Why it matters: Victoria's family have waited over 26 years for answers about what happened to the teenager who was kidnapped just yards from her home in September 1999.
The details: The 67-year-old appeared at the Central Criminal Court in London today, Monday, 2 February, where he pleaded guilty to three offences: one count of murder and one count of kidnap in respect of Victoria Hall, and a further charge of attempted kidnap involving a 22-year-old woman the night before Victoria's abduction.
Victoria was last seen alive in the early hours of Sunday, 19 September, 1999 in High Road, Trimley St Mary.
She left the Bandbox nightclub in Felixstowe with a friend around 01:00, and they parted near the junction of High Road and Faulkeners Way at around 02:20, where Victoria was just yards from home.
When her parents discovered she had not returned, police were called.
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.
The investigation: In September 2019, Suffolk Police revealed the case – known as Operation Avon – was now a live inquiry again and being fully reinvestigated by a new team of detectives.
Wright was first arrested as part of the inquiry in July 2021. He was rearrested in December 2023 and subsequently charged in May 2024.
The attempted kidnap incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, 18 September 1999, involving a 22-year-old woman along High Road East, Felixstowe.
What they're saying: Assistant Chief Constable Alice Scott, of Suffolk Constabulary, said: "Victoria's family have waited over 26 years for this day, and I am so very pleased that we have been able to deliver justice for Victoria and they now know who is responsible for Victoria's murder. I hope their efforts have demonstrated that we will never give up on achieving justice in cases such as this, despite the passage of time."
For context: Wright is a serving prisoner who was sentenced to a whole life term in 2008, after being found guilty of the murders of five women in the Ipswich area between October and December 2006.
What's next: Wright will be sentenced at the Central Criminal Court on Friday, 6 February.
The bottom line: After more than a quarter of a century, Victoria Hall's family finally have answers about who killed the teenager, with serial killer Steve Wright admitting his guilt and sparing them the ordeal of a trial.
