Steve Wright charged with 1999 murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall

Police have charged Steve Wright with the kidnap and murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall, who went missing on her way home from a nightclub in Felixstowe in 1999.

Suffolk Police said the 66-year-old, formerly of London Road in Ipswich, has also been charged with the attempted kidnap of a 22-year-old woman the previous night.

The force said the 22-year-old woman reported that a man had approached and followed her between 3am and 4am on September 18 1999 in High Road East, Felixstowe.

The body of Victoria was found in a ditch by a dog walker five days after she was last seen alive in the early hours of September 19.

Suffolk Police reopened its investigation in 2019 after receiving fresh witness information, which it would not expand upon.

A man was arrested on July 28 2021 on suspicion of Victoria’s murder then subsequently released under investigation.

Suffolk Police said that on Wednesday afternoon, Wright was charged with Victoria’s murder.

Victoria, from Trimley St Mary, left her home on the evening of September 18 for a night out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub in Felixstowe.

The girls left the club at around 1am the following morning and parted ways at around 2.20am, yards from Victoria’s home.

That was the last time she was seen alive.

Her parents awoke in the morning to discover their daughter had not returned home and a missing persons inquiry was launched.

Her body was found five days later in Creeting St Peter, around 25 miles from where she was last seen.

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.

“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.”

Wright has been remanded in custody and is due to appear before Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on June 3.