A Sudanese asylum seeker has been convicted of fatally stabbing a hotel worker at a train station in the UK. Deng Chol Majek, who claims to be 19 years old, was accused of murdering Ms. Whyte, a 27-year-old woman who was attacked on a railway station platform in Walsall. The incident occurred on October 20 last year, where Ms. Whyte was stabbed 23 times and passed away three days later in the hospital. Surveillance footage presented during the trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court showed Majek intentionally bumping into Ms. Whyte as she was leaving work at the hotel, before following her to the train station and later being observed drinking and smoking with friends near the hotel.

Throughout the legal proceedings, Majek denied the charges of murder, possession of a screwdriver, and being present at the train station during the attack. He claimed to have been outside the hotel at the time of the incident, with his statements translated by a Sudanese Arabic interpreter. Majek explained discrepancies in his age, attributing them to a mistake on an identification document and stating that he left Sudan at the age of 16.

Senior Investigator DCI Paul Attwell described the attack as brutal and unprovoked, expressing the lack of remorse shown by Majek for his actions. He commended the strength and dignity of Ms. Whyte’s family throughout the investigation and trial, emphasizing the impact of the loss on her loved ones. The investigator highlighted the need to remember and honor the life of the victim, Rhiannon, rather than focusing on her perpetrator.