A man who sought asylum in the UK was seen dancing and laughing after he stabbed a hotel worker more than 20 times at a railway station before leaving her for dead, a court heard.
Deng Chol Majek, a Sudanese asylum seeker who has said he is 19, was caught on CCTV as he followed Rhiannon Sky Whye from the town’s Park Inn hotel to Walsall’s Bescot Stadium station.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Majek was “clearly excited about what he had done” after inflicting a total of 23 stab wounds to Ms Whyte, primarily to her head on the station platform.
Ms Whyte, whose shift had finished at 11pm, could be heard screaming during a phone call to a friend and was found by a train guard on the platform minutes later, according to prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC.
Opening the Crown’s case against Majek, Ms Heeley told the court he followed the 27-year-old from the hotel where he was living.
Ms Heeley said: “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.
“He left her bleeding to death and then casually went back to his hotel. We say you can be sure he is guilty of murder.”
Ms Whyte had worked at the hotel for three months, helping with things including cleaning and serving food, while the defendant was resident in room 309.
The prosecutor said that one of Ms Whyte’s colleagues had noticed the defendant staring at her and the woman she was working with.
“No one could recall any particular issue that would have caused him to act in that way. There had been an issue about some broken biscuits with some of the residents but nothing serious.
“What is clear from the CCTV is that the defendant was hanging around the reception area, staring at Rhiannon throughout the evening. He changed into a distinctive jacket and sandals and then waited around the reception area where Rhiannon was,” Ms Heeley added. “CCTV tracks the defendant all the way. He followed her from the hotel and to the station.
“He had been hanging around waiting for her to leave and waited until she was on her own before he followed her.”
Ms Whyte’s friend, having heard screams, called the police, who contacted the hotel, who sent one of their employees to the station. The train that Rhiannon had been due to catch pulled in at 11.24pm and the driver saw a figure slumped on the platform. She died three days after the attack.
“The defendant did not go straight back to the hotel, he went to a local shop and bought himself a drink first, arriving back in the hotel at 13 minutes past midnight,” Ms Heeley continued. “In between the station and the hotel he had thrown Rhiannon’s phone into a river. Once at the hotel he was seen dancing and laughing, clearly excited about what he had done.”
As well as CCTV footage, Ms Whyte’s DNA was found under the defendant’s fingernails. The prosecutor said: “His clothes have her blood on, his fingernails have her DNA under them. She had injuries from where she tried to defend herself.”
Majek denies murder and possessing a screwdriver as an offensive weapon. The trial continues.
