Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright re-arrested over unsolved murder of teenager Victoria Hall 24 years ago
8 December 2023, 08:26 | Updated: 8 December 2023, 08:32
Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright has been arrested for the unsolved murder of a 17-year-old girl in Suffolk more than 24 years ago.
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Victoria Hall, 17, was last seen in the early hours of September 19, 1999 and her body was found five days later 25 miles from her home.
Wright, 65, is currently serving a whole life sentence for the murder of five women. He killed Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls, before dumping their bodies around Ipswich in the winter of 2006.
Last night it was confirmed that Wright, who is currently serving a whole life sentence, was arrested in 2021 on suspicion of Victoria's murder and subsequently released under investigation.
A police spokesman said: “The same man was re-arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into police custody for questioning, before being released under investigation pending further enquiries.”
He had not previously been arrested as part of the original inquiry in 1999
Victoria left her home on the outskirts of Felixstowe on September 18, 1999, for a night out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub in the town.
They left the venue at 1am the next day, and said goodbye to each other at around 2.20am, only a few metres away from Victoria's home.
But she was never seen alive again. Her parents woke up the next morning to find her missing, and alerted the authorities.
Victoria's corpse was found four days later in Creeting St Peter, around 25 miles away. Her clothes and possessions were never found.
Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Connick, the senior investigating officer, said: "We remain fully committed to this inquiry; the work being undertaken is extremely time consuming but absolutely necessary."
He added: "We never lose sight of the young life ended so needlessly at the centre of everything we are doing.
“We continue to be grateful for the support and patience of Victoria’s family and we ensure they are provided with regular updates as to the progress we are making. They understand the vital lengths that we need to take to achieve the end goal for us all - which is to achieve justice for Victoria.
“I would like to renew our appeal to anyone with information about Victoria’s murder who has not yet come forward, to do the right thing and contact us. If you have any information - no matter how insignificant this may seem - we want to hear from you. It is never too late."
People can call the incident room directly on 01473 613513 or use the major incident public reporting portal at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/3637020112A02-PO2
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org
