Man at asylum hotel convicted of murdering hotel worker at station

A man staying at an asylum hotel has been convicted of murdering a hotel worker after following her to a railway station and attacking her on October 20, 2024. Deng Chol Majek, who is from Sudan and has disputed his age, was found guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court of the killing of 27 year old Rhiannon Skye Whyte, who was found injured on the platform at Bescot Stadium station and died in hospital three days later.

Prosecutors told the jury that CCTV footage tracked Majek following Whyte from the Park Inn hotel in Walsall, where she worked, to the station late on the night of October 20. The footage showed him closing the distance as she walked to the deserted platform and disappearing from view for a short period before reappearing running from the platform with a lit mobile phone in his hand. Officers later recovered items of clothing and footwear seized from Majek that prosecutors said bore Whyte’s blood, and DNA attributed to Whyte was found under his fingernails. The prosecution said a Phillips head screwdriver was used in the attack.

Majek denied responsibility, disputed that he was the person captured on CCTV and challenged the DNA findings. Jurors deliberated for about...