Suffolk serial killer Steve Wright has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to killing 17-year-old Victoria Hall, his sixth murder victim.
Wright, now 67, had been due to go on trial at the Old Bailey for murdering the teenager, who disappeared more than 25 years ago.
But the killer – sometimes referred to as the ‘Suffolk strangler’ – dramatically changed his plea on Monday and finally admitted Victoria’s kidnap “by force or fraud” and murder on 19 September 1999.
He also pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnap of Emily Doherty, then aged 22, in Felixstowe the day before.
It is the first time that one of Britain’s most notorious killers has admitted responsibility for any of his crimes, despite pleas from his family to come clean.
Balding and bespectacled Wright appeared in the dock of the Old Bailey in a navy and grey jumper, and spoke only to confirm his name and enter pleas.
Mr Justice Bennathan said he would sentence the defendant on Friday to give Ms Hall’s family the chance to attend and submit victim impact statements.
Former merchant seaman Wright, who is being held at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire, is already serving a whole life prison sentence for the murders of five women seven years after Victoria was killed.
The guilty pleas come after Mr Justice Bennathan ruled that jurors in the scheduled trial could be told of the murder convictions, despite his defence arguing it would prejudice Wright.
Prosecutors had argued there were similarities between the murders, pointing out that all six women were asphyxiated, left in similar places and shared a physical type.
The prosecution also argued for the trial to include evidence of a sex worker that Wright knew well who would say he was familiar with the area linked to Victoria’s murder.
Victoria, from Trimley St Mary in Suffolk, had left her home on the evening of 18 September 1999 for a night-out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub in Felixstowe.
Five days later her body was found in a ditch in Creeting St Peter, around 25 miles from where she was last seen.
Sixth-former Victoria had been hoping to study sociology at university in Roehampton, Surrey, before she was killed.
A year after her murder, her parents Graham and Lorinda Hall had appealed for help to bring her murderer to justice.
Sadly, Mrs Hall died last December, before her daughter’s killer could be brought to justice.
Following the guilty pleas, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said justice had finally been achieved for the teenager after 26 years.
Samantha Woolley, a specialist prosecutor who led the case against Wright, said: “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.
“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.
“Our thoughts remain with Victoria’s family and all those who loved and cherished her at this incredibly difficult time. We also hold in mind Emily Doherty and her family, and anyone else affected by this tragic case.”
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