Serial Killer Steve Wright Admits 1999 Suffolk Murder

After more than a quarter of a century, one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers, Steve Wright, has finally admitted to the murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall in Suffolk. The confession, delivered at London’s Old Bailey on February 2, 2026, closed a chapter that had haunted Victoria’s family and the local community since her disappearance in 1999. For the first time, the man known as the "Suffolk Strangler" publicly acknowledged his guilt for any of his crimes, providing long-awaited answers to a case that had grown cold and cast a shadow over Suffolk for decades.

Victoria Hall’s story began on the night of September 18, 1999, when she left her home in Trimley St Mary for a night out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub in Felixstowe. The girls departed the club around 1:00 a.m. and walked the two miles back toward their homes. According to BBC News, they parted ways at approximately 2:20 a.m., just yards from Victoria's front door. That was the last time Victoria was seen alive.

When Victoria failed to return home, her family reported her missing. Five days later, her naked body was discovered in a ditch in Creeting St Peter, about 25 miles from where she was last seen. The discovery shocked the community and launched an intense police investigation. At the time, Victoria was a sixth-form student at Orwell High School, preparing for her A-levels and hoping to study sociology at Roehampton University in Surrey.

Despite the best efforts of Suffolk Police, the case went unsolved for years. In 2001, a local businessman was tried for Victoria’s murder based on soil samples found on his car, but he was acquitted after just 90 minutes of jury deliberation, as reported by The Independent. The Hall family, desperate for justice, continued to appeal for information, but the case remained cold until 2019, when Suffolk Police reopened the investigation on the 20th anniversary of Victoria’s disappearance.

The breakthrough finally came when Steve Wright, already serving a whole life sentence for the murders of five women in Ipswich in 2006, was charged with Victoria’s murder and the attempted kidnapping of another woman, Emily Doherty, aged 22, in Felixstowe the day before Victoria vanished. According to Sky News, Wright pleaded guilty to both charges on February 2, 2026, just days before his trial was set to begin.

Wright’s confession marked the first time he had ever admitted responsibility for any of his crimes, despite years of pleas from his own family to come clean. In court, balding and bespectacled, Wright spoke only to confirm his name and enter his pleas. Gasps and sighs echoed through the courtroom as he finally admitted to kidnapping Victoria "by force or fraud" and murdering her on September 19, 1999.

The prosecution, led by specialist prosecutor Samantha Woolley of the Crown Prosecution Service, had worked closely with Suffolk Police for six years to build a case strong enough to bring Wright to justice. Woolley stated, “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.” She added, “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.”

Assistant Chief Constable Alice Scott of Suffolk Police paid tribute to Victoria’s family for their "patience and dignity" during this long ordeal. "Victoria’s family have waited over 26 years for this day and I am so very pleased that we have been able to deliver justice for Victoria and they now know who is responsible for Victoria’s murder," Scott said. "I am relieved that the family have been spared the ordeal of a trial. However, I am acutely aware that despite today’s conviction, they will continue to live with the trauma of having Victoria ripped away from them at such a young age and in such horrific circumstances."

Tragically, Victoria’s mother, Lorinda Hall, passed away in December 2025, just months before her daughter’s killer was finally brought to justice. Victoria’s father, Graham Hall, had once expressed hope that the person responsible would be found, saying, “Whoever did this must be under as much pressure as we are. They have got it on their conscience all of the time.”

Wright’s crimes left a deep scar on Suffolk. In December 2006, he murdered five women—Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell, and Annette Nicholls—over a ten-day period in Ipswich. All were sex workers, and their bodies were dumped in rural locations. According to The Independent, the prosecution at Wright’s 2008 trial argued that he had “systematically selected and murdered” the women after stalking the streets around his home. DNA and fibers linked to Wright’s clothing, house, and car were found on the victims. The bodies of two of the women were found posed in a cruciform shape, and all had been asphyxiated—a chilling detail echoed in Victoria Hall’s murder.

During the legal proceedings for Victoria’s case, prosecutors highlighted the similarities between the murders: all six victims were asphyxiated, left in similar locations, and shared a physical type. The prosecution also sought to introduce evidence from a sex worker who claimed Wright was familiar with the area where Victoria’s body was found. Judge Bennathan ruled that jurors could be told of Wright’s previous murder convictions, despite defense objections about potential prejudice.

Wright, a former merchant seaman and steward on the QE2, is currently held at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire. His sentencing for Victoria Hall’s murder and the attempted kidnapping of Emily Doherty is scheduled for Friday, February 6, 2026. The court will hear victim impact statements from Victoria’s family, her friend Gemma Algar—who said goodnight to Victoria just before she vanished—and Emily Doherty.

For Suffolk Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, the resolution of this case is a testament to the persistence and dedication of investigators and prosecutors who refused to let time stand in the way of justice. As Samantha Woolley emphasized, “We will doggedly pursue justice for the victims of non-recent crimes, no matter how many decades have passed.”

For Victoria Hall’s family and friends, the confession brings some measure of closure, even as the pain of her loss endures. The community that rallied around the Hall family for more than 25 years can finally know that the truth has come to light, and that Victoria’s memory will not be forgotten.