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11 months ago
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Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright got a 'thrill' out of positioning his victim's bodies, according to a true crime expert - as the serial killer was re-arrested by police over an unsolved murder more than 20 years ago.
Wright, 65, is serving a whole-life term for the murder of five women over the course of six weeks in 2006, for which he was jailed in 2008.
But the killer has been arrested by police for a second time in connection with the unsolved murder of teenager Victoria Hall, whose naked body was found dead 25 miles from home in 1999 after she disappeared following a night out.
True crime presenter and psychologist Emma Kenny has suggested that Wright, who targeted sex workers in his killing spree, got a 'thrill' out of arranging some of his victims' bodies in the shape of a crucifix to be discovered by police.
He was the subject of an episode of the documentary series The Killer in My Family in 2019, in which Wright's father Conrad spoke of his struggle to comprehend what was happening in his son's head as he murdered five women.
Steve Wright is serving a whole-life term for the murder of five women in the space of six weeks in 2006
Victoria Hall (pictured) was found dead in 1999 after disappearing on a night out. Her naked body was found in a ditch 25 miles from where she had last been seen
TV psychologist and true crime presenter Emma Kenny (pictured) believes Wright got a 'thrill' out of exhibiting his victims' bodies
Former QEII steward Wright was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of Annette Nicholls, 29, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Tania Nicol, 19, with the judge recommending that he never be released.
All five women were sex workers who had turned to prostitution in order to fund drug habits. Two of their bodies were found arranged in the shape of a crucifix.
His DNA was found on three of the women's bodies, while fibres from his clothing, car and home were discovered on all five. All five women were asphyxiated.
Presenter Emma Kenny - best known for her role as a resident therapist and agony aunt on ITV’s This Morning - suggested on the programme that Wright enjoyed the 'drama' of his killings and wanted police to see his 'work'.
However, only two of the bodies - those of Anneli Alderton and Annette Nicholls - were laid out in the shape of a crucifix - an attempt, Emma suggested, to throw police off the trail as they looked for patterns in each of the slayings.
She said on the programme: 'Steve Wright chose to position two of the women's bodies in the crucifix position.
'One, probably to try and throw the police off course because the other bodies hadn't been dealt with that way.
'Secondly, potentially for dramatic effect, because unusually a lot of killers like to leave their 'work' with a certain mark.
'Most importantly because there was some thrill at the end of doing that, of creating that and making that body look a certain way. So, he was enjoying his work.'
Judge Mr Justice Gross pointed out the 'macabre' way in which Wright had arranged two of his victim's bodies as he gave the killer a whole life term.
Anneli Alderton, 24, was one of Wright's victims in his six week murder spree in 2006 that targeted sex workers. Her body was found arranged in the shape of a crucifix
Annette Nicholls was last seen on December 8 2006 and found four days later - her body also arranged in a crucifix shape
Tania Nicol (left) had been carrying out sex work to fund a heroin addiction. Gemma Adams (right) was Wright's first victim
Mother of three Paula Clennell was one of Steve Wright's victims in the latter months of 2006
The judge added: 'You killed them, stripped them and left them ... why you did it may never be known.'
Wright's father Conrad told the programme that his son's killings may have been linked to his sexual frustrations.
He told BBC News in a previous interview that he felt a degree of guilt for Wright's crimes, adding that his relationship with his son was 'non-existent'.
Conrad said at the time: 'You feel sort of responsible in a way - you brought the boy on to the Earth - and if it weren't for you, he wouldn't have been there, and if he weren't here, they wouldn't be killed, would they?'
Wright was re-arrested by Suffolk Police earlier this week in connection with the death of 17-year-old Victoria Hall, who was last seen in the early hours of September 19 1999.
Ms Hall lived half a mile from Wright at the time she was killed. The teenager had gone out with a friend to the Bandbox nightclub in Bent Hill, Felixstowe.
They then went to get some food at the Bodrum Grill in Undercliff Road West, before beginning the walk back to Trimley St Mary.
They parted at around 2.20am near to the junction of High Road and Faulkeners Way. Victoria was just yards away from her home.
Five days later, on Friday 24 September, Victoria’s naked body was found in a ditch beside a field by a dog walker in Creeting Lane, Creeting St Peter, approximately 25 miles away from where she was last seen.
The case went cold until September 2019 when police announced that the case, known as Operation Avon, was live again after new information came to light.
Wright was first arrested in connection with the killing in July 2021 and was subsequently released under investigation. He was then re-arrested on Wednesday before being released pending further enquiries.
In a statement issued in September, on the 24th anniversary of Ms Hall's death, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Connick said the force remained 'fully committed' to finding Ms Hall's killer.
He added: 'If you have any information - no matter how insignificant this may seem - we want to hear from you. It is never too late.'
Suffolk Strangler's sadistic killing spree as he targeted sex workers in six-week reign of terror
Steve Wright's DNA was found on the victims and gloves with his semen were found near the crime scenes
Wright, a former fork-lift truck driver, was jailed for life after being found guilty of killing five prostitutes during a spree that terrified Ipswich.
His victims were Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clenell, 24, and 29-year-old Annette Nicholls.
All were hooked on drugs and working as prostitutes to fund their habits.
Their naked and partly-decomposed bodies began turning up in the days before Christmas 2006.
All had all been asphyxiated by being strangled or smothered or both.
On December 1 - after Miss Nicol and Miss Adams had disappeared - Wright was stopped by police who had seen him cruising the red-light district in his car.
The killer picked them up while his girlfriend was working night shifts, and strangled them when they were incapacitated by massive doses of heroin.
Their bodies were stripped and dumped in remote countryside.
Wright had been arrested for stealing from a previous employer and so his DNA was on police record.
Police found it matched with DNA on the women's bodies, but he would claim in court that it was just coincidental, despite admitting to knowing all five of the victims.
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