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British serial killer admits murder of 17-year-old in 1999, years before killing 5 women

Admission marks 1st time ‘Suffolk Strangler’ has confessed to killing

Burak Bir  | 02.02.2026 - Update : 02.02.2026
British serial killer admits murder of 17-year-old in 1999, years before killing 5 women

LONDON

British serial killer Steve Wright on Monday pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall in 1999, years before killing five other women.

During a court hearing, Wright, 67 – also known in British media as the Suffolk Strangler – admitted to abducting and killing Hall, according to a statement from prosecutors.

He also pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnapping of Emily Doherty, then 22, on the night before Hall disappeared.

According to the BBC, Hall, an A-level student, went missing after a night out in Felixstowe, Suffolk. Her body was found naked in a ditch five days later, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.

“Justice has finally been achieved for Victoria Hall after 26 years,” said Samantha Woolley, the prosecutor who led the case, in a statement.

Wright was sentenced to life in prison in 2008 for murdering five women in and around Ipswich between Oct. 30 and Dec. 10, 2006.

According to the BBC, this marks the first time Wright has admitted to being a killer.

He is due to be sentenced on Friday.

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