A man has been convicted of the murder of a hotel employee in an assault at a train station platform.
Deng Chol Majek, a Sudanese asylum seeker claiming to be 19 years old, was residing at the Park Inn hotel in Walsall when he was accused of killing Ms. Whyte. The 27-year-old victim was fatally stabbed 23 times in the head on October 20 last year and passed away in the hospital three days later. Ms. Whyte was attacked while waiting for a train home after her shift around 11:15 pm. During the trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, jurors watched CCTV footage showing Majek staring at Ms. Whyte and then intentionally bumping into her at the hotel entrance towards the end of her shift, according to prosecutors.
The footage also captured Majek following Ms. Whyte into Bescot Stadium station and subsequently leaving the platform. Later, Majek was seen socializing with friends, smoking and drinking in a car park near the Park Inn hotel.
A hotel housing officer noted that Majek appeared to be in better spirits while in the car park and was seen dancing with friends in mobile phone footage presented to the jurors.
Throughout the trial, Majek denied the charges of murder, possession of a screwdriver, and being present at the train station during the fatal attack on Ms. Whyte. He claimed he was outside the hotel at the time of the incident. An interpreter translated his testimony and responses in court from Sudanese Arabic.
Majek explained to the court that a misreported birthdate in German records listing him as 27 years old was due to an error on an identification document, stating that he left Sudan at 16 years old.
In a statement, Senior Investigator DCI Paul Attwell described the attack as brutal, cowardly, and unprovoked, lamenting the lack of remorse shown by Majek for the heinous crime committed against Ms. Whyte. He praised the victim’s family for their strength and dignity during the investigation and trial, emphasizing the love and memory of Rhiannon.