Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright has confessed to the murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall, who went missing over 25 years ago.
Today, the 67-year-old serial killer also pleaded guilty to attempting to abduct Emily Doherty, then 22, in Felixstowe the day before.
Back in 2008, the former QE2 steward received a rare whole life order for the savage killings of five Ipswich prostitutes, cementing his status as one of the most infamous criminals in the country.
Following his incarceration, Wright penned a disturbing letter to Anthony Bond, maintaining his innocence despite overwhelming evidence against him.
Reflecting on that letter now, his deceitful statements and lack of compassion for the victims’ families are even more disturbing.
The vicious murders of five young sex workers from Ipswich’s red-light district almost two decades ago reverberated across the nation.
Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29 were discovered naked in remote locations near Suffolk town within a ten-day period in December 2006, all having been strangled or suffocated.
During that time, I was a reporter in Ipswich and covered the trial of the then 49-year-old. Prosecutors alleged that Wright meticulously selected and murdered the women after prowling the streets near his residence.
Evidence including DNA and fibers linked to his clothing, house, and vehicle were uncovered on the victims.
Shortly after his imprisonment, Wright sent me a three-page letter from the high-security Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire, causing outrage among the victims’ families.
“I urge the people of Suffolk to remain vigilant because the real culprit is still at large, although I hold no resentment towards the people of Suffolk or the families of the five girls who were tragically taken from them,” he wrote.
“I feel sorrow and deep pain for their loss…but trust me when I say he is still out there planning his next move.”
Now that the remorseless killer has admitted to the murder of Victoria Hall, his deceitful claims appear even more glaring, with one paragraph from that letter standing out.
“People should believe I am innocent because all my life I have strived to be fair and considerate to others. I am not a violent person, and I believe taking a life would be the utmost form of aggression,” he asserted.
Responding to the letter back then, Brian Clennell, Paula’s father, exclaimed, “How can he insist on his innocence when the evidence against him is overwhelming?
“He can do as he pleases. He enjoys hobbies, TV, the gym, and daily meals… If Paula could have been rescued from her circumstances, maybe she would have had another chance, but she doesn’t. I say let him suffer in hell.”
Now that Wright has confessed to being a killer for the first time, the families of Gemma, Tania, Anneli, Paula, and Annette are hopeful that he will finally admit to their murders as well.