Here was a young man, by all accounts well-liked, a fine member of the US Marines who had served in Afghanistan and taken part in raids on nests of Taliban, and who had been injured in the line of duty.
He was in Phuket as part of the recovery process and had been learning Muay Thai at Rawai Muay Thai.
Late on August 13 he was in the Freedom Bar, close to the beachfront in Rawai, with a bunch of friends. The details are not clear, but Mr Longfellow somehow got into an argument with another kick-boxer, Briton Lee Aldhouse, known in the ring as “Pitbull”.
The argument between Aldhouse and Mr Longfellow escalated into violence when the two exchanged blows in the toilets of the bar, with Mr Longfellow knocking his opponent to the floor.
Friends broke up the fight and both men left before police arrived.
Soon afterward, a foreigner was caught on CCTV camera charging into the nearby 7-Eleven, grabbing a knife used in the preparation of food, and running out without paying for it.
The images from the camera are not high quality, but the man in them does bear a close resemblance to Aldhouse.
At four in the morning, Mr Longfellow returned to his accommodation in the Ya Nui 2 Resort. There he was attacked by someone laying in wait for him. He was stabbed once in the chest and then again as he staggered into his room.
His girlfriend saw “a man” run away.
Given the fight earlier in the evening, and the theft of the knife, police were fairly sure they knew who had committed the murder, and put out a wanted poster with a picture of Aldhouse, taken from an earlier visit to the police station.
But Aldhouse was too quick. He managed to flee Thailand, probably via Cambodia, got to Singapore and from there flew back to Britain.
British immigration officers had been alerted, and when Aldhouse landed, he was locked up on charges related to illegal possession of a shotgun.
The Birmingham Mail reported on September 20, 2010, “Lee Aldhouse, then aged 20, was sentenced to three years’ custody after a sawn-off shotgun was found during a police raid.
“Four days after the stabbing [in Phuket], the 27-year-old was arrested at Heathrow Airport on his arrival back in the UK on a warrant issued for his recall to prison for breaching the terms of his release.
“The Birmingham Mail has learned that he was arrested in the spring of 2003 when police executed a search warrant at his address.
“During a search of the property, in the Solihull area [near Birmingham], a sawn-off shotgun was found by officers. Aldhouse was later sentenced to 36 months in a Young Offenders’ Institute for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
“It is understood he was released in August 2004.
“He is thought to have spent time working as a bouncer in Spain before moving to Thailand in about 2006. He has lived on and off in Thailand since then.”
In Phuket he built a reputation for his aggressiveness and for having a very short fuse. He is not remembered with affection by those who knew him before the murder and his flight to Britain.
Diana Campillo of Rawai Muay Thai, where both men trained for a while, says, “I remember that Lee Aldhouse was kicked out of the gym. The trainers didn’t like his attitude [which was] aggressive and rude.
“Dashawn Longfellow I remember better. He was funny and laid-back. He trained at the gym, during a break from his military life. He was well-liked by many guests at the gym.”
Danny Avison, one of the owners at the time of Promthep Muay Thai where Aldhouse had trained shortly before the murder told The Phuket News, “His aggression came from his heavy use of steroids.
“In his first fight he tried to bite the ear of his opponent. In his second fight we put him against a quality Thai fighter and he didn’t like the pressure too much.
“I had many of my students tell me about him starting fights against innocent and always smaller people at local bars.
“After that second fight he moved on to another gym. I was very happy not to see him again at my gym.”
Once Aldhouse had been arrested in Britain, the Thai authorities launched an application for his extradition.
The British Home Secretary (the country’s interior minister) Theresa May, having seen the prima facie evidence offered by the Thais – and having received “suggestions” from the US government that they would very much like to see Aldhouse sent back to Thailand to be tried for the murder of one of their citizens – agreed to his extradition.
Aldhouse appealed. This is a long-drawn-out process and had Aldhouse had greater resources he could possibly have fought extradition for a great deal longer, like rogue financier Rakesh Saxena, who managed to delay his extradition from Canada to Thailand for a record 13 years.
Dashawn Longfellow’s family and friends on Tuesday hailed the decision of the British court as a victory.
After The Phuket News alerted her, his mother Tammy wrote, “I am very thankful that you sent this to me... I’ve been waiting on this for two-plus years. I pray that he does get sent back... I miss my son every day.”
His brother Marquis wrote, “Our family is extremely happy with this news. We have been waiting far too long. I hope Lee gets it ten-fold for taking the life of a true American hero.”
The waiting, of course, is far from over. Thai justice grinds fine, but slow.
It could be another couple of years before the family hears whether Lee Aldhouse has been found guilty and, if he is, what his punishment will be.