Trimley St Mary – Man charged with murder of Victoria Hall

A 66-year-old man has been charged with the kidnap and murder of a teenage girl from Trimley St Mary which happened over 24 years ago.

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

Victoria left home on the evening of Saturday 18 September 1999 to go for a night out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub in Bent Hill, Felixstowe, where they remained until around 1am on the morning of Sunday 19 September.

They then went to get some food at the Bodrum Grill in Undercliff Road West, before beginning the walk back to Trimley St Mary. They parted at around 2.20am near to the junction of High Road and Faulkeners Way. Victoria was just yards away from her home.

When Victoria’s parents woke-up that morning and discovered that she had not returned home, the police were called and a missing person inquiry commenced.

Five days later, on Friday 24 September, Victoria’s body was found in a ditch beside a field by a dog walker in Creeting Lane, Creeting St Peter, approximately 25 miles away from where she was last seen.

In September 2019, Suffolk Police revealed that the case – known as Operation Avon - was now a live inquiry again and being fully reinvestigated by a new team of detectives.

The Crown Prosecution Service have now authorised Suffolk Police to charge a 66-year-old man with three offences.

This afternoon, Wednesday 22 May, Steve Wright, formerly of London Road in Ipswich, has been charged with kidnap and murder, in connection with the abduction and death of Victoria Hall.

He has also been charged with one count of attempted kidnap in connection with a separate incident occurring the night before Victoria’s disappearance, whereby a 22-year-old woman reported that a man approached and followed her, between 3am and 4am on Saturday 18 September 1999 in High Road East, Felixstowe.

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