Serial killer Steve Wright has admitted for the first time to murder, pleading guilty to the killing of 17-year-old Victoria Hall during a court hearing at the Old Bailey.
The 67-year-old unexpectedly entered the guilty plea on the first day of his trial, admitting that he killed the A-level student in September 1999, years before he went on to murder five women in Ipswich in 2006. He also pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnapping of Emily Doherty, 22, which took place in the same area just 24 hours earlier.
Wright showed little emotion as he entered his pleas during the brief court appearance, standing only to speak when required. Observers in the courtroom reacted with shock, with some visibly distressed as he admitted responsibility for the killing.
Victoria Hall disappeared in the early hours of 19 September 1999 after leaving a nightclub in Felixstowe and walking home. She had run out of money for a taxi and had separated from her friend shortly before she vanished. Her body was found five days later in a ditch in Creeting St Peter, around 25 miles away.
A post-mortem examination found she had been asphyxiated and not sexually assaulted. She was discovered naked in a stream, in circumstances that later mirrored the way two of Wright’s 2006 victims were found.
At the time, police focused their investigation on another suspect, who was later acquitted. Wright was never arrested or interviewed in connection with the case, and the original inquiry was later criticised for major failings.
In 2019, cold case detectives reopened the investigation and reviewed historic evidence using modern forensic techniques. New forensic links and witness information eventually connected Wright to the crime, leading to his arrest in prison in 2021 and his being charged in 2024.
Wright is currently serving a whole-life sentence at Long Lartin Prison for the murders of Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls, who were killed during a six-week period in Ipswich in 2006. Their bodies were found in woodland and waterways around Suffolk.
Despite strong forensic evidence in that case, Wright had consistently denied responsibility and had never admitted to any of his crimes until this latest hearing.
His confession has renewed questions about whether he may be linked to other unsolved offences from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Investigators have said they continue to review historic cases where appropriate.
Wright will be sentenced on Friday for the murder of Victoria Hall and the attempted kidnapping of Emily Doherty. He remains subject to a whole-life tariff, meaning he is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.