Police Under Pressure to Question Suffolk Strangler Over Unsolved Murders
Police are facing mounting pressure to interrogate serial killer Steve Wright, known as the Suffolk Strangler, regarding several unsolved murders following his shocking confession to a killing that occurred 26 years ago. The 67-year-old former forklift driver and QE2 cruise ship waiter pleaded guilty on the first day of his Old Bailey trial to the kidnap and murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall in 1999, as well as the attempted abduction of 22-year-old Emily Doherty just 24 hours earlier.
Confession Sparks Calls for Further Investigation
Experts have stated that Wright is likely to have killed others, with his admission to the 1999 murder of A-level student Victoria Hall prompting urgent calls for police to reopen cold cases. Wright snatched Ms Hall off the street in Felixstowe as she walked home from a nightclub on September 19, 1999, before dumping her body in a ditch. Despite Ms Doherty escaping his clutches and providing police with an accurate description of Wright, his car, and part of the number plate, he evaded capture for seven years.
Failed Investigations and Missed Opportunities
In a hearing ahead of the trial, Mr Justice Joel Bennathan revealed that the details matched Wright and very few others, yet officers were determined to prosecute a local businessman, Adrian Bradshaw, who had been at the same club as Ms Hall on the night she disappeared. Mr Bradshaw was acquitted of her murder in 2001. Wright's ex-wife, Diane Cole, has blasted police for failing to stop the monster sooner, stating that proper investigation of the earlier attempted abduction could have saved many lives.
Ipswich Murder Spree and Ongoing Concerns
Wright went on a rampage in Ipswich's red-light district in 2006, murdering five sex workers—Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell, and Annette Nicholls—over a six-week period. He was sentenced to a whole-life tariff for these murders in 2008 but was not charged with Ms Hall's murder until 2024. Now, Ms Cole and Wright's brother, Keith, are urging police to quiz him about other unsolved cases in the area, with Keith describing the serial killer as an animal.
Expert Analysis Links Wright to Cold Cases
Criminologist David Wilson, a professor at Birmingham City University, believes there are many similarities between Wright's six murders and the unsolved killings of Kellie Pratt in Norwich and Mandy Duncan in Ipswich. He noted that Wright's modus operandi fits with a number of young women who died in the early 1990s, suggesting that if he had been arrested earlier, further tragedies might have been prevented.
Four Cold Cases Now Under Scrutiny
As Wright admitted to murdering Victoria Hall, his name is being linked to several other unsolved cases:
- Kellie Pratt: The 28-year-old sex worker was last seen on June 11, 2000, in Norwich, and her body has not been found.
- Mandy Duncan: The 26-year-old prostitute vanished on July 2, 1993, in Ipswich, and her body has never been recovered.
- Suzy Lamplugh: Wright and the 25-year-old estate agent were acquaintances in the early 1980s on the QE2; she vanished in 1986, and her body has never been found.
- Jeanette Kempton: The 31-year-old was last seen alive on February 2, 1989, and her body was found in Suffolk 16 days later; Wright was living just ten miles away at the time.
Jim Duell, the father of victim Tania Nicol, warned that Wright could have killed years before Ms Hall's death, highlighting the ongoing uncertainty and need for thorough police action. With hindsight revealing missed opportunities, authorities are now being urged to consider reopening cases to uncover the full extent of Wright's crimes and provide closure for potential victims' families.
