A Sudanese asylum seeker who stabbed a hotel worker 23 times in a 'sadistic' attack has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years. Deng Chol Majek, who arrived in the UK by small boat less than three months before the killing, murdered 27-year-old Rhiannon Whyte at Bescot Stadium station in Walsall in October 2024.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that Majek followed Whyte to the station after she finished a shift at the Park Inn hotel, where he was living. He stabbed her 19 times in the head, causing a fatal brain stem injury. Whyte, a mother of a five-year-old son, died in hospital three days later.
Passing a life sentence, Mr Justice Soole described the attack as one of 'vicious brutality' with an 'intent to kill'. He told Majek he had brought 'devastation' to Whyte's family. The judge noted that Majek continued to deny being the assailant, despite overwhelming CCTV and DNA evidence.
Whyte's mother, Donna Whyte, described Majek as an 'evil nightmare' in a victim impact statement. Her sister, Alex Whyte, said Majek carried out a 'vicious and pitiless assault on a terrified and defenceless young woman'. She added: 'You brutalised Rhiannon and then partied as if nothing had happened. You celebrated. You might as well have danced on her grave.'
Majek had been reported to hotel security for 'spookily' staring at female staff. No motive was given for the killing. After the attack, he bought beer, changed his bloodstained flip-flops, and was seen dancing with other residents near the hotel. Serco, which ran the hotel, stopped using it for asylum seekers the same month Whyte was killed.
