Dino Donaldson murdered 21-year-old accounting student Anojan Gnaneswaran at Strawberry Hill station in Twickenham after a drug deal turned violent. Jurors found Dino Donaldson guilty of murder and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs following a four-week trial at the Old Bailey. The attack unfolded on the evening of January 8, 2024, when two groups of young men arranged a deal of £50 for 10 MDMA tablets to be exchanged at Strawberry Hill station.
Dino Donaldson and three others arrived at the station just after 10pm, followed by Anojan Gnaneswaran around an hour later. There was a disagreement between the two parties, and Anojan Gnaneswaran called his brother, who came to the station with two others. The argument continued on the platform before Dino Donaldson pulled a long knife out of his waistband.
I stabbed a man in his back bro, I stabbed him through the back bruv - I stabbed him fully. I watched it and I felt it go in him. Yeah?
Dino Donaldson chased the group and caught up with Anojan Gnaneswaran on the railway tracks where he stabbed him in the chest, abdomen, and thigh. Anojan Gnaneswaran was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim's brother phoned 999 and began CPR before paramedics arrived to take over.
BTP detectives traced Dino Donaldson's movements after the attack using CCTV as he fled from Twickenham to Kingston Upon Thames. Dino Donaldson boarded the N87 night bus after the murder, where an on-board camera caught him laughing and smiling. BTP's search team found the knife and a black glove in a tree at the murder scene.
What started as an argument over a drug deal ended in a young man's life being cut short by a remorseless thug.
Forensic examination found DNA belonging to Dino Donaldson and Anojan Gnaneswaran on both the knife and glove. Officers raided Dino Donaldson's home on January 11, 2024, and found him hiding in a cupboard. Dino Donaldson was arrested by detectives from the British Transport Police's Major, Serious and Organised Crime (MSOC) team.
Dino Donaldson will be sentenced at a later date. BTP Detective Chief Inspector Paul Attwell condemned Dino Donaldson's actions and expressed hope that the verdict provides closure to the victim's family. Anojan Gnaneswaran's family paid tribute to him as a much-loved son and brother.
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.
This case highlights broader concerns about drug-related violence and transport safety, particularly at railway stations where such transactions can escalate rapidly. Several unanswered questions remain following the conviction. The specific sentence Dino Donaldson will receive for murder and drug charges has not been determined, pending a later sentencing hearing.
The identities and roles of the three others who arrived with Donaldson at the station are unclear, as is the exact nature of the disagreement that escalated the drug deal argument. It is unknown whether any other arrests were made in connection with the drug deal or the murder, and what specific evidence or testimony beyond the DNA and CCTV evidence led the jury to convict Donaldson.
He will live the rest of his life knowing he has taken someone else's, and next month he will learn that he has a long time behind bars ahead to mull over his actions.
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.
Anojan was in his third year at university studying accounting and finance, and he was so excited for his future.
He excelled at all sports and had achieved first-dan black belt in karate – he competed in the World and European cham