Deng Chol Majek has been jailed for life for murdering Rhiannon Skye Whyte
Handout image taken from CCTV footage issued by British Transport Police of a figure alleged to be Deng Chol Majek in Bescot Stadium station in Walsall following Rhiannon Skye Whyte, which was shown to the jury in the trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court of Deng Chol Majek who is accused of the murder Ms Whyte on October 20 last year. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: BTP/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.(Image: BTP)
‘Demonic’ asylum seeker Deng Chol Majek is now starting a life sentence behind bars for the horrific murder of mum Rhiannon Skye Whyte.
The Sudanese national is believed to have arrived in Britain on a small boat just months before he stabbed his victim to death with a Phillips head screwdriver at Bescot Stadium train station in October 2024.
Rhiannon, 27, was making her way home from work after finishing a shift at the Park Inn, in Walsall, when the ‘frenzied’ attack took place.
The hotel was being used to house male migrants waiting for their applications for asylum to be assessed by the Home Office – and Majek was one of its residents.
He ‘tracked’ her from the hotel, stalking her as she walked to the station and waited on the deserted platform for her train.
The killer then ‘cornered’ his victim, stabbing her 23 times with his weapon before fleeing the scene, leaving train crew to find the mum’s bloodied body.
A motive has never been established.
READ MORE: Heartbroken sister’s message to ‘demonic’ asylum seeker as he is jailed
During his murder trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, the issue of Majek’s age was identified – an important factor as there are different sentencing guidelines for young adults.
Prosecutors told how there were ‘doubt’s over the killer’s age and he could be as old as 28.
Majek continues to insist he was born in January 2006 – making him 18 at the time he killed Rhiannon and 20 now.
But tests have indicated he could be much older than he claims.
Majek told jurors he was born in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum and his native language is Dinka – a tribal language.
The killer – who also speaks Arabic – was raised by his mother and father, alongside his seven sisters and three brothers.
He said he did not go to school and ‘never’ learnt to speak English.
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Deng Chol Majek (left) being questioned by defence KC Gurdeep Garcha at Wolverhampton Crown Court, where Majek is charged with the murder of hotel worker Rhiannon Skye Whyte, who was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium Station in October last year. Picture date: Tuesday October 21, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire
Majek claimed an issue with a man in the Army forced his family to move from south Sudan to north Sudan.
He said: “Because of that, I had to leave south Sudan and move to north Sudan and from there I went to Libya.
“This person wanted to marry my sister, which we refused, and he started threatening us and we had to leave the area we were in, in south Sudan.”
Once in north Sudan, he decided to flee the country completely, leaving in April 2022 at the age of 16 – leaving behind his new bride who was pregnant.
Majek said he has one daughter but does not know when she was born.
On why he left north Sudan, Majek said: “I was expecting [the Army worker] to follow us to the north as well because I believed he was going to come, so I left Sudan.”
From Sudan, he went to Libya for about two months, before going on to Italy for approximately four months and then Germany.
Majek said he was moved to the Park Inn hotel in July 2024 while the Home Office processed his application for asylum.
Quizzed on why he claimed asylum in the UK, Majek said there was a war in Sudan in 2022, adding: “I was threatened in Sudan and it was dangerous for me.”
The trial also heard how a crime report from Germany alleged that Majek ‘kicked’ the driver and passenger doors of a train ‘when drunk’ in August 2023.
No damage was caused at the time and the investigation was discontinued.
Giving evidence, Majek recalled trying to get on the train, adding: “The door was not open and I knocked on the door and they called the police.”
A date of birth for Majek which was included in the crime report was listed as January, 1, 1998 – which the prosecution say is his real birthday.
Majek insisted he had not lied about his age and said there was a ‘mistake’ in Germany as his ID had the incorrect year on it.
But during sentencing on Friday, January 30, Mr Justice Soole said an ‘age assessment report’ indicated Majek could be in his late 20s.
The judge said: “For the purpose of establishing the appropriate sentencing regime and generally, it has been necessary to order an age assessment report.
“When in July 2024 you entered this country, you claimed you were born in Sudan in or about January 2006 and were thus 18.
“However, in the course of your long journey from Sudan, you had passed through Italy, Germany and France; and your identification papers from Germany recorded your date of birth as January 1, 1998.
“You said that the year was a mistake.
Deng Chol Majek murdered Rhiannon Whyte as she waiting for a train(Image: British Transport Police)
“Having read the comprehensive report by the two experienced assessors and its supporting material, I am sure you were over 21 at the dates of your conviction and the offence.
“I accept their conclusion that your present age is between 25 and 28.
“I consider that the greatest likelihood is that you were born in 1998, as the German documents attest.
“I therefore sentence you on the basis that you were aged 26 at the date of Rhiannon’s murder.”
Majek was asssited throughout court proceedings by an Arabic interpreter speaking Sudanese dialect.
He also swore his oath on the Bible before he gave evidence to the jury.
Mr Justice Soole added: “In my judgment your accounts at the trial and otherwise about your personal circumstances in Sudan are unreliable.
“You have refused consent in respect of medical records and failed to engage with the consultant psychiatrist.
“I have no doubt that your English is better than you suggest.
“In any event, if all these matters were established by reliable evidence, they provide no mitigation whatsoever for what you have done.
“In your case, there are no mitigating factors.”
Speaking of a pre-sentence report, the judge said: “To the author of the pre-sentence report, you continued to deny that you were Rhiannon’s assailant; showed no empathy for the victim; and provided a limited account of your life in Sudan before your departure.
“To the consultant psychiatrist who examined you for a report in March 2025, before your trial, you were unwilling to discuss your past medical history and very guarded in what you said.
“For the age assessment process, you refused consent for disclosure of your medical records.
“During the two age assessment interviews you then refused to answer many questions, including those about events in Sudan.
“Your refusals were typically preceded by the words ‘thank you for the question’.
“The authors of the report described your provision of information as one of ‘strategic selectivity’.
“They observed that throughout the four hours of the interviews your posture and demeanour were confident, controlled, composed and relaxed.
“In the result, you have provided the court with no explanation for your conduct nor any reliable basis to consider any suggested mitigating factors.”
Majek denied murder and having an offensive weapon in a public place but was convicted by jurors after a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court last year.
He was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 29 years, at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, January 30.
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