Steve Wright denies murder and kidnap of Suffolk teenager Victoria Hall in 1999

A man has appeared in court to deny the kidnap and murder of a teenager who went missing on her way home from a nightclub 25 years ago.

The body of Victoria Hall, 17, was found in a ditch on 24 September 1999, five days after she was last seen alive.

Steve Wright, 66, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to enter his pleas of not guilty when he appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on Monday.

He is due to stand trial in 2026.

Victoria, from Trimley St Mary in Suffolk, had left her home on the evening of 18 September 1999 for a night out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub in Felixstowe.

The defendant, who appeared by prison videolink, pleaded not guilty to an accusation that he kidnapped the teenager on 19 September 1999.

The charge read to the court alleged that he had “unlawfully and by force or fraud took or carried away Victoria Hall against her will”.

Wright also pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Victoria on 19 September, 1999.

The defendant, formerly of London Road, Ipswich, is also charged with the attempted kidnap of Emily Doherty in Felixstowe on 18 September. He was not asked to enter a plea.

Judge Martyn Levett set a trial date of 2 February 2026 at the Old Bailey in London with a time estimate of four weeks.

Victoria and the friend she was with left the Bandbox nightclub at around 1am on 19 September 1999 and parted ways at around 2.20am.

That was the last time Victoria was seen alive.

Her parents, Lorinda and Graham Hall, woke in the morning to discover their daughter had not returned home and a missing persons inquiry was launched.

On 24 September, her body was found in Creeting St Peter, around 25 miles from where she was last seen.

Wright was remanded in custody until a further hearing at the Old Bailey on 2 December.

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