Three men have been convicted of stabbing a teenager to death in a park after police tracked one of the defendants to the scene using a GPS ankle tag.
Daniel Matos, 23, Keith Preddie, 34, and Joshua Cowley, 29, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering 19-year-old Tyler Donnelly in Feltham, West London, following a retrial. Jurors deliberated for 46 hours and 28 minutes before returning their verdict. Members of Mr Donnelly’s family gasped and burst into tears in court as the decision was delivered.
The court heard that a GPS tag fitted to Matos allowed officers to track his movements as he and the other defendants cycled to Hanworth Park, two of them allegedly armed with large knives.
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Mr Donnelly had cycled to the park in his role as a runner for a local drug-dealing operation linked to a phone number known as the “John line.” Instead of meeting customers, he was attacked and fatally stabbed in the neck on January 24 2024.
His body was found the following day in thick grass near his abandoned bicycle. He was still carrying nearly 30 packages of heroin and crack cocaine and £300 in cash.
The Old Bailey was told Matos’s DNA was found on an unlit cigarette beside the body and that he had the victim’s blood on the sleeve of his hoodie. His movements were linked to the scene via the GPS tag.
Previously, prosecutor Julian Evans KC said the killing came against the background of drug dealing and the “inherent” danger it posed.
Shortly beforehand, two people had used the “John line” to order drugs and gone to the park expecting to meet Mr Donnelly. Instead they encountered Preddie, who one of them knew as P, along with the two others in face coverings or balaclavas and carrying knives.
The men appeared “hyped” and when asked to leave the park, the drug users did as they were told, jurors heard.
Minutes after the defendants cycled into the park, Mr Donnelly set off from his home and was last seen alive at 9.12pm. He was carrying a large knife in a leather sheath tucked into his waistband, which was unused.
The “sustained and targeted” attack on Mr Donnelly took five minutes and was not caught on camera or witnessed by anyone, jurors were told. The panel heard that the victim sustained a number of stab wounds, with a fatal injury to the neck.
Afterwards, the defendants rode out of the park, with Matos changing his clothes at a friend’s address and the other two defendants going to Cowley’s home. They were all arrested four days later and made no comment in police interviews.
Matos, of Hounslow, Preddie, of Feltham, and Cowley, of Hounslow, had denied involvement in Mr Donnelly’s death. After the guilty verdicts, Judge Mark Dennis KC remanded them into custody until their sentencing on March 17.
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie, from the Metropolitan Police, said: “My thoughts and those of my team remain with the family of Tyler, who have all been deeply affected by the senseless violence that night. Tyler’s family have had to sit in court and listen to every harrowing detail of how he was stabbed and left to die alone. Each of the defendants had their role to play and committed acts of horrific violence.
“My team worked tirelessly over many months, painstakingly gathering evidence to ensure that the three men were brought to justice. This case also shows the devastating impact that drugs have on our communities and the link with serious violence.
“It’s why we’re so committed to tackling drugs supply, which we know rips families like Tyler’s apart.”
