Steve Wright charged with murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall 25 years ago
22 May 2024, 17:53 | Updated: 22 May 2024, 17:58
Steve Wright has been charged with the murder and kidnap of 17-year-old Victoria Hall in 1999.
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The 66-year-old, formerly of London Road, Ipswich, has also been charged with the attempted kidnap of a 22-year-old woman the previous night.
Miss Hall, was last seen alive in the early hours of 19 September 1999, in High Road, Trimley St Mary, Suffolk.
She had gone missing on her way home from a nightclub and her naked body was discovered in a water-filled ditch five days later in Creeting St Peter, about 25 miles away from where she was last seen.
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Frank Ferguson, chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in the East of England, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Suffolk Police to charge Steve Wright, 66, with the kidnap and murder of Victoria Hall and the attempted kidnapping of another woman in September 1999.
“He will appear at Ipswich magistrates’ court on June 3. We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.
“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
In 2001 a local man stood trial but was found not guilty of her murder at Norwich Crown Court.
In 2019 Suffolk Police reopened the investigation after receiving fresh information.A new team of cold case detectives were drafted in and have spent the past five years investigating the murder.
Suffolk Police said: “The Crown Prosecution Service have now authorised Suffolk Police to charge a 66-year-old man with three offences.
“This afternoon, Wednesday 22 May, Steve Wright, formerly of London Road, Ipswich, has been charged with kidnap and murder in connection with the abduction and death of Victoria Hall.
“He has also been charged with attempted kidnap in connection with a separate incident occurring the night before Victoria’s disappearance, whereby a 22-year-old woman reported that a man approached and followed her, between 3am and 4am, on Saturday 18 September 1999 in High Road East, Felixstowe.”
Wright was remanded in custody before his next court appearance.
