Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright got ‘thrill’ out of police ‘seeing his work’ – and left ‘marks’ on bodies of his victims
THE Suffolk Strangler got “a thrill” out of police “seeing his work” after he left “marks” on the bodies of his victims, experts claim.
Steve Wright is currently serving a whole life sentence after he killed five women before dumping their bodies around Ipswich in 2006.
Locals suffered six weeks of terror while detectives hunted for the serial killer, his victim’s naked bodies dumped in isolated spots around Ipswich, Suffolk.
During this time, he murdered Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29.
And just this week Wright was arrested over the death of 17-year-old Victoria Hall – 24 years after she was found dead.
Victoria was last seen alive in the early hours of September 19, 1999, in High Road, Trimley St Mary, Suffolk.
Experts have now given insight into his thinking behind his sick crimes.
In a documentary, ‘The Killer In My Family’, psychologist Emma Kenny said he got a “thrill” out of arranging two of his victims with their arms sprawled out to the side in the shape of a crucifix.
She explained: “Steve Wright chose to position two of the women’s bodies in the crucifix position.
“One, probably to try and throw the police off course because the other bodies hadn’t been dealt with that way.
“Secondly, potentially for dramatic effect, because unusually a lot of killers like to leave their ‘work’ with a certain mark.
“Most importantly because there was some thrill at the end of doing that, of creating that and making that body look a certain way. So he was enjoying his work.”
On October 30, 2006 Tania Nicol, 19, vanished from Ipswich’s red light district, followed by Gemma Adams, 25 around two weeks later, triggering a major inquiry.
Miss Adams’ body was found in a stream at Hintlesham on December 2, followed by the discovery of Miss Nichol’s corpse in a pond at Copdock on December 8.
Two days later the body of Anneli Alderton, 24, was found in woods at Nacton and sex workers in the town were urged to stay off the streets.
On December 12 the bodies of Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, were found near woods at Levington.
The Suffolk Strangler is serving a whole life sentence at top security HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire.
During a trial at Ipswich Crown Court Wright admitted having sex with the women but denied murdering them.
Following his conviction in February 2009 he was given a full-life term – sentences only handed out in the gravest cases – to join the ranks of infamous killers Jeremy Bamber, Levi Bellfield and Rose West.
Relatives of victim Miss Nicol said at the time: “These crimes deserve the ultimate punishment and that can only mean one thing.”
In the wake of his conviction there were calls for Wright to face the death penalty from some of the victims’ families.