Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Now we are hearing some details about Victoria Hall and who she was.

Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward tells the court she had grown up in Felixstowe in Suffolk, attending schools in the town throughout her childhood.

She had a part-time job and was hoping to go to university to study sociology.

Ledward goes on to tell the court some background on Wright, who was working shifts at the Felixstowe docks back in 1999.

He had been living in a flat in the town and she says "there was evidence to suggest" he was familiar with Victoria's home village Trimley St Mary, as his sister lived there.

"There is no evidence the defendant knew or came across Victoria Hall or her family," Ledward adds.

Brian Farmer
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Jocelyn Ledward continues to tell the court that on 18 September 1999, Emily Doherty, 22, was able to "escape physically unharmed having just enough time to run and hide, and seek help".

"Undeterred, the defendant struck again the following night," she adds, referring to Victoria.

Victoria "seemingly vanished" and was an "innocent schoolgirl" with her life ahead of her, Ledward says.

Brian Farmer
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward is outlining the facts of the case to the court.

She says on the weekend of the 18 and 19 September 1999 Wright was driving a Ford Granada, and was "on the prowl in Felixstowe".

There are at least 50 people in courtroom 10 this morning.

While Monday's hearing when Wright changed his plea was busy, there were not this many people here.

The large majority of people are journalists covering the case.

Mr Justice Joel Bennathan is the judge and is listening to Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC outline the case.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Proceedings are now under way.

Today, Steve Wright will learn his sentence for the kidnap and murder of Victoria Hall as well as the attempted kidnap of Emily Doherty in 1999.

Wright is here in the court at the Old Bailey, flanked by security officers.

The hearing will start with the prosecution outlining the agreed facts of the case.

We are then expecting to hear more details of how police were able to charge Wright with the offences and we will hear victim impact statements from Victoria’s family and friends as well as one potentially from Emily Doherty herself.

Wright’s defence will outline any mitigating factors before the judge will pass his sentence.

That is expected to be at 14:00, after a break for lunch. We will be live streaming video of the judge's sentencing remarks here.

Wright is already serving a whole-life prison sentence following his conviction for the murders of five women in and around Ipswich in 2006.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Steve Wright has now been brought into the courtroom and is sitting in the dock.

There are several security guards with him as we wait for the judge to enter and the hearing to start.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

We are now in the court waiting for the hearing to start.

Court staff are currently working to ensure everything is ready to begin in a few moments.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Image source, Julia Quenzler / BBC

On Monday, Steve Wright was expected to stand trial accused of the kidnap and murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall as well as the attempted kidnap of 22-year-old Emily Doherty in 1999.

The trial was to take place at the Old Bailey in London for about five weeks, but Wright changed his plea on the very first day.

He stood in the dock wearing glasses and a two-toned grey jumper and as he made his admissions, gasps and some sighs were heard in the court room. It was the first time he had ever publicly admitted to being a killer.

Following the hearing, Suffolk Police said Victoria's family had "waited over 26 years for this day" and it was "so very pleased that we have been able to deliver justice".

Samantha Woolley, a specialist prosecutor who led the Crown Prosecution Service case against Wright, added that justice "has finally been achieved".

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Myself and several other journalists are now waiting outside courtroom 10 ahead of Steve Wright’s sentencing.

The hearing is expected to start at 10:00 BST, with Wright due to appear in person in the dock.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Image source, PA Media

After Suffolk Police reopened the investigation into Victoria Hall's death in 2019, an arrest was made two years later.

Then in 2024, the force announced it had charged Steve Wright with Victoria's kidnap and murder, as well as the attempted kidnapping of Emily Doherty the night before.

Wright then appeared at Ipswich Magistrates' Court shortly afterwards before appearances at Ipswich Crown Court and the Old Bailey, where he denied all the charges.

He appeared at the Old Bailey in January when the judge decided the jury would be told of his past convictions, before he then changed his plea on Monday.

