A Sudanese asylum seeker has been sentenced to a minimum of 29 years in prison after murdering hotel worker Rhiannon Skye Whyte at Bescot Stadium station in Walsall, England in October 2024.
Deng Chol Majek—an illegal migrant from Somalia who had been in the UK for less than three months—stabbed the 27-year-old mother of a five-year-old son 23 times with a screwdriver. Eleven of the blows struck her head, one piercing her brainstem. Whyte survived for three days in hospital before succumbing to her injuries.
Majek followed Whyte from the Park Inn Hotel, where she worked and he was housed as an asylum seeker, to the station. CCTV footage and witness testimony showed him returning to the hotel in bloodied clothing, then “drinking, smoking and chatting” with friends. After the attack, he threw her phone into a river and left her for dead.
During the trial, Majek claimed DNA and CCTV evidence was inaccurate and attempted to lie about his age, asserting he was 19 when he was likely in his mid-20s.
The court heard that other asylum seekers at the Park Inn had attracted multiple police interventions in response to harassment, threats, and possession of weapons—including axes and knives. Staff were restricted from entering rooms to confiscate items to respect privacy, despite reports of migrants arriving amid prior criminal allegations.
Carla Harris from the Crown Prosecution Service said
Rhiannon Whyte should have been able to go to work and come home safely—but Deng Chol Majek robbed her of her life and future.
Majek was found guilty of murder and possessing an offensive weapon. The jury deliberated for just over two hours before reaching a unanimous verdict.
