Steve Wright, already serving a whole-life sentence for the murders of five women, has been sentenced to an additional 40 years for the killing of 17-year-old Victoria Hall and the attempted kidnap of 22-year-old Emily Doherty in 1999.
Wright admitted abducting, sexually assaulting, and murdering Hall, as well as attempting to kidnap Doherty. He had been due to go on trial at the Old Bailey but changed his plea this week, marking the first case to which he has admitted.
Prosecutors said Wright was “on the prowl” in Felixstowe, Suffolk, on 18 and 19 September 1999. He was driving a burgundy Ford Granada Scorpio and searching for a young woman to kidnap. Doherty became separated from friends on the first night and managed to escape after spotting Wright and seeking help at a nearby house. Her description of the car later led police to Wright.
The following night, Wright abducted Victoria Hall, who was walking home from a nightclub with her friend Gemma Algar. Hall was taken only 300 metres from her home, sexually assaulted, and murdered. Her body was found in a farm ditch 25 miles away, stripped of all clothing except for her jewellery.
Mr Justice Bennathan told Wright that Hall was a bright and lively teenager whose life was “crushed” for reasons only Wright knew. He described the crime as causing “untold distress” to Hall’s family.
Wright had been previously convicted in 2008 for the murders of five women between 2006 and 2006, including Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell, and Annette Nicholls. His arrest for Hall’s death came in 2021, two years after Suffolk Constabulary reopened the investigation.
The court heard that after Hall’s murder, Wright returned to work at Felixstowe docks the following day “as if nothing had happened.”