'Serial killer Steve Wright stalked me before he murdered'

A British woman has come forward with harrowing claims that the convicted serial killer Steve Wright stalked her and a group of friends in Felixstowe, Suffolk, just days before he abducted and murdered 17-year-old Victoria Hall in September 1999. The witness, whose testimony adds a chilling layer of premeditation to Wright's criminal history, described an encounter where the predator followed the young women home at night, creating an atmosphere of intense fear shortly before the community was rocked by Hall's disappearance. This revelation follows decades of investigations into Wright, who was famously convicted in 2008 for the 'Suffolk Strangler' murders of five women in Ipswich. The witness recounted how she and her companions noticed a man, later identified as Wright, tracking their movements as they walked through the seaside town. The encounter left the group deeply unsettled, as the individual appeared to be intentionally hunting for potential victims in the local area. This stalking incident occurred during the same timeframe that Victoria Hall vanished while walking home from a nightclub, a cold case that remained unsolved for over twenty years until forensic breakthroughs and renewed witness statements led to Wright being formally charged with her murder in 2024. Legal experts and investigators suggest that such testimonies are crucial in establishing Wright’s pattern of behavior and his presence in specific locations during the late 1990s. While Wright is already serving a whole-life tariff for the 2006 Ipswich killings, the pursuit of justice for Victoria Hall has remained a priority for the Suffolk Police. The newly surfaced account of stalking reinforces the narrative that Wright was a calculated predator who monitored his surroundings and targeted lone or vulnerable women long before his final spree brought him to international notoriety. As the legal proceedings regarding the Victoria Hall case continue, this testimony serves as a grim reminder of the missed opportunities and the pervasive danger posed by Wright during his years of liberty. The victim's family, who have waited a quarter-century for closure, view these developments as a vital step toward a full accounting of Wright's crimes. Authorities continue to encourage any other individuals with historical information regarding Wright's movements in the late nineties to come forward, as they piece together the full extent of his decades-long trail of violence.