Wright's trial for the murders of five women in and around Ipswich was held at Ipswich Crown Court back in 2008, when he was found guilty.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Image source, PA Media

Suffolk Police reopened its investigation into the death of Victoria Hall in 2019, on the 20th anniversary of her disappearance.

As part of the fresh inquiries, new details were released of what Victoria was wearing and the personal items she had on her the night she vanished, as well as CCTV footage showing people visiting the area where her body was found.

At that time the force said it received numerous calls with new information as part of the case.

Victoria's parents, Graham and Lorinda Hall, said it had given them "hope".

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

After Victoria Hall's killing, Suffolk Police arrested Felixstowe businessman Adrian Bradshaw with her murder in December 2000.

The 26-year-old was from Victoria's home village of Trimley St Mary and was living in Felixstowe.

He went on to be charged, denied the offence, and went on trial at Norwich Crown Court in 2001.

The jury was told he had been at the Bandbox nightclub the same night Victoria disappeared, and the prosecution argued soil in his car then matched soil at the spot where her body was found.

However, Bradshaw said he did not see Victoria that night and geology experts for the defence said it was unlikely the soil came from the ditch where Victoria was found.

It took the jury just 90 minutes to find him not guilty.

Afterwards, Det Supt Roy Lambert, who led the case, defended his team’s investigation telling reporters he was "very disappointed".

The case went cold until Steve Wright was charged in 2024.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Image source, PA Media

In late 2006, seven years after killing Victoria Hall, Steve Wright murdered five women over a span of six-weeks in Ipswich.

They were Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls, and they had all been sex workers.

He dumped their bodies in various locations around the town, leaving two of them in a cruciform shape with their arms outstretched.

Wright was charged in December that year before he was tried at Ipswich Crown Court in 2008.

He did admit to meeting some of the women for sex, but he always denied killing them.

A jury found him unanimously guilty of all five murders, and he was given a whole-life prison sentence.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Image source, Suffolk Police

Steve Wright, 67, is currently serving a whole-life term after he murdered Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls, before dumping their bodies on the outskirts of Ipswich in 2006.

He was convicted after a trial in 2008 and has been held at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire ever since.

He never admitted these murders and always maintained he was innocent, but it was a crucial bit of DNA that tied him to the killings.

In 2024 he was then charged with the kidnap and murder of Victoria Hall and the attempted kidnap of Emily Doherty.

Initially he pled not guilty to the three charges, but changed his plea to guilty on Monday.

This was the first time he had publicly admitted a killing.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Image source, Suffolk Police

In 1999, Victoria Hall had been a pupil at Orwell High School, studying for her A-levels with the hope to go to university to study sociology.

The 17-year-old was just a couple of weeks away from her 18th birthday when she went on a night out in Felixstowe with her friend Gemma Algar on 18 September 1999.

The girls enjoyed a night in the Bandbox nightclub before they left at 01:00 BST to walk the two miles back home, stopping on the way to get food.

They then parted at 02:30, just 300yds from Victoria’s home near Faulkeners Way.

Gemma reported hearing two high-pitched screams, but believed it was other people joking about.

When Victoria failed to return home, Suffolk Police launched a major missing persons inquiry.

Five days later, a dog walker found her naked body in a ditch beside a field in Creeting St Peter, about 25 miles (40km) away from where she was last seen.

Alice Cunningham
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Image source, Suffolk Police

Serial killer Steve Wright is to be sentenced for the kidnap and murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall in Suffolk in 1999 today.

Wright, 67, will appear at the Old Bailey in London, with the hearing expected to begin at 10:00 GMT.

Victoria's body was found five days after she went missing on a night out in Felixstowe, in September 1999.

He will also be sentenced for the attempted kidnap of 22-year-old Emily Doherty the night before Victoria.

Myself and my colleague Brian Farmer are in court, primed and ready to bring you live updates.