A Sudanese asylum seeker convicted of a brutal murder has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with the court determining his true age to be significantly older than he had claimed throughout legal proceedings.
Horrific Attack at Bescot Station
Deng Chol Majek has been jailed for life with a minimum term of twenty-nine years for the murder of twenty-seven-year-old Rhiannon Skye Whyte. The horrific attack occurred at Bescot Stadium train station in Walsall during October 2024, where Majek stabbed his victim twenty-three times with a Phillips head screwdriver.
Rhiannon was returning home from her shift at the Park Inn hotel in Walsall when she was followed and attacked. The hotel was being used to accommodate male migrants awaiting assessment of their asylum applications by the Home Office, and Majek was among its residents at the time.
Age Assessment Reveals Crucial Discrepancy
During the murder trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, significant attention focused on Majek's age, which carries important implications for sentencing guidelines concerning young adults. Throughout proceedings, Majek consistently maintained he was born in January 2006, making him eighteen at the time of the murder and twenty during the trial.
However, prosecutors presented evidence suggesting the killer could be as old as twenty-eight. An age assessment report ordered by the court indicated Majek was likely between twenty-five and twenty-eight years old at the time of sentencing.
International Documentation Contradicts Claims
The court heard how German documentation listed Majek's date of birth as January 1, 1998, which would make him twenty-six when he murdered Rhiannon Whyte. Majek insisted this was a mistake in his identification papers, but Mr Justice Soole found the German documents to be credible during sentencing.
"Having read the comprehensive report by the two experienced assessors and its supporting material, I am sure you were over twenty-one at the dates of your conviction and the offence," stated Mr Justice Soole. "I accept their conclusion that your present age is between twenty-five and twenty-eight."
Background and Legal Proceedings
Majek told the court he was born in Sudan's capital Khartoum and speaks Dinka as his native language, along with Arabic. He claimed to have received no formal education and never learned English, though the judge noted his English appeared better than suggested.
The defendant described fleeing Sudan after a dispute involving an army member who wanted to marry his sister, traveling through Libya, Italy, and Germany before arriving in Britain. He claimed asylum in the United Kingdom, citing danger and threats in Sudan.
During the trial, evidence emerged of a previous incident in Germany where Majek allegedly kicked train doors while intoxicated in August 2023, though no damage was caused and the investigation was discontinued.
Court Observations and Sentencing
Mr Justice Soole noted Majek's lack of cooperation throughout legal processes, including refusing consent for medical records disclosure and providing limited information during age assessment interviews. The judge described Majek's provision of information as demonstrating "strategic selectivity" and found his accounts of personal circumstances unreliable.
"In your case, there are no mitigating factors," the judge stated during sentencing at Coventry Crown Court. Majek had denied both murder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place but was convicted by jurors following a trial last year.
The court proceedings required an Arabic interpreter speaking Sudanese dialect throughout, and Majek swore his oath on the Bible before giving evidence. No clear motive for the attack has been established, leaving Rhiannon's family and the community seeking answers about the senseless violence that ended a young mother's life.
