British court jails asylum seeker for 29 years for murder
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Deng Chol Majek (left) entered the UK by small boat less than three months before murdering mother-of-one Rhiannon Whyte by stabbing her 23 times.
PHOTOS: WEST MIDLANDS POLICE
- Deng Chol Majek, a Sudanese asylum seeker, was jailed for 29 years for murdering Rhiannon Whyte at Walsall station after tracking her from her hotel job.
- Majek stabbed Whyte 23 times, including 19 head wounds with a screwdriver, causing a fatal brain injury; the judge condemned his "vicious brutality".
- Whyte's family called Majek "demonic and inhuman". He showed no empathy, and was seen dancing near emergency vehicles after the attack.
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LONDON - A British court on Jan 30 jailed a Sudanese asylum seeker for 29 years for murdering a woman who worked at the hotel where he had been housed.
Deng Chol Majek is believed to have entered the UK by small boat less than three months before attacking Rhiannon Whyte, 27, at a railway station in Walsall, central England, on Oct 20, 2024, stabbing her 23 times.
He is said to have tracked Ms Whyte, a mother-of-one, to the station at 11pm after she finished a shift at the hotel where he had been living, before inflicting 19 wounds to her head with a screwdriver, including a fatal brain injury.
Judge Michael Soole told Majek he had brought “devastation” to Ms JudgeWhyte’s family as he imposed a life sentence, adding he had shown “no empathy” for the victim.
Judge Soole condemned the “vicious brutality of this sustained assault”, adding that the evidence against him was overwhelming.
Tens of thousands of asylum seekers are housed in hotels across the UK, as part of a long-running and controversial policy which the Labour government has said it is seeking to end.
Far-right anti-immigrant campaigner Tommy Robinson was among groups of people waving England flags outside the court in the central city of Coventry.
Ms Whyte’s family called Majek “demonic and inhuman” in statements at the court.
The trial heard that Majek, who entered the UK in July 2024, had been reported to hotel security after “spookily” staring at three female staff members for prolonged periods.
No motive for the killing was given but Majek had brushed past Ms Whyte earlier in the evening as he left the hotel for a cigarette.
After inflicting fatal injuries on Ms Whyte, Majek was recorded on security cameras seemingly 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.
Ms Whyte’s mother, Donna Whyte, told him: “I hope you never see the outside world again.”
“Her name will not be forgotten, she will not be a distant memory. We will keep her alive in our memory. You, however, are an evil nightmare that will be put aside, known only for your cruel and malicious act,” she said.
Jurors deliberated for just over two hours before unanimously convicting Majek of murder and possessing a screwdriver as an offensive weapon.
The judge said Majek, who denied the murder charge, maintained he was 18 when he entered the UK, but age assessments had concluded he was actually aged between 25 and 28. AFP
