Protesters gather outside court ahead of sentencing of asylum seeker for murder of Rhiannon Whyte near Bescot Stadium station
Protesters have gathered outside Coventry Crown Court ahead of the sentencing of Sudanese asylum seeker Deng Chol Majek for the murder of hotel worker Rhiannon Whyte near Bescot Stadium Station
A group calling themselves the Pink Ladies have gathered outside Coventry Crown Court this morning (Friday) ahead of the sentencing of a Sudanese asylum seeker for the murder of Rhiannon Whyte near Bescot Stadium Station.
Debh Chol Majek is due to be sentenced by a High Court judge today amid doubts over his claims to be only 19 years-old.
The protesters were pictured with a banner saying: “Enough is Enough. Rhiannon never forget.”
The grassroots group is made up of thousands of women across the UK who protest against anti immigration and migrant housing of asylum seekers in hotels.
A trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court was told 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.
The killer, who is believed to have entered the UK by small boat less than three months before the killing, is known to have given authorities in Germany a date of birth that would mean he is now 28.
At his trial, Majek claimed he was not a figure caught on CCTV tracking Ms Whyte and told jurors he left a pregnant wife behind in Sudan.
The only agreed facts relating to his background presented to the jury were that he had no previous convictions or cautions recorded against him and that he had been arrested in Kaiserslautern in Germany in August 2023 after kicking the door of a train.
Jurors heard Majek was reported to security at the Park Inn, where he lived and Rhiannon worked, after “spookily” staring at three female staff members for prolonged periods on October 20 2024.
Rhiannon finished work at 11pm and was then “tracked” on foot by Majek to the station, where he inflicted 19 wounds to her head, including a fatal brain stem injury.
CCTV showed Majek disappeared from view on to a deserted platform for 90 seconds at about 11.18pm to attack Ms Whyte, 27, the mother of a five-year-old son.
She died in hospital three days later, after being found injured in a shelter on the platform by the driver and guard of a train that pulled in about five minutes later.
We will bring you a full report on the sentencing as soon as it is made
