Asylum seeker jailed for murdering hotel worker Rhiannon Skye Whyte in Walsall

An asylum seeker has been sentenced to a minimum of 29 years for stabbing a hotel worker to death at a train station in the West Midlands.

Deng Chol Majek stabbed Rhiannon Skye Whyte in the head 19 times with a screwdriver, and 23 times in total, in October 2024.

He was caught on CCTV following her from the Park Inn hotel, in Walsall - where he lived and she worked - to Bescot Stadium station.

Majek was handed a life sentence on Friday at Coventry Crown Court.

Ms Whyte's family described Majek as "demonic and inhuman" in a statement to the court.

"The pain and suffering we have experienced since the horrific attack is something we still have to address every day, and I cannot see a time when this will not be the case," her family said.

Mr Whyte's sister told the court that Majek had carried out a "vicious and pitiless assault on a terrified and defenceless young woman who he claims never to have spoken to or noticed".

"Her name will not be forgotten, she will not be a distant memory. We will keep her alive in our memory," she said.

"You, however, are an evil nightmare that will be put aside, known only for your cruel and malicious act."

Majek showed no emotion as Ms Whyte's sister addressed him directly, referring to footage showing him partying and dancing hours later.

"You brutalised Rhiannon and then partied as if nothing had happened," she said.

Ms Whyte's mother Donna also gave a statement in court, telling Majek "let me see you dancing now".

A court heard Majek, who is from Sudan and claimed to be 19 years old, had previously been reported to hotel security after "spookily" staring at three female staff for prolonged periods.

Ms Whyte, 27, died three days after the attack, having been found by the driver and guard of a train which pulled in about five minutes later.

High Court judge Michael Soole said: "You have provided the court with no explanation for your conduct, nor any reliable basis to consider any suggested mitigating factors".

"I see no basis for this statutory mitigating factor which arises where the intent was to cause serious bodily harm rather than to kill.

"Having regard to every aspect of your conduct, before, during and after the assault on Rhiannon, I am sure that your intent was to kill."

Justice Soole concluded Majek was actually aged between 25 and 28 based on a date of birth provided as part of a German asylum application, despite his claim to have been 18 at the time of the murder.

"I therefore sentence you on the basis that you were aged 26 at the date of Rhiannon's murder," he said.

"For the offence of murder, the law imposes a sentence of imprisonment for life."

Majek, who is about 10 inches taller than Ms Whyte, walked to the Caldmore Green area of Walsall after the attack to buy beer and was recorded apparently wiping blood from his trousers.

He returned to the hotel at 12.13am, changed his bloodstained flip-flops for trainers, and was seen dancing with other residents in the car park, within sight of emergency vehicles called to the station.

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.

"He attacked her for no reason, and callously left her bleeding on a station platform. He then appeared to rejoice in his actions, having been caught laughing and dancing on footage an hour later.

"Although the stabbing itself was not captured on CCTV, the prosecution case against Chol Majek included DNA evidence, witness testimony and CCTV showing him stalking Rhiannon to the station and returning to the hotel in his distinctive bloodied clothing."

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Ms Whyte's family members arrived at Coventry Crown Court wearing white t-shirts with her picture on it, while groups of people waved England flags outside the building.

Majek was originally found guilty in October of murdering the mother of a six-year-old son, and police at the time said he had shown no remorse.

The jury deliberated for two hours and five minutes before unanimously convicting him of murder and possessing a screwdriver as an offensive weapon.

Majek is believed to have entered the UK by small boat less than three months before the attack.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "Crimes like this are the consequence of mass illegal immigration."

(c) Sky News 2026: Asylum seeker jailed for murdering hotel worker Rhiannon Skye Whyte in Walsall