A man previously convicted of murdering five women has now been charged with the kidnap and murder of a teenage girl more than a quarter of a century ago, in a major development for one of Suffolk's most notorious cold cases.
Charges Laid in Decades-Old Case
Steve Wright, aged 66, has been formally charged with the kidnap and murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall. The charges relate to events in September 1999, when the teenager vanished after a night out in Felixstowe. Wright, who is currently serving a life sentence, has entered a plea of not guilty to these new charges.
He has also been charged with the attempted kidnap of a second female in Felixstowe around the same period. The defendant appeared via videolink from HMP Long Lartin during a pre-trial hearing this week and was remanded into custody ahead of his trial.
The Disappearance of Victoria Hall
Victoria Hall, from Trimley St Mary in Suffolk, was last seen alive on the evening of 18 September 1999. She had left her home to visit the Bandbox nightclub in Felixstowe with a friend. Her disappearance sparked a large-scale search.
Tragically, five days later, on 24 September 1999, her body was discovered in a ditch in Creeting St Peter. The location was approximately 25 miles from where she was last seen in Felixstowe.
Jury to Hear of Previous Convictions
In a significant ruling, Mr Justice Bennathan has decided that the jury at Wright's upcoming trial can be informed of his previous convictions. Wright was found guilty in 2008 of murdering five women in Ipswich in 2006, crimes which earned him the label 'the Suffolk Strangler'.
This information will be presented to jurors when the trial begins at the Old Bailey. The trial is scheduled to start on 2 February, where the court will examine the evidence linking Wright to Victoria Hall's death over 25 years ago.
The development marks a pivotal moment in a long-running investigation, offering a potential resolution to a case that has haunted the Suffolk community for decades.
