Serial killer Steve Wright has been sentenced for the kidnap and murder of a teenage girl from Trimley St Mary and the attempted kidnap of a 22-year-old woman, both of which occurred over 26 years ago.

67-year-old Wright appeared at the Central Criminal Court in London today, Friday 6 February, where he was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years.  He is already serving a whole life sentence for the murders of five women in the Ipswich area between October and December 2006. 

Wright - whose last address in 2006 was London Road, Ipswich, but was residing in Felixstowe in 1999 - pleaded guilty to the following three offences on Monday 2 February: one count of murder and one count of kidnap in respect of Victoria Hall; and a further charge of attempted kidnap in respect of a second incident the night before Victoria’s kidnap involving a woman who was aged 22 at the time.

Victoria Hall was 17-years-old when was last seen alive in the early hours of Sunday 19 September 1999, in High Road, Trimley St Mary.

Victoria left home on the evening of Saturday 18 September 1999, to go for a night out with her best friend at the Bandbox nightclub in Bent Hill, Felixstowe, where they remained until around 1am on the morning of Sunday 19 September.  They then went to get some food in Undercliff Road West, before beginning the walk back to Trimley St Mary. They parted at around 2.20am near to the junction of High Road and Faulkeners Way. Victoria was just 300 yards away from her home.  When Victoria’s parents woke-up that morning and discovered that she had not returned home, the police were called and a missing person inquiry commenced.  Five days later, on Friday 24 September, Victoria’s naked body was found in a ditch beside a field by a dog walker in Creeting Lane, Creeting St Peter, approximately 25 miles away from where she was last seen.  No formal cause of death could be given, but the pathologist’s conclusion was Victoria had been murdered within a few hours of when she was last seen alive and that there had been some form of asphyxiation or interference in the normal mechanism of her breathing. 

In September 2019, Suffolk Police revealed that the case – known as Operation Avon - was now a live inquiry again and being fully reinvestigated by a new team of detectives.  This followed a review of the case by the Joint Norfolk & Suffolk Unsolved Case Team, who on the basis of fresh information that had been received and potential new forensic opportunities, recommended that the investigation was made live again.  This was a huge undertaking initially requiring the review of more than 43,000 items that were recorded in the original enquiry.  By the conclusion of the inquiry, the total number of items that had to be reviewed was over 100,000 after associated investigations were also included. 

Detectives entered the new inquiry with a completely open mind and with over 400 named persons of interest to consider. Steve Wright was formally declared a suspect in June 2020 as a result of his links to an incident that had occurred in Felixstowe on the night before Victoria’s disappearance, and the similarities in the method of killing five women in 2006 and how they were left naked in rural locations.

The attempted kidnap took place in the early hours of Saturday 18 September, when 22-year-old Emily Doherty reported encountering a man who had stopped his car at the top of Picketts Road, near to the junction of High Road East.  This man – who we now know was Steve Wright - had got out of his car, leaving the engine running and door open, and was standing in the darkness. On seeing him, Emily immediately felt unsafe and began to run and then hid in nearby driveways and gardens.  Wright responded by getting back in his car and then drove slowly along the road looking for her. As Emily was crouched down in a garden, she realised Wright had got out of the car again and approached her.  Emily managed to run off again, armed herself with a stick and then hid while Wright drove up and down looking for her. She then ran out into the street and knocked on a number of doors, before one was eventually opened and she was let inside, at which point the police were called.  Emily was able to provide a description of the car and a partial registration number, that when put into the national vehicle database and then narrowed down to partial matches in the Felixstowe area brought Steve Wright’s car at the time – a dark burgundy red Ford Granada Scorpio – into the pool of potential vehicles.  Wright lived in Runnacles Way in Felixstowe at the time and the investigation team found that he had connections to both the area of High Road East and also the housing estate in Trimley St Mary where Victoria lived. He was a shift worker at Felixstowe docks and enquiries identified that he was not working on the weekend in question.  Research into Wright’s movements following the discovery of Victoria’s body on Friday 24 September, found that he attended work the next day (Saturday 25 September), where he recorded an injury at work to his left arm – this was of particular note as he was known for rarely taking time off sick and continuing to work even if hurt or injured.  From Sunday 26 September to Tuesday 28 September, Wright was then working a set of night shifts. On Wednesday 29 September – his first day off since Victoria’s body was discovered – Wright travelled to Ipswich and bought a new car, paid for by a loan. A new owner for the Ford Granada wasn’t recorded until 29 October, but it is likely that he part-exchanged it with the dealer when he bought the new car.  On Wednesday 10 November Wright changed his mobile phone number and was charged £25 by his provider to do so. On the same day he took out a loan of £5,000.  Wright sold his new car on 22 November 1999 and three days later he travelled to Thailand, where he remained until 31 January the following year. On his return from Thailand he found he had been dismissed from his employment having failed to return to work as expected on 30 December, having been on sick leave since 8 November following another injury at work. 

