A killer bragged “I stabbed him fully” after fatally attacking an accounting student on railway tracks.
On Tuesday, Dino Donaldson, 21, of Caxton Road, Ealing, west London, was convicted of the murder of Anojan Gnaneswaran at Strawberry Hill station in Twickenham, south-west London on January 8 2024.
A fight broke out on the station platform between two groups of men over a drug deal to pay £50 for 10 MDMA tablets, before Dondaldson chased Mr Gnaneswaran, 21, onto the tracks and stabbed him in the chest, abdomen and thigh.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Less than an hour later, Donaldson was caught on CCTV on an N87 night bus smiling and laughing.
He was also recorded on the audio of a doorbell camera saying: “I stabbed him through the back bro, I stabbed him fully. I watched it and I felt it go in him, yeah.”
He was arrested at his home in west London on January 11 2024 where he was discovered hiding in a cupboard.
Police found 74 wraps of crack and heroin in his bedroom with a street value of more than £1,000.
Following the unanimous verdict at the Old Bailey, Judge Angela Rafferty KC remanded the defendant in custody and adjourned sentencing to a date to be fixed.
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.
“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.”
Mr Gnaneswaran’s family paid tribute to a “much-loved son and brother”.
In a statement issued through British Transport Police, they said: “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 championships in karate, and we will all miss him so much.”
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