An asylum seeker who was seen dancing and laughing after stabbing a hotel worker 23 times on a railway station platform has been found guilty of murder.
Deng Chol Majek, originally from Sudan, was described by prosecutors as “utterly callous” after he launched a frenzied attack on Rhiannon Whyte on 20 October last year.
Whyte had finished work at 11pm at the Park Inn Hotel in Walsall, in the West Midlands, when Majek “tracked” her on foot to the nearby Bescot Stadium station. He inflicted 19 wounds to her head, including a fatal brain-stem injury.
Jurors at Wolverhampton Crown Court deliberated for two hours and five minutes on Friday before unanimously convicting Majek of murder and possessing a screwdriver as an offensive weapon. He showed no emotion in the dock as the verdict was returned.
A two-week trial heard that Majek had been reported to security at the Park Inn Hotel after “spookily” staring at three female staff members for prolonged periods on the day he killed Whyte.
In CCTV footage shown at the trial, Majek could be seen walking up the steps of the bridge that led to the platform, a few minutes after Whyte. He then disappeared from view, but jurors were told that this was when the attack took place.
Whyte, 27, was the mother of a five-year-old son. She was found injured in a shelter on the platform by the driver and guard of a train that pulled in about five minutes after the incident, and died in hospital three days later.
No motive for the killing was given at the trial, but Majek had brushed past Whyte earlier in the evening as he left the hotel to smoke.
He is alleged to have lied to the court about his age, claiming to be 19 despite his age having been recorded as 27 by authorities during a failed asylum claim in Germany.
Majek, who at 6ft 3in was about 10 inches taller than Whyte, walked to the Caldmore Green area of Walsall after the attack to buy beer, and was recorded on CCTV apparently 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.
A housing officer based at the hotel told jurors that Majek “almost seemed sad” before Whyte was stabbed, and appeared to be “back to himself” after she was taken to hospital.
In her closing speech to the jury, prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC said that Majek’s dismissal of DNA evidence, along with his claim not to be the person caught on CCTV wearing a distinctive jacket and flip-flops, was “laughable” and an insult to relatives of Whyte who were listening from the public gallery.
Ms Heeley said of Majek’s behaviour after the murder: “He is celebrating: his mood has changed from that prolonged scowl in the cafe before the murder to dancing and joy after the murder. It is utterly callous.”
Speaking in a pooled interview, Whyte’s family said that the year since her death had been “hell on earth”, but they remained focused on keeping alive the memory of their quirky and caring loved one who “would always put everyone else before herself”.
They have also spoken of the heartache of having to break the news of her death to her young son. Describing the strength shown by her siblings, mother and wider family members, Whyte’s sister Alex said: “This is everything that Rhiannon would have ever wanted. The strength that we’ve kept as a family, the positivity that is instilled in our children and in her son. We promised her in the hospital we were going to live the way she wanted us to live.”
Speaking to Sky News, Alex said: “Rhiannon had such a quirky personality. You would hear her before you’d see her.
“No matter what her day had been, she always wanted to make everyone else around her happy. She always prioritised family. That was the most important thing to Rhiannon. Obviously, she has a brother and three sisters. And my mum, who was her best friend.”
Alex continued: “She would always put everyone else before herself, no matter what the situation was.
“She would give you her last pound in her pocket. She would literally take her shirt off her back to give it to you. She has with me. It was raining. I didn’t have a jacket. She gave me her hoodie, and she ended up soaked and I was dry.”
Rhiannon’s mother, Siobhan Whyte, described how she had pledged to get justice for her daughter, as Rhiannon lay critically ill in hospital in the days after being stabbed.
Asked what justice would look like after Majek’s conviction for murder, Rhiannon’s mother said she believed he should serve his sentence in the UK, adding: “Life for a life. None of this deportation.
“I’m not against asylum seekers. But he’s taken my daughter away. He doesn’t deserve to be sent back to his own country. [He should] serve his time here, every day of his life.”
Alex added: “I don’t think there’ll ever be enough justice in the world to replace Rhiannon. How could you ever put a timeline on how long someone should be in jail? Whether they get to remain in this country or any other country, Rhiannon’s life is priceless. There is no amount of time that will ever, ever equate to what we’ve lost.”
