Image source, BTP

Here is the statement given to us by Alexandra Whyte, Rhiannon's sister, on behalf of the family:

"On Sunday the 20 October 2024, my family were handed a life sentence when Deng Chol Majek launched a frenzied and unprovoked attack on Rhiannon, for no apparent reason whatsoever.

"There is no end to the pain or suffering we have had to endure or continue to experience. On that horrific day, our precious Rhiannon was shown no mercy. Throughout this trial we have been given no reason as to why he chose Rhiannon, no accountability for his actions and no remorse, she fought for her life and to save herself from this sick, twisted and cowardly human - who showed no regard for Rhiannon or human life.

"Rhiannon had a beautiful and bright future. She was smart, kind, funny, thoughtful, caring, hardworking and most importantly she belonged to us. She was a piece of all of us."

Alice Cullinane
Reporting from Birmingham

This is the moment that police arrested Deng Majek on suspicion of attempted murder, a few hours after Rhiannon was attacked.

Rhiannon died three days later, in hospital, so the charge was then upgraded to murder.

Majek was arrested inside the Park Inn Hotel in Walsall, where he was living, and Rhiannon had been working.

Closing speeches on Thursday focused on the CCTV footage shown to the trial and the forensic evidence in the case.

Michelle Heeley KC, for the prosecution, asked the jury: "Do you accept the evidence of an independent forensic scientist, or do you believe the defendant who sat silently in interview, with no answers to police questions?

However, defence barrister Gurdeep Garcha KC told the jury there were "very significant gaps in the prosecution evidence" and questioned what happened to the murder weapon, which was never recovered.

Image source, BTP

Rhiannon Whyte had just finished her shift at the Park Inn Hotel at 23:00 BST and was walking to Bescot Stadium Station, in Walsall.

CCTV footage showed a man apparently following her.

Although there was no footage available from the station platform, Ms Whyte's friend Emma Cowley was on the phone to her at the time.

Giving evidence via videolink, Ms Cowley told the court she heard a scream on the line at about 23:15, with two further screams, separated by silence.

Ms Cowley said she called 999 at the same time as trying to reach Ms Whyte's mother.

Ms Whyte was discovered slumped inside the platform shelter at 23:22, after a train pulled into the station.

A guard on the train and an employee from the hotel, both went to help her and she was taken to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she died three days later from her injuries.

James Bovill
at Wolverhampton Crown Court

Image source, BTP

The judge has said he would like to establish the age of Majek before sentence, because sentencing guidelines are different for someone under the age of 21.

This has been a point of contention throughout the trial.

Michelle Heeley KC says he gave his age as 18, but a Home Office official said: "I say Mr Majek looks to be in his mid 20s. I don't believe Mr Majek to be 18".

When he was stopped in Germany, his date of birth was recorded as 1January 1998, which would make him 27.

Gurdeep Garcha KC, defending, agrees an age assessment is needed and a medical practitioner will be needed.

Chloe Hughes
West Midlands

Deng Majek is a Sudanese asylum seeker who was living at the Park Inn Hotel in Walsall at the time of Rhiannon Whyte's death.

The court heard that he is from a large family, with seven sisters and three brothers and did not go to school or have any formal education.

The jury was also told he had a daughter in Sudan, who he left behind when he left the country.

Majek told the court that he left Sudan at the age of 16, fleeing war, and travelled through Libya, Italy and then Germany.

On documents in Germany his date of birth was recorded as 1 January 1998, which would make him 27 now, but he told the court that was a mistake due to confusion when he was processed in Italy and claims he is rather 19.

Majek also told the court that he had no previous convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings recorded against him.

James Bovill
at Wolverhampton Crown Court

Rhiannon Whyte's family are emotional as the verdict is read out.

Her mother, Siobhan, put her head in her hands and began crying.

Rhiannon's sisters are also in tears.

The jury find Deng Majek guilty of stabbing Rhiannon Whyte to death.

James Bovill
at Wolverhampton Crown Court

The jury have come back into the court room.

Image source, BTP

The defendant Deng Majek, who is an asylum seeker, is accused of murdering Rhiannon Whyte after she finished her shift at the hotel where he was staying, in Walsall, in the West Midlands.

Ms Whyte was stabbed repeatedly on a deserted platform at Bescot Stadium railway station on 20 October 2024 and died in hospital three days later.

Welcome to our live coverage of the Rhiannon Whyte murder trial.

We've heard the jury are returning and that a verdict might be imminent