Ex-Norwich landlord Steve Wright charged with teen murder

Steve Wright has been charged with the kidnap and murder of the teenager and the attempted kidnapping of another woman in September 1999.

The 66-year-old had been under investigation for several months but Suffolk police confirmed he has now been charged and will appear before Ipswich magistrates next month. Wright is serving life for killing five women in Ipswich in 2006 (Image: Suffolk Constabulary)

The alleged offences took place several years after he was landlord of the Ferry Boat on King Street in Norwich.

Victoria Hall, aged 17, was last seen alive in 1999 in the early hours of September 19 on High Road in Trimley St Mary, on the outskirts of Felixstowe.

The body of Victoria Hall was discovered after she went missing after a night out in Felixstowe (Image: Suffolk Constabulary)

She had left home to go for a night out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub in Felixstowe. They parted at around 2.20am while walking home.

Her parents woke-up that morning and discovered that she had not returned home and her body was found five days later in a ditch beside a field at Creeting St Peter, about 25 miles away from where she was last seen.

In September 2019, Suffolk Police revealed that the case – known as Operation Avon - was being reinvestigated by a new team of detectives and in 2023 a man - now confirmed as Steve Wright - was rearrested.

Wright ran the Ferryboat pub on King Street in Norwich during the 1980s (Image: Newsquest)

The Crown Prosecution Service have now authorised Wright to be charged with two offences in relation to the teenager’s death.

He has also been charged with one count of attempted kidnap in connection with a separate incident occurring the night before Victoria’s disappearance.

A 22-year-old woman reported that a man approached and followed her, between 3am and 4am on High Road East, Felixstowe.