Steve Wright, also known as the ‘Suffolk Strangler’, has pleaded guilty to the murder and kidnapping of Victoria Hall, 17, which makes her his sixth victim.
Wright, aged 67, changed his plea moments before he was due to stand trial over Victoria’s disappearance and death more than 25 years ago. There were audible gasps heard in court as he admitted kidnapping and killing the teenager on 19 September 1999. He also pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnap of Emily Doherty, then 22, the night before.
Victoria Hall, from Trimley St Mary in Suffolk, vanished after a night out with friends at the Bandbox nightclub in Felixstowe. Five days later, her body was found in a ditch in Creeting St Peter, around 25 miles away.
Samantha Woolley, a specialist prosecutor who led the Crown Prosecution Service against Wright, says justice “has finally been achieved” for Victoria Hall.
“This outcome should make plain that time does not preclude a successful prosecution; we will doggedly pursue justice for the victims of non-recent crimes, no matter how many decades have passed,” Woolley says.
The killer appeared at court balding and wearing a navy and grey jumper, only speaking to confirm his name and enter his pleas before being led from the dock expressionless.
When Steve Wright was charged with killing five women in the Ipswich area in 2006, he initially pleaded not guilty.
At his trial at Ipswich Crown Court in 2008 for these murders, he was found guilty by a jury and then given a whole life jail sentence. However, Wright has always maintained his innocence.