksDino Donaldson has been sentenced to life.Daily Express · 6 Nov, 22:32
• Killer, 22, who bragged 'I stabbed him' after knifing accounting student to death on railway line is jailed for lifeDino Donaldson, 22, murdered Anojan Gnaneswaran, 21, at a railway station in south-west London in January 2024.Daily Mail · 6 Nov, 22:07
• Train tracks murderer who bragged about attack on student jailed for lifeDino Donaldson, 22, murdered Anojan Gnaneswaran, 21, at a railway station in south-west London in January 2024.Evening Standard · 6 Nov, 20:30
• Killer who bragged 'I stabbed him fully' after murdering student on train tracks jailedDino Donaldson, 22, brutally stabbed Anojan Gnaneswaran, 21, at Strawberry Hill station in Twickenham, London, after following him onto the tracks, a court heardThe Mirror · 6 Nov, 16:59
• Train tracks murderer who bragged about attack on student jailed for lifeDino Donaldson, 22, murdered Anojan Gnaneswaran, 21, at a railway station in south-west London in January 2024.Evening Standard · 6 Nov, 16:35

In this story: Dino Donaldson · Anojan Gnaneswaran · Strawberry Hill station · Twickenham · Old Bailey · Ealing

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log