As part of the new investigation thousands of hours of CCTV footage seized during the original inquiry had to be viewed. Within that material was footage from a filling station on the A14 at Tot Hill near Stowmarket. This location is only approximately five miles away from where Victoria’s body was found in Creeting St Peter.  At 6.14am on Sunday 19 September – just under four hours since Victoria had last been seen alive – a man was pictured inside the forecourt shop at the filling station who bears a strong resemblance to Steve Wright.  This image has been enhanced and examined by two facial comparison experts who separately compared it to images of Steve Wright. Both experts considered on a scale of support that it was more probable that the male in the image was Steve Wright. 

A crucial piece of evidence in this case came as a result of advances in forensic science and DNA analysis. Y-STR is a specialised type of DNA analysis which looks at areas of the Y-chromosome which is only present in males.  Intimate swabs that had been taken from Victoria were re-submitted for Y-STR profiling and then underwent enhanced Y-STR analysis. This process is able to ignore a dominant amount of female DNA.  The opinion of the forensic scientist was that the Y-STR profile found within the intimate swabs, provided very strong support that the majority of the DNA sample that had been detected originated from Steve Wright, or any close paternal male-line relative, who would all share the same Y-STR profile as it is inherited through the male paternal line.  

The murder of Victoria and the way in which her body was disposed of had significant similarities to the murders of five women committed by Steve Wright in 2006.

All five women were aged between 19 and 29, and of slim build and small stature. All were found naked and two were discovered in water courses. Some had unascertained causes of death, but it was concluded all had likely died as a result of some form of asphyxiation or interference with the normal mechanics of breathing.

Wright was first arrested as part of the Operation Avon inquiry in July 2021. He was then rearrested in December 2023 and subsequently charged in May 2024.  He had initially entered not guilty pleas and a trial was set to commence on Monday 2 February, but on that day he pleaded guilty to all three charges. 

Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Connick, the Senior Investigating Officer, said: “Today’s sentencing marks the conclusion of an extensive and painstaking murder investigation. 26 years ago, Victoria Hall was just two weeks from her 18^th birthday and had her whole life ahead of her. This was cut short so cruelly.

“This appalling crime had a profound impact on Victoria’s family and friends, along with communities in Felixstowe, Trimley St Mary, Creeting St Peter and across Suffolk.

“I wish to pay tribute to Victoria’s father Graham, and her brother Steven who now finally know who is accountable for those shocking actions. This demonstrates that time is no barrier to justice.

“Special mention must be given to Emily, at the time a 22-year-old woman, who narrowly escaped the depraved actions of this man the night before Victoria was taken. We do not underestimate the impact that this night has had on her and continues to do so. I am glad we have also been able to provide answers and a sense of justice being delivered.

“Whilst this was a guilty plea, this was not an early guilty plea. Steve Wright made significant attempts to cover his tracks after the offence. He was interviewed twice by police over the course of two years whilst the investigation developed and he was in the court system for 21 months with legal hearings challenging the evidence.

“Wright was forced into a position where he had no alternative but to plead guilty to all three offences with the weight of evidence against him.

“This has been a complex re-investigation, spanning over seven years. I want to thank officers and staff who have worked tirelessly on this investigation to develop and present all the evidence in this case. Their persistence is the reason for this result.

“I wish to thank the commitment of Cellmark Forensic Services who have worked on the investigation for the last five years, testing and re-testing exhibits and pushing the boundaries of latest DNA techniques to deliver significant evidence about the man responsible for this murder.

“The police team have worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service over several years presenting a compelling case, and we are grateful for the expertise of Specialist Prosecutor Samantha Woolley, Ms Ledward - King’s Counsel, and Ms Blair.

“To all the witnesses who were prepared to attend court and give evidence at trial despite the passage of time - and to all those who have provided information to assist the police enquiry since 1999 - thank you.

“This was always about Victoria Hall and her family. They have been front and centre and a consistent source of motivation to the police investigation team. They have shown strength, courage, dignity and support to the investigation team and our thoughts remain with them today and for the time ahead.”