Serial killer Steve Wright has admitted to the murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall, a crime he committed in 1999, more than two decades before his conviction for five other murders. Wright, 67, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday to the kidnap and murder of Victoria, who disappeared during a night out in Felixstowe. He also admitted the attempted kidnap of Emily Doherty, then aged 22, in Felixstowe the day before Victoria's disappearance.
Wright, a former merchant seaman, was already serving a whole-life sentence for the murders of five women in Ipswich in 2006. He had been due to stand trial for Victoria's murder but changed his plea at the last minute. The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, stated he would sentence Wright on Friday to allow Victoria's family to attend and submit victim impact statements.
Victoria, from Trimley St Mary in Suffolk, left her home on 18 September 1999 for a night out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub. Her body was found five days later in a ditch in Creeting St Peter, about 25 miles away. She had been hoping to study sociology at university. Her mother died in December before Wright's confession, while her father had previously appealed for help to find the killer.
The prosecution highlighted similarities between Victoria's murder and those Wright was convicted of in 2008, noting that all six victims were asphyxiated and left in similar locations, and shared a physical type. Wright's guilty plea came after the judge ruled that jurors could be informed of his previous murder convictions, despite defence objections.
Wright's 2006 killing spree terrorised Ipswich for six weeks, with the bodies of five women—Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell, and Annette Nicholls—found in various locations. He was arrested in December 2006 and convicted in 2008, receiving a whole-life order. Following his confession to Victoria's murder, the case has been closed, bringing some closure to the victim's family after more than 25 years.
