Asylum seeker who laughed and danced after stabbing hotel worker jailed for life
An asylum seeker who stabbed a hotel worker to death and was seen laughing and dancing a short time later has been sentenced to at least 29 years in prison.
Deng Chol Majek followed Rhiannon Whyte from Walsall’s Park Inn Hotel to the abandoned Bescot Stadium railway station, where he launched a violent attack, resulting in Rhiannon Whyte being stabbed 23 times with a screwdriver.
The 27-year-old mother, who left behind a five-year-old son, suffered a fatal brainstem injury and died in hospital three days later.
Addressing Majek on the dock, his mother Donna Whyte described Majek as “a bad nightmare” and said: “Let me see you dance now.”
In an emotional victim impact statement, his sister Alex Whyte said Majek carried out a “violent and brutal attack on a terrified and defenseless young woman who he claimed never spoke to or noticed”.
He added: “You continue to show no remorse and fail to take responsibility for your cowardly actions. We still do not know or understand why you are stalking, hunting and preying on Rhiannon. You corner her before carrying out your vicious and unprovoked attack.”
“Honestly, I think it’s fair to call you evil and inhumane under the circumstances. What are we supposed to say? You brutalized Rhiannon and then partied as if nothing had happened. You celebrated. You might as well have danced on her grave.”
Jurors at Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that Majek was reported to security at the Park Inn, where he lived and Whyte worked, on October 20, 2024, after staring at three female staff for a long time.
After finishing work at 11pm, Whyte was “tracked” to the station by Majek, and CCTV showed him disappearing from view for around 90 seconds while he attacked her.
His injuries included 19 wounds to his head, and he was found injured in a shelter on the platform by the driver and guard of the arriving train about five minutes later.
Immediately after the incident, Majek walked to the Caldmore Green area of Walsall to buy a beer and was recorded on CCTV wiping what appeared to be blood on his trousers.
He returned to the hotel at 12.13am and changed his bloody flip-flops for the coaches and was seen dancing with other residents in the car park within sight of emergency vehicles trying to save Whyte’s life.
No motive for the murder was given at the hearing, but Majek, who was about 10 inches taller than Ms Whyte, had passed her as she was leaving the hotel for a cigarette in the early evening.
At his trial, Majek claimed there was no person following Whyte on CCTV and told jurors he had left a pregnant wife behind in Sudan.
The only agreed facts about his past presented to the jury were that he had no previous convictions or cautions against him and that he was arrested after kicking in the door of a train in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in August 2023.
The killer, who is believed to have entered the UK on a small boat less than three months before the murder, is known to have given authorities in Germany a date of birth that means he is now 28 years old.
Sentencing at Coventry Crown Court, Mr Justice Soole told Majek: “The evidence against you is overwhelming, particularly the CCTV and DNA. You continue to deny that you were the attacker.”
“The court is therefore unable to offer any explanation as to what caused you to kill a member of the hotel staff who, along with his colleagues, served and assisted you and your fellow residents.”
He added that Majek “lacked empathy with the victim” and said: “The evidence shows a level of maturity consistent with your actual age and, in fact, a chilling composure in every aspect of your behavior.”
Carla Harris, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Rhiannon Whyte should have been able to go to work and return home safely, but Deng Chol Majek stole her life and future.
“He attacked her for no reason and left her bleeding brutally on the station platform. He later appeared to be pleased with his actions when he was captured laughing and dancing on footage an hour later.
“Although the stabbing itself was not captured on CCTV, the case against Chol Majek included DNA evidence, witness statements and CCTV showing him following Rhiannon to the station and returning to the hotel in his distinctive bloody clothing.
“He was also the only person in and out of the platform during the attack. All of this allowed the jury to convict him of his crimes.”
“Whilst nothing can bring Rhiannon back, I hope these convictions provide some sense of justice to her family and friends. The CPS is committed to bringing violent offenders to justice wherever there is evidence.”
