Three jailed for murder of teen in park ambush
Three men have been jailed for life for lying in wait and murdering a teenager in a knife attack at a park in west London.
Daniel Matos, 24, Keith Preddie, 34, and Joshua Cowley, 29, were found guilty of killing 19-year-old Tyler Donnelly in Hanworth Park, Feltham, who had been in the park carrying heroin, cocaine and cash for a local drug dealing gang.
All three defendants were given life sentences, with Matos a minimum term of 27 years and six months, Preddie at least 27 years, and Cowley 25 years.
Judge Mark Dennis KC said the attack, in January 2024, was a "brutal and cowardly ambush" in which Donnelly "was outnumbered and had no opportunity to try and defend himself".
The court heard the three men were identified after a GPS tag attached to Matos was traced to the scene of the attack.
Donnelly had cycled to the park in his role as a runner for a local drug-dealing operation, which was linked to a phone number known as the "John line". Instead of meeting customers, he was stabbed in the neck.
He was left lying in the grass and was found dead the following day, still carrying nearly 30 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine and £300 in cash.
'Laughed in court'
Matos, of Hounslow, Preddie, of Feltham, and Cowley, also of Hounslow, had all denied involvement in Donnelly's death and were convicted of murder following a retrial.
Donnelly's grandmother, Shelley Packman, said sitting through two trials had been difficult, adding that the defendants laughed in court and showed "no remorse and no humanity".
She described her grandson as a "football-mad" Tottenham Hotspur fan who was cheeky, funny and kind-hearted, and who loved animals, particularly his dog, Archie.
She said he had been taken "in the most cruel and horrific way".
"He should have walked through the door," she added. "Instead, he was left in a field in the dark on his own."
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