An asylum seeker in Germany killed a prostitute and robbed her two months after he should have been deported by authorities.

Soueymane Sidiki, 23, is charged with murdering Romanian prostitute Lica Luminata, at her house in Regensburg on August 30 last year - German newspaper Bild reported.

Sidiki, from Senegal, who was living in an asylum seekers refuge across the street, murdered the woman after being told by another person living there he should 'beat prostitutes unconscious and steal from them'.

A court heard how Sidiki went to the woman's house and paid 50 euros for sex before smothering her with a pillow, taking back the money and stealing her phone.

He fled the scene but was later caught by police in another asylum seeker's refuge on the Czech border after they managed to track him down using her phone signals.

Soueymane Sidiki, 23, is charged with murdering the woman in the German city of Regensburg

Lica Luminata was a Romanian prostitute who was living across the road from Sidiki's asylum seeker's refuge

The court also heard how Sidiki had been allowed to remain in Germany because of an administrative error, Bild reported.

He had seen his application for citizenship denied two months earlier on June 20 2017 - but German authorities found they were unable to deport him because he lacked the correct documentation.

They were forced to send off an application to Senegal, his country of origin, to try and get him a new passport so he could leave the country.

But the process soon became tangled in bureaucracy - resulting in significant time delays.

Sidiki's lawyer, Robert Hankowetz, claims the process was delayed even further by the fact he had given German officials a fake name because he is wanted in Mali in connection with a traffic accident.

Soueymane Sidiki's room in the asylum centre in Regensburg is pictured

Ms Luminata was found by police having been smothered to death with a pillow by the murderer

Sidiki was due to be deported two months earlier from Germany but the process was held up by an administrative error

Hankowetz also claimed he only decided to rob the woman because he had a sick daughter back in Africa and was told by another man in his refugee accommodation he should 'go to the prostitutes across the street and beat them unconscious'.

According to Hankowetz, Sidiki only discovered Ms Luminata had died when he was arrested and his lawyer said: 'He can hardly live with this guilt.'

The verdict of the trial is due to be given on June 22 this year. Sidiki is facing life imprisonment over the murder.

He has pleaded guilty to all the charges brought against him.