A man charged with murder after a woman was stabbed at a train station has refused to appear in court.

Deng Chol Majek, 18, who is accused of killing Rhiannon Skye Whyte, failed to enter a plea at Wolverhampton Crown Court, via video link from HMP Manchester.

Whyte, 27, died in hospital on October 23, three days after she was attacked at Bescot Stadium station in Walsall.

Majek, who the BBC understands is an asylum seeker, had been staying at the Park Inn Hotel in Bescot Crescent, Walsall, where she had been working.

The 18-year-old, who is from South Sudan, was initially charged with attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon, but since Whyte’s death the first charge was upgraded to murder.

On Thursday, Charlie Crinon, defending, said Majek had refused to speak to him through an interpreter before the hearing because he did not know who he was.

Judge Michael Chambers KC said he would proceed with the case as if the defendant would contest the charges.

“It is important that you have a proper conference and that, like all defendants, he has full confidence in his representation,” he told Mr Crinon.

“I am not in a position to give a court date this morning.”

Majek was remanded in custody with another hearing on December 13.

In a statement after her death, Whyte’s family, who were with her when she died, said she was “selfless” and “brave” and “always there for anyone who needed it”.

A trial is due to start in April 2025.

Prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC said it was expected to last between five and seven days.