Walsall Hotel Worker Rhiannon Whyte Stabbed 23 Times After Being Followed from Her Shift.

On the night of October 20th, 2024, after finishing her late shift at the Park Inn Radisson Hotel in Walsall, 27 year old Rhiannon Whyte made her way to Platform 2 at Bescot Stadium rail station to catch her train home.

What she didn’t know was that she was being stalked by asylum seeker Deng Chol Majek—a man who had already targeted her and colleagues earlier that night.

During her shift, Deng had loitered around the hotel bar area, intimidating Rhiannon and even her colleagues by staring at them.

He would then follow them outside when they went for a vape break.

As Rhiannon and her colleagues re-entered the hotel, he intruded into their personal space, knocking into Rhiannon’s arm.

Her colleagues left work before her, choosing not to alter their usual routes home. None of them felt uneasy enough to change their plans—never imagining that what seemed like an unsettling encounter would soon spiral into something far worse, a decision that would ultimately cost Rhiannon her life.

At 11:12 pm, Rhiannon was on the phone with her childhood friend, Emma Cowley, as she climbed the station stairs to platform 2. But suddenly, the line went silent. Emma called out, “are you still there?”—and then, through the phone, she heard a piercing scream, one she later described as “a really high-pitched, terrified, in-pain scream.”

Emma kept calling for her friend, desperate for a response, but all she could hear were her friend’s terrified cries.

Emma’s husband rushed into the room, urging her to call the police, which she did immediately while also trying to reach Rhiannon’s mother. When Emma attempted to ring Rhiannon again, the call went straight to voicemail—her phone had been turned off.

Majek, a Sudanese national who claimed to be only 19, had tracked Rhiannon’s route from the hotel to platform 2 of the train station.

He arrived armed with a crosshead screwdriver and launched a savage attack lasting 90 seconds, stabbing Rhiannon 23 times—19 wounds to her head, one so deep it severed her brain stem.

After the vicious assault, Majek quickly fled on foot with Rhiannon’s phone.

CCTV captured him throwing Rhiannon’s phone into the River Tame,

and then stopping at a nearby shop to buy alcohol.

He would then be captured returning to his hotel room, where he was seen laughing and dancing.

When Rhiannon’s train arrived, the driver noticed her collapsed on the platform, bleeding heavily from the head. He immediately called emergency services, who worked tirelessly to stabilise her. Upon reaching the hospital Doctors told her family she was unlikely to survive more than six hours, yet Rhiannon held on for three days before her injuries proved fatal.

Months later, as the trial approached, Rhiannon’s mother, Siobhan Whyte, spoke about her loss:

"The worst part is not only losing her, it's the nieces and nephews and her son—they're struggling because they miss her. For no reason he's taken her away—for nothing."

At Wolverhampton Crown Court, the jury spent two weeks hearing evidence of the cold and callous murder, it took them just two hours to find Deng Chol Majek guilty.

Sentencing has been postponed until December 15th, 2025, as the judge ordered an age assessment. Majek insists he is 19, but a German police record from a previous incident where he kicked a train door lists his date of birth as January 1st, 1998—making him 27. He claims this was an error, just as he claims it was an “error” that led to his arrest for the murder of Rhiannon Skye Whyte.

But DNA evidence told a different story. Rhiannon’s blood was found not only on his clothing and sandals that he was seen wearing on CCTV, but under his fingernails too. He was also the only other person recorded entering and leaving the station around the time of the attack.

Rhiannon’s mother has made it clear she doesn’t want Majek deported, saying:

"Life for a life. None of this deportation. I'm not against asylum seekers, whatever, but he's taken my daughter away. He doesn't deserve to be sent back to his own country—serve his time here, every day of his life.”

A follow up article will be published in December, reporting on the court’s findings regarding Deng Chol Majek’s age and final sentencing.

Please stay vigilant and stay safe. If you ever feel threatened while waiting for or travelling on a train, contact British Transport Police immediately by:

• Text 61016

• Call 0800 40 50 40