Shocking CCTV footage captured the chilling moment a migrant danced with his friends after an asylum hotel worker was stabbed 23 times and left to bleed out, a court has heard. Deng Chol Majek stands accused of murdering Rhiannon Skye Whyte, 27, at Bescot Stadium train station in Walsall, West Midlands. The Sudanese national was staying at the Park Inn by Radisson hotel, where Whyte worked.
He denies murder and possessing a screwdriver as an offensive weapon. During his ongoing trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, jurours were played a video of him dancing and listening to music with friends in the hotel car park. In the background, the blue lights of emergency vehicles can be seen flashing as paramedics rushed to save Whyte, who was left to die on a platform at the station.
Whyte, a mother, had been working at the asylum hotel for about three months, cleaning and serving food. Her colleague Claire Taylor-Bevans said she’d already reported Majek to security and asked them to “keep an eye” on him.
Majek was then seen on CCTV staring at Whyte while she handed out snacks at the hotel bar. Taylor-Bevans told jurors: “[He was staring] like through us – as though we weren’t there. I felt intimidated.”
He later barged into Whyte, who responded, “What the f***”. She left to go home at 11pm, and Majek followed her.
Four minutes later, Whyte phoned a friend and was seen on CCTV, which captured Majek a further two minutes later. By 11.13pm, when she reached the train station platform, Majek was only 30 seconds behind her.
Whyte’s friend called the police after hearing screams over the phone and contacted the hotel, which sent a member of staff to the station.
The driver of the train she was due to catch saw a figure slumped over on the platform as he pulled in at 11.24pm.
Prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC said: “It was then that the prosecution say that this defendant attacked her. 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.
“Shortly after that this defendant could be seen running back up the stairs from the platform. He had an object lit up in his hand – that was Rhiannon’s mobile phone.
“The guard tried to help Rhiannon, as did the employee who had come from the hotel. But sadly she was too seriously injured and nothing could be done to save her. She passed away on October 23, having never regained consciousness.”
The trial continues.