Serial Killer Steve Wright Confesses: Admits to Murdering Teen Victoria Hall as Sixth Victim

Steve Wright, who is already serving a life sentence without parole for the murder of five women in Ipswich in 2006, has confessed to the murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall in 1999.

View 5 Images

Convicted serial killer Steve Wright has confessed to the murder of teenager Victoria Hall, raising his confirmed victim count to six.

The 67-year-old was due to be tried at the Old Bailey for the murder of 17-year-old Victoria, who disappeared over twenty-five years ago.

Wright, formerly residing on London Road, Ipswich, unexpectedly changed his plea to guilty on Monday, admitting to the abduction “by force or deceit” and murder of Victoria on September 19, 1999. Additionally, he confessed to the attempted abduction of 22-year-old Emily Doherty in Felixstowe the day before Victoria’s murder.

This marks the first time Wright has acknowledged his involvement in any of his crimes, despite pleas from his family to come clean.

Wright appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey wearing a navy and grey sweater, only speaking to confirm his identity and enter his guilty pleas.

Justice Bennathan announced that he would deliver the sentence on Friday, giving time for Victoria’s family to attend and deliver victim impact statements.

Prosecutor Jocelynn Ledward KC confirmed that Victoria’s friend Gemma Algar and Ms. Doherty would also give statements.

Currently incarcerated at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire, Wright is serving a life sentence for the murders of five women that occurred seven years after Victoria’s death.

Following Justice Bennathan’s decision to allow jurors in his trial to be informed of his previous murder convictions, despite his defense arguing that it would cause bias, Wright entered his guilty pleas. Last month’s court proceedings highlighted the similarities between the murders, noting that all six victims were asphyxiated, found in similar locations, and shared physical resemblances.

The prosecution also intended to present testimony from a sex worker who knew Wright, verifying his familiarity with the area where Victoria’s body was found.

Victoria, who lived in Trimley St Mary, Suffolk, had left her home on the evening of September 18, 1999, to enjoy a night out with her friend Ms. Algar at Felixstowe’s Bandbox nightclub.

Her body was found five days later in a ditch at Creeting St Peter, roughly 25 miles from her last known location.

The young student had aspirations to study sociology at Roehampton University in Surrey before her life was tragically cut short.

A year after her death, her parents, Graham and Lorinda Hall, made a heartfelt appeal for help in finding their daughter’s murderer.

Mr. Hall expressed hope at the time, stating: “Whoever did this must be under as much pressure as we are. They have it on their conscience all the time.”

Sadly, Mrs. Hall passed away last December, never seeing justice served for her daughter’s murder.

Ms. Algar was prepared to testify at Wright’s trial, having said goodbye to her friend just moments before she vanished.

In 2006, the Ipswich community lived in fear for six weeks as police searched for the serial killer among them. On October 30 of that year, 19-year-old Tania Nicol disappeared from Ipswich’s red-light district.

Two weeks later, 25-year-old Gemma Adams also went missing, sparking a major investigation. Miss Adams’s body was discovered in a stream at Hintlesham on December 2, followed by Miss Nicol’s remains in a pond at Copdock on December 8.

Two days after that, the body of 24-year-old Anneli Alderton was found in woods at Nacton, prompting warnings for sex workers to stay off the streets. On December 12, the bodies of Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, were discovered near woods at Levington.

Two of the women, all of whom worked as sex workers in Ipswich’s red-light district, were posed in a crucifix shape, described as “macabre.”

Wright was arrested at his home in Ipswich a week later. Pathological evidence showed that all the women had been choked or strangled.

During his 2008 trial at Ipswich Crown Court, prosecutors argued that Wright “systematically selected and murdered” the women after patrolling the streets near his home.

Wright was seen frequenting the red-light district around the time each woman disappeared. DNA and fibers linked to his clothing, home, and car were found on the victims.

Wright, a former steward on the QE2, admitted to picking up the women for sex on the nights they vanished but denied any involvement in their deaths.

Following his conviction for five murders, both the victims’ families and Wright’s father, Conrad, expressed that he should have been executed.

Imposing a rare whole life tariff, Mr. Justice Gross stated the murders involved careful premeditation and deliberate planning.

He acknowledged that “drugs and prostitution” had placed the five women in vulnerable positions, but told Wright directly: “Neither drugs nor prostitution killed them. You did. Why you did it may never be known.”

Wright showed no visible emotion as he entered his guilty plea for Ms. Hall’s murder on Monday.

Unidentified women in the public gallery hugged each other and cried as he was led back to his cell.

Following the sentencing, Samantha Woolley, a specialist prosecutor who led the CPS case against Wright, commented: “Justice has finally been achieved for Victoria Hall after 26 years.

“The meticulous work we have carried out with Suffolk Police, supporting their restarted investigation over the past six years and working hard to build this case to court, has resulted in Wright admitting his guilt.

“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.

“Our thoughts remain with Victoria’s family, and all those who loved and cherished her at this incredibly difficult time. We also hold in mind Emily Doherty and her family, and anyone else affected by this tragic case.”