Steve Wright in court charged with 1999 murder

Steve Wright has appeared in court charged with the murder and kidnap of a 17-year-old girl in 1999.

Victoria Hall's body was found in a ditch about 25 miles (40km) from where she was last seen alive in High Road, Trimley St Mary, Suffolk, on 19 September that year.

Mr Wright, 66, previously of London Road, Ipswich, has also been charged with the attempted kidnap of a 22-year-old woman the previous night.

During an appearance at Ipswich Crown Court via video link from HMP Long Lartin, a plea hearing was set for 2 September with a provisional trial date for January.

The crown court appearance in the afternoon followed an appearance at Ipswich Magistrates' Court on Monday morning.

During the earlier hearing, he spoke only to confirm his full name, date of birth and to confirm he was not recording proceedings.

Suffolk Police said Ms Hall was just yards away from her home in Trimley when she disappeared.

Mr Wright has also been charged with the unlawful kidnap of the teenager - by force or fraud before being taken or carried away against her will.

She had been at Bandbox nightclub in neighbouring Felixstowe with a friend, who she parted ways with at about 02:20 BST.

When Victoria's parents woke up, they found she had not returned home and called the police.

After a five-day search, Ms Hall's naked body was found by a dog walker in a ditch next to a field on Creeting Lane, Creeting St Peter near Stowmarket.

Mr Wright, a former forklift truck driver, is also accused of the attempted kidnapping of Emily Doherty, then aged 22, in Felixstowe on 18 September 1999.

The charges followed police announcing they would be fully reinvestigating the case with new detectives in September 2019.

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