Three convicted of teenager’s stab murder after being caught out by GPS tag

Three men have been found guilty of stabbing a teenager to death in a park after being caught at the scene of the crime by an ankle tag.

Daniel Matos, 23, Keith Preddie, 34, and Joshua Cowley, 29, were found guilty on Friday of murdering 19-year-old Tyler Donnelly in Feltham, west London.

They were convicted after an Old Bailey jury in a retrial deliberated for 46 hours and 28 minutes.

Members of Mr Donnelly’s family sitting in court gasped and burst into tears as the verdict was delivered.

The court heard that a GPS tag fitted to Matos had enabled police to track his movements as he and the other two defendants cycled to the scene of the attack in Hanworth Park, two of them armed with large knives.

Mr Donnelly had also cycled there in his role as a runner for a local drug-dealing business operated from a phone number called the “John line”.

Instead of meeting his customers, he was set on and fatally stabbed in the neck on January 24 2024.

His body was found the next day in thick grass near his discarded bicycle.

He was still carrying nearly 30 packages of heroin and crack cocaine and £300 in cash.

As well as being linked to the scene of the crime by GPS, Matos’s DNA was identified on an unlit cigarette beside the body and he had the victim’s blood on the sleeve of his hoodie, the Old Bailey was told.

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 had set off from his home and was last seen alive at 9.12pm, the court was told.

As well as a stash of drugs, he had a large knife in a leather sheath tucked into the waistband of his trousers 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.”