An asylum seeker was seen dancing and laughing after stabbing a hotel worker 23 times on a railway station platform, a murder trial jury heard. Deng Chol Majek was "clearly excited about what he had done" after inflicting the wounds on Rhiannon Skye Whyte at Walsall's Bescot Stadium station, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
The 27-year-old victim was found bleeding to death by a train guard after her shift at the Park Inn hotel finished at 11pm on October 20 last year. Ms Whyte had worked at the hotel for about three months, helping with cleaning and serving food, while Majek was resident in room 309.
Attack caught on CCTV
CCTV footage showed Majek following Ms Whyte from the hotel where asylum seekers were being housed to the railway station. Prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC told the court: "He followed her down on to the train platform at the Bescot Stadium station and then he attacked her. Stabbing her over and over again with a screwdriver."
The defendant, who claims to be 19 and is from Sudan, had been "hanging around the reception area, staring at Rhiannon throughout the evening". He changed into a distinctive jacket and sandals before following her when she left work alone.
Precise timeline revealed
Ms Whyte called a friend at 11.04pm and was caught on CCTV at 11.08pm with Majek following two minutes later. He "closed the gap" to 90 seconds and then 30 seconds as she reached the deserted platform at 11.13pm.
The prosecutor said: "Rhiannon had been talking to her friend. But it went silent before (the friend) heard a scream, then another scream. The phone went dead at 11.19pm." The friend, having heard the screams, called police.
Victim never regained consciousness
Ms Whyte was discovered by a train guard when the train she was due to catch arrived at 11.24pm. Despite attempts to help her, she was too seriously injured and passed away on October 23, having never regained consciousness.
After the attack, Majek did not return directly to the hotel but went to a local shop to buy a drink first. He threw Ms Whyte's mobile phone into a river and arrived back at the hotel at 13 minutes past midnight, where he was seen dancing and laughing.
Majek denies murder and possessing a screwdriver as an offensive weapon. The trial continues.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
