A Sudanese asylum seeker has been found guilty of murdering a hotel worker in a frenzied attack at Bescot Stadium railway station in Walsall. Deng Chol Majek, who claimed to be 19, stabbed 27-year-old Rhiannon Skye Whyte 23 times with a screwdriver, including 11 blows to the skull, on 20 October 2024.
The jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court took just over two hours to reach a unanimous verdict. Majek showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered. The prosecution described the attack as 'vicious and frenzied', noting that Whyte had been working at the Park Inn hotel for about three months.
CCTV footage showed Majek following Whyte to the station. After the attack, he threw her phone into the River Tame, bought a beer, and returned to the hotel, where he was seen dancing and drinking in the car park as emergency services arrived. A housing officer described him as 'drinking, smoking and just chatting amongst his group of friends'.
Forensic evidence linked Majek to the crime: his jacket, ring and sandals had Whyte's blood on them, and her DNA was found under his fingernails. During the trial, Majek insisted he was elsewhere at the time and had no reason to harm Whyte. He said he travelled from Sudan to the UK via Libya, Italy and Germany, arriving in July 2024.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Carla Harris 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. He attacked her for no reason, and callously left her bleeding on a station platform.'
Whyte's family described the ordeal as 'hell on earth'. Her sister Alex Whyte said she had to tell Rhiannon's five-year-old son about his mother's death. Sentencing was postponed pending verification of Majek's age.
