Sudanese migrant handed life sentence for murder of hotel worker 'can't be deported until 2050s' under current rules

Deng Chol Majek was seen dancing and laughing at Walsall’s Park Inn Hotel after stabbing Rhiannon Whyte 23 times on a platform at Bescot Stadium railway station.

He was jailed for life on Friday with a minimum term of 29 years; he will be eligible for parole after 27 years behind bars.

However, under current rules, LBC understands the Home Office will be unable to deport the sick killer until 2053 at the earliest.

Read more: 'Let me see you dancing now': 'Demonic' asylum seeker jailed for life for stabbing hotel worker to death in unprovoked attack

Read more: Asylum seekers moved into ex-army camp in darkness to avoid public order risk, says Home Secretary

This is because, currently, foreign criminals handed life sentences cannot be deported until they have served their jail term.

A Home Office spokesperson told LBC: “The murder of Rhiannon Whyte was an abhorrent crime, and our thoughts are with her loved ones.

“This vile criminal is behind bars where he belongs, and he has rightly received the strictest punishment of a life sentence.

“We share the public’s anger about the broken asylum system and hotels, that is precisely why are doing everything we can to keep dangerous offenders out of the country and close down hotels.”

Mr Justice Soole said Majek lied about his age, saying he was 18 when he entered the UK in July 2024 but age assessments had concluded he was actually aged between 25 and 28.

"I therefore sentence you on the basis that you were aged 26 at the date of Rhiannon's murder.

"For the offence of murder, the law imposes a sentence of imprisonment for life."

Sending him down, Mr Justice Soole told Majek he would serve 29 years imprisonment for the murder minus days already served.

The judge said the Sudanese asylum seeker had taken a screwdriver to the scene of the premeditated murder and used it to kill Ms Whyte.

"I am sure that you brought it to the scene with the intent to murder Rhiannon," the judge said.

"I am sure that the offence involved a significant degree of premeditation. The CCTV shows that for substantial parts of the evening of October 20 you had been in the reception area of the hotel and staring fixedly in the direction of the group of female employees, including Rhiannon, who were working there.

"Then at the time of the end of Rhiannon's shift, you went outside by the main entrance after Rhiannon had come out, you then followed her all the way to the station platform armed with your weapon.

"Secondly, the particularly vicious brutality of this sustained assault with your chosen weapon. Thirdly, its commission against a woman alone late at night in a public place. Fourthly, your disposal of evidence with the intent of escaping detection.

"The CCTV evidence shows you throwing Rhiannon's mobile into the river. It was later retrieved by a police diver. You evidently disposed of the screwdriver."

Majek entered the UK by small boat less than three months before the killing.

Rhiannon's sister described Majek as "demonic and inhuman".

In an emotional statement to Coventry Crown Court ahead of Deng Chol Majek being given a life sentence, Alex Whyte condemned him for showing "no remorse" and taking "no responsibility for your cowardly actions".

She said she was making the statement on "behalf of me and my broken-hearted siblings Emma, Daniel and Cara, and Rhiannon's two nieces and seven nephews. Most importantly for her now six-year-old son".

She said Majek carried out a "vicious and pitiless assault on a terrified and defenceless young woman who he claims never to have spoken to or noticed".

She described Rhiannon as "smart, kind, funny, thoughtful, caring and hardworking", adding that she "fought for her life under a brutal, savage and frenzied attack from someone we see as inhuman, more like an animal".

Addressing Majek, who showed no emotion, she said: "You continue to show no remorse and to take no responsibility for your cowardly actions. We still don't know or understand why you stalked, hunted and preyed upon Rhiannon. Cornering her before unleashing your vicious and unprovoked attack.

"I honestly feel that calling you demonic and inhuman is justifiable in the circumstances. What are we supposed to say? You brutalised Rhiannon and then partied as if nothing had happened. You celebrated. You might as well have danced on her grave."

Rhiannon's mother Donna Whyte said: "Let me see you dancing now."

She said: "Her name will not be forgotten, she will not be a distant memory. We will keep her alive in our memory. "You, however, are an evil nightmare that will be put aside, known only for your cruel and malicious act.

"By the grace of God, I hope you never see the outside world again."

Passing sentence at Coventry Crown Court, Mr Justice Soole told Deng Chol Majek he had brought "devastation" to the family of hotel worker Rhiannon Whyte as he imposed a life sentence for murder.

"The evidence against you, in particular CCTV and DNA, was overwhelming," he said.

"You continue to deny that you were the assailant.

"The court is thus left with no explanation of what possessed you to murder a member of the hotel staff, who together with her colleagues, had been serving and helping you and your fellow residents."

Carla Harris, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Rhiannon Whyte should have been able to go to work and come home safely - but Deng Chol Majek robbed her of her life and future.

"He attacked her for no reason, and callously left her bleeding on a station platform. He then appeared to rejoice in his actions, having been caught laughing and dancing on footage an hour later.

"Although the stabbing itself was not captured on CCTV, the prosecution case against Chol Majek included DNA evidence, witness testimony and CCTV showing him stalking Rhiannon to the station and returning to the hotel in his distinctive bloodied clothing.

"He was also the only person to enter and leave the platform during the time of the attack. All of this allowed the jury to convict him of his crimes.

"Although nothing can bring Rhiannon back, I hope these convictions provide some sense of justice to her family and friends. The CPS is determined to bring violent offenders to justice wherever there is the evidence to do so."