Outrageous reason screwdriver killer migrant can’t yet be sentenced | UK | News
A man who allegedly entered England on a small boat was found guilty of the unprovoked murder of a British mother, but could not be sentenced due to the uncertainty of his age. The attack took place after the mother-of-one finished her night shift on October 20 last year. Rhiannon Whyte, 27, worked at the mental hospital hotel where the alleged killer lived. It was a short walk from the Park Inn Hotel in Walsall to the town’s Bescot Stadium railway station. Deng Chol Majek stabbed Rhiannon Whyte 23 times with a screwdriver while she was on the phone with her best friend.
Majek, who is from Sudan, entered the country illegally and has no documents. When he arrived in the UK in July last year, Majek told authorities his birthday was January 1, 2006, which would make him 19 years old. However, he told German and Italian authorities that he was born eight years ago, on January 1, 1998, and was therefore 27 years old. Prosecutors claimed this was evidence that he was lying about his age, the Daily Mail reported.
Mr Justice Soole said he wanted to try to establish Majek’s real age before sentencing, but prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC said bone density scans were needed as part of age verification tests and Majek had so far been “uncooperative”.
He said he would still need a pre-sentence report to determine the minimum term of Majek’s mandatory life sentence for murder. Majek will be sentenced on December 15.
At his trial, Majek mounted a plausible defense against the overwhelming evidence against him, including the allegation that a forensic expert had lied about finding Ms Whyte’s blood all over her clothes. He also denied that he was the person on CCTV following Ms Whyte to the station. However, he acknowledged that he was the man seen wearing the same clothes minutes earlier.
Police have not established a motive for the attack but chilling security footage shows Majek staring at Ms Whyte at the hotel during his shift that night.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Attwell, of British Transport Police, said: “This was a brutal, cowardly and completely unprovoked attack on an energetic and dedicated young woman who had her whole life ahead of her.
“At no point during our investigation did Majek show any remorse or provide any justification for taking Rhiannon’s life in such a sadistic and cold-blooded manner, and subjected her family to a brutal trial despite the damning evidence we presented against him.”
In a statement read outside court this afternoon, Rhiannon’s sister Alex said Majek had sentenced the family to “life imprisonment” after launching his “crazy and unprovoked attack”.
He said Majek “stalked our defenseless Rhiannon, hunted her down, then cornered her and launched a vicious attack.”
Ms Whyte added: “On that terrible day, our precious Rhiannon was shown no mercy.
“Throughout this trial we were given no reason as to why he chose Rhiannon, no responsibility or remorse for his actions; he fought for his life and to save himself from this sick, twisted and cowardly human being – who had no respect for Rhiannon or human life.”
“We prayed and pleaded for him to live, but our hope is that Deng Chol Majek will live out his life alone and unloved.
“We now have to mourn him for longer than we loved him, which will never mean anything to us.”
