A railway line killer just got jailed for life for stabbing a student over a drug deal
6 days ago · 7 November 2026Share
Strawberry Hill Station, Twickenham. File photo. It's No Game · CC BY 2.0
Dino Donaldson just got jailed for life for killing a student on a railway line.
He bragged about it straight after, on a doorbell camera.
A judge at the Old Bailey sentenced him a few hours ago. He's 22, from Caxton Road in Ealing, west London. He'll serve at least 23 years before he can even be considered for parole.
So who did he kill?
Anojan Gnaneswaran. He was 21, studying accounting and finance. He died at Strawberry Hill station in Twickenham, just after midnight on 9 January 2024. Almost three years ago.
Donaldson was 19 at the time.
And here's what it was all over. £50. Ten MDMA tablets. That's it.
So how did it happen?
Donaldson turned up at the station with three others, just after 10pm. Gnaneswaran got there about an hour later. He called for help, and his brother Ashvin came, along with two others.
Donaldson pulled a long knife from his waistband. He chased the group. He caught Gnaneswaran on the railway tracks and stabbed him in the chest, the stomach and the thigh.
Ashvin Gnaneswaran dialled 999. He did CPR on his own brother. Paramedics tried. They couldn't save him. He died right there.
So what did Donaldson do next?
Less than an hour later, he was caught on CCTV. On the N87 night bus. Smiling. Laughing.
And a doorbell camera picked up his voice. He says quote "I stabbed him through the back bro, I stabbed him fully".
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London Borough of Richmond upon Thames: Twickenham Scenery. File photo. Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0
That's the killer, on tape, describing the moment he felt the knife go in.
British Transport Police's search team later found the knife. And a black glove. Hidden in a tree at the scene.
Three days after the killing, officers went to arrest him. 11 January 2024. They found him hiding in a cupboard.
In his bedroom: 74 wraps of crack and heroin. Worth more than £1,000.
Donaldson was found guilty of murder on 14 April this year, in a retrial at the Old Bailey. Sentencing came a few hours ago.
Judge Angela Rafferty KC did not hold back. She says quote "This was a savage and merciless killing of a helpless young man who was on the ground".
That's a judge telling him there was no fight left to have.
Donaldson's barrister, Dean George KC, asked for leniency. He said his client has a significant history of trauma, verified by social services, including physical, emotional and mental punishment.
And there's more from his past. Last year, Donaldson was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of possessing a knife. He'd also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess class A drugs, for buying ecstasy from Gnaneswaran himself. He got six months for that, running alongside this sentence.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Attwell, of British Transport Police, put it plainly. He said this started as an argument over a drug deal, and ended with a young man's future stolen from him by a remorseless criminal.
Gnaneswaran's father gave a statement to the court. He said his family were lucky to have had him for the time they did, but that he should still be here.
And here's who was lost. Gnaneswaran held a first-dan black belt in karate. He'd competed at World and European championships.
It's not known yet if Donaldson will appeal. And it's not known what happens when parole becomes possible, 23 years from now.
For now, the judge has given her answer. Donaldson will spend at least the next 23 years in prison. All over £50.
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