Steve Wright - The Suffolk Strangler.

by Andrew Alexander

The Ipswich murders occurred between 30 October and 12 December 2006, when five women were abducted, killed and their bodies found at a number of locations near Ipswich in Suffolk. All five women had worked as prostitutes in the Ipswich area, and their bodies were discovered naked. However, there were no signs of any sexual interference.

Ipswich was a port town with an escalating drugs problem which saw an increasing number of young women working as street prostitutes. In 2006, it was estimated that in excess of one hundred of these highly vulnerable women worked in the few streets which comprised the town’s red light district.

With the discovery of five bodies in ten days, the Suffolk Constabulary launched the biggest murder investigation ever seen in eastern England and two arrests were made. The first suspect, an attention-seeker was soon released without charge. The second, Steve Wright was arrested on 19 December 2006, and was later charged with the murder of all five women.

Remanded in custody, Wright’s trial began at Ipswich Crown Court on 14 January 2008. He pleaded not guilty, but on 21 February 2008 the jury found him guilty of all five murders. The following day Wright was sentenced to life imprisonment with the judge’s recommendation that he should serve a whole-life tariff.

This 4,600 word review gives the reader an essential understanding of Steve Wright and his crimes; both as a study in its own right, and as a stepping-stone to further research.

The main aspects covered

• Introduction
• Steve Wright’s Early Life
• The Victims
• The Police Investigation
• Arrest of Suspects
• Wright’s Trial
• Wright’s Appeal
• Wright’s ‘other’ Victims?

True Crimes Series by Andrew

Ruth Ellis – The Last Woman to be Hanged
Steve Wight – The Suffolk Strangler
Harold Shipman - Doctor Death
Brady and Hindley - The Moors Murderers
Peter Sutcliffe - The Yorkshire Ripper
John Christie – The 10 Rillington Place Murders
Donald Neilson – The Black Panther
Dennis Nilsen – The Muswell Hill Murderer
Kenneth Erskine – The Stockwell Strangler
Fred and Rose West – The House of Horrors
Ted Bundy – The College Girl Killer
Jeffrey Dahmer – The Milwaukee Cannibal
David Berkowitz – The Son of Sam
Bianchi & Buono – The Hillside Stranglers
Johann 'Jack' Unterweger - International Serial Killer
Female Serial Killers.
Whole Life Sentences.

15 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2013