A whole-life prisoner has made his first public admission of being a killer, confessing to the murder of a 17-year-old girl whose body was found in a ditch more than a quarter of a century ago.
Steve Wright, 67, changed his pleas at the Old Bailey on Monday to admit kidnapping and murdering Victoria Hall in Suffolk in September 1999. He also pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnap of a 22-year-old woman the night before Victoria disappeared.
Gasps and sighs were heard in the courtroom as Wright stood in the dock wearing glasses and a two-toned grey sweatshirt to enter his guilty pleas. The moment marked the first occasion he has ever publicly admitted culpability for killing.
Suffolk Police reopened their investigation into Victoria’s death in 2019, on the 20th anniversary of her disappearance. The renewed inquiry, which spanned six years, ultimately led to Wright being charged with her murder and the attempted abduction of Emily Doherty in Felixstowe.
Victoria had been studying for her A-levels after attending Orwell High School and lived in Trimley St Mary. On 18 September 1999, she enjoyed a night out in Felixstowe with a friend, leaving the Bandbox nightclub around 01:00 BST.
The pair walked two miles back to Trimley before saying goodbye at approximately 02:30. Victoria was reported missing the following day, and her naked body was discovered five days later in Creeting St Peter, 25 miles from where she was last seen.
A Felixstowe businessman faced trial for her murder at Norwich Crown Court in 2001 but was found not guilty by a jury.
Wright is already serving a whole life sentence imposed in 2008 for murdering five women who were sex workers in and around Ipswich in 2006. The victims were Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls. He never admitted to those killings but was convicted by a jury at Ipswich Crown Court.
Assistant Chief Constable Alice Scott of Suffolk Police stated: “Victoria’s family have waited over 26 years for this day and I am so very pleased that we have been able to deliver justice for Victoria and they now know who is responsible for Victoria’s murder.”
She acknowledged that whilst the family has been spared the ordeal of a trial, they will continue living with the trauma of losing Victoria at such a young age in horrific circumstances.
Samantha Woolley, the specialist prosecutor leading the Crown Prosecution Service case, emphasised that the outcome demonstrates time does not prevent successful prosecution. She said the case shows authorities will “doggedly pursue justice for the victims of non-recent crimes, no matter how many decades have passed.”
The meticulous work carried out over six years between the CPS and Suffolk Police in building the case resulted in Wright admitting his guilt before the jury was sworn in for what would have been a trial.
Wright is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday at the Old Bailey.
