Man appears in court charged with kidnap and murder of teenage girl in 1999

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

A man has appeared in court charged with the kidnap and murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall, who vanished on her way home from a nightclub in 1999.

Steve Wright, 66, rested his arms on a table as he appeared at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court by video-link from custody.

He is accused of killing the teenager, whose body was found in a ditch five days after she was last seen alive.

Victoria, from Trimley St Mary in Suffolk, had left her home on the evening of September 18 1999 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.

That was the last time Victoria was seen alive.

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

On September 24, her body was found in Creeting St Peter, around 25 miles from where she was last seen.

The defendant, who has short grey hair and wore a grey T-shirt, gave his name in court as Steve Gerald James Wright.

He also stated his date of birth during the hearing, which lasted less than five minutes, and confirmed he could hear the proceedings and that he was not recording them.

The court was told that Wright, formerly of London Road, Ipswich, is accused of the kidnap of Victoria in Felixstowe on September 19 1999 and of her murder in Stowupland on the same date.

He is also accused of the attempted kidnap of Emily Doherty in Felixstowe on September 18, according to charges read out in court.

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

Wright was not asked to enter pleas to the three charges.

He appeared before Ipswich Crown Court for a preliminary hearing later on Monday, where Judge Martyn Levett set a provisional trial date of January 13 2025.

The venue for the trial is to be confirmed, and it is estimated to last four weeks.

Wright was remanded in custody and is next due to appear by video link at Ipswich Crown Court for a plea hearing on September 2.