❓WHAT HAPPENED: A British woman working at a hotel housing migrants at the taxpayers’ expense was followed and fatally stabbed at a railway station by one of them, a court has heard.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Sudanese national Deng Chol Majek, who is supposedly 19, and victim Rhiannon Whyte, 27.
📍WHEN & WHERE: October 20, 2024, at Bescott railway station in Walsall, England.
💬KEY QUOTE: “He left her bleeding to death and then casually went back to his hotel.” – Prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC
🎯IMPACT: Majek denies charges of murder and possessing a weapon; the trial continues.
A Sudanese asylum seeker is on trial for the fatal stabbing of 27-year-old Rhiannon Whyte, who was attacked at a railway station in Walsall, England, on October 20, 2024. Prosecutors allege that Deng Chol Majek, who claims to be 19 years old, followed Whyte from her workplace at the Park Inn Hotel, where he lived and she worked, before carrying out what has been described as a “frenzied attack.”
Whyte, who had been employed at the hotel for three months cleaning and serving food, was returning home after her shift when she was targeted. The prosecution claims that Majek stabbed her 23 times with a screwdriver while she was on the phone with a friend. The friend reportedly heard two screams before the call abruptly ended. Whyte succumbed to her injuries three days later in hospital.
Prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC told the court that Majek was seen on CCTV following Whyte from the hotel to the station and returning later carrying a black plastic bag believed to contain alcohol. He allegedly stopped to buy a drink and was observed discarding Whyte’s phone in a nearby river.
“He left her bleeding to death and then casually went back to his hotel,” Heeley said. “Once at the hotel he was seen dancing and laughing, clearly excited about what he had done.”
The jury was presented with evidence including CCTV footage, blood-stained clothing, and DNA found under Majek’s fingernails. Heeley stated that Majek had been “staring at Rhiannon throughout the evening” before the attack and argued that his actions were premeditated. Majek denies the charges and claims he has been misidentified.
The case comes amid growing public scrutiny over the housing of asylum seekers in taxpayer-funded hotels across Britain. At least 339 migrants staying in 105 hotels were charged with criminal offences in the first half of 2025. These include alleged rapes, assaults, and thefts. In one case, a migrant hotel resident convicted of rape in a London park was also linked to terrorist activity.
While British law allows for the automatic deportation of foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes, human rights appeals often block or delay removals.
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