A South Sudanese asylum seeker has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the United Kingdom for the brutal murder of a hotel worker in an unprovoked attack at a railway station, according to the BBC.
Deng Majek will serve a minimum of 29 years in prison after being convicted of killing Rhiannon Whyte, 27, whom he followed from the Park Inn Hotel where she worked to Bescot Stadium railway station in Walsall in October 2024.
The court heard that Majek attacked Whyte on a deserted platform, stabbing her 23 times with a screwdriver during a frenzied assault that lasted about 90 seconds.
Whyte had just finished her late shift and was speaking to a friend on the phone as she made her way home.
She suffered devastating injuries, including multiple wounds to the head, one of which penetrated her brain stem. She was rushed to hospital but died three days later.
Sentencing Majek at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, Mr Justice Soole described the attack as one of “frenzied and sustained brutality,” noting that Whyte had tried to defend herself with “the greatest courage.” The judge said Majek’s behaviour before and after the killing showed a “chilling composure.”
The court heard that after the attack, Majek took the victim’s phone, switched it off and later discarded it in a river. CCTV footage later captured him calmly walking through Walsall, buying alcohol and dancing and laughing in a hotel car park.
No motive was established for the killing.
During the sentencing hearing, Whyte’s mother, Donna Whyte, delivered a powerful victim impact statement, telling the court that the loss of her daughter had destroyed her family.
“Because of his cruel and brutal actions, we must face life without her,” she said, adding that her own life “ended that day” as well.
Whyte’s sister told the court that Majek’s behaviour after the killing was as if he had “danced on her grave.”
The trial also heard that Majek arrived in the UK on a small boat about three months before the attack.
An age assessment ordered by the court concluded that he was likely between 25 and 28 years old, despite earlier claims by Majek that he was a teenager.
Forensic evidence presented at trial showed the victim’s blood on Majek’s clothes and personal items. He denied any contact with Whyte, but the jury rejected his account and returned a guilty verdict.
Outside the court, Donna Whyte said she was satisfied with the sentence but stressed that her family would continue to suffer the consequences of the crime. “We have a life sentence too,” she said, according to the BBC.
