A man who stabbed a university student to death on railway tracks after a drug deal turned violent has been jailed for life.

Dino Donaldson, of Caxton Road, Ealing, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, 6 November 2026, and ordered to serve a minimum term of 23 years before he can be considered for parole. The sentence followed an extensive investigation by British Transport Police detectives from its Major, Serious and Organised Crime team.

He murdered 21-year-old Anojan Gnaneswaran, a third-year accounting and finance student, at Strawberry Hill station in Twickenham, shortly after midnight on 9 January 2024.

A deal over fifty pounds of MDMA

Jurors heard that two groups of young men had arranged to meet at the station to exchange fifty pounds for 10 MDMA tablets on the evening of 8 January 2024. Donaldson arrived with three others just after 10pm. Mr Gnaneswaran arrived about an hour later.

A disagreement broke out between the two groups. Mr Gnaneswaran telephoned his brother, who came to the station with two other people. The argument continued on the platform before Donaldson became increasingly aggressive and pulled a long knife from his waistband.

He chased the group and caught up with Mr Gnaneswaran on the railway tracks, where he stabbed him in the chest, abdomen and thigh. Mr Gnaneswaran's brother dialled 999 and began CPR before paramedics arrived. Despite their efforts, Mr Gnaneswaran died at the scene.

Caught laughing on a night bus

British Transport Police detectives tracked Donaldson's movements after the attack using CCTV as he fled through Twickenham to Kingston upon Thames. He then boarded an N87 night bus, and its on-board camera captured him laughing and smiling less than an hour after Mr Gnaneswaran had been pronounced dead.

A search team later found the knife and a black glove in a tree at the scene. An arrest warrant was executed at Donaldson's home on 11 January 2024, where officers found him hiding inside a cupboard.

Donaldson was convicted of murder on 14 April 2026 after a retrial at the Old Bailey. He had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess Class A drugs, in connection with the purchase of ecstasy tablets, and was sentenced to six months for that offence, to run concurrently with his life sentence. He was also convicted of possessing a bladed article.

Savage and merciless

Passing sentence, Judge Angela Rafferty KC condemned what she described as a savage and merciless killing. The judge acknowledged difficult circumstances in Donaldson's own life, but said they could not excuse what he had done.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Attwell, of British Transport Police, said: "What started as an argument over a drug deal ended in a young man's future being stolen from him by a remorseless criminal." He added: "He will live the rest of his life knowing he has taken someone else's, and he deserves every minute of his 23-year minimum sentence."

Mr Gnaneswaran's family paid tribute to their much-loved son and brother. They said he 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, competing in the World and European championships, and they said they will all miss him so much.

[Source: The Oldham Times](https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/national/26707613.train-tracks-murderer-bragged-attack-student-jailed-life/) | [Source: British Transport Police](https://teddingtontown.co.uk/2026/11/06/strawberry-hill-station-murderer-jailed-for-life/)