The Crimes

"You get two girls for the price of one"Steve Wright, speaking of street prostitutesBBC news online21 February 2008Six weeks, 5 murders, 1 killer. It is an extraordinary set of facts.Wright’s crimes would hold the local community and the wider public in the grip of terror. The press dubbed the Wright the Suffolk Strangler and the murders earn a place in annals of British criminal history. The Ipswich serial murders take place between 30 October and 10 December 2006 when the bodies of five murdered women are discovered at different locations near Ipswich, Suffolk, England.Steve Wright for years has hidden a secret life with themes of sexual deviance, violence and addictive behaviours running through Wright’s chaotic life.A pattern would emerge in Wright’s crimes: after stripping their bodies he would then dump them in the countryside around Ipswich and, in two cases, arrange the bodies in the shape of a cross, before going home, changing his clothes and going to work as if nothing had happened.The bodies are discovered naked, but there is no sign of sexual assault. Two of the victims, Anneli Alderton and Paula Clennelll, were confirmed to have been strangled. Pathologists cannot conclusive establish a cause of death for the other victims, Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol and Annette Nicholls.Two of Wright’s victims would be posed. Annette Nicholls and Annelli Alderton’s bodies are placed in a crucifix pose, with arms outstretched. This troubling feature of Wright’s crimes is something that has never been explained.There were many awful elements of Wright’s crimes for the victims’ families to bear. One of the most tragic was that of Paula Clennell. Following discoveries of the dead women, Suffolk Police issue warnings to women working in Ipswich’s red light area. Under pressure, the 24-year-old Paula would be interviewed by Anglia News, saying the recent murders had made her more wary of getting into cars, but she continued to work as she needed the money. She would later be found naked in woodland. She had been strangled.

A pattern would emerge in Wright’s crimes: after stripping their bodies he would then dump them in the countryside around Ipswich and, in two cases, arrange the bodies in the shape of a cross, before going home, changing his clothes and going to work as if nothing had happened.The bodies are discovered naked, but there is no sign of sexual assault. Two of the victims, Anneli Alderton and Paula Clennelll, were confirmed to have been strangled. Pathologists cannot conclusive establish a cause of death for the other victims, Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol and Annette Nicholls.Two of Wright’s victims would be posed. Annette Nicholls and Annelli Alderton’s bodies are placed in a crucifix pose, with arms outstretched. This troubling feature of Wright’s crimes is something that has never been explained.There were many awful elements of Wright’s crimes for the victims’ families to bear. One of the most tragic was that of Paula Clennell. Following discoveries of the dead women, Suffolk Police issue warnings to women working in Ipswich’s red light area. Under pressure, the 24-year-old Paula would be interviewed by Anglia News, saying the recent murders had made her more wary of getting into cars, but she continued to work as she needed the money. She would later be found naked in woodland. She had been strangled.Observers of Steve Wright’s crimes would comment on some worrying aspects:The forensic awareness he displays in the crimes is considerable. Has he killed before? Did he have an accomplice?Handwriting expert Ruth Myers, who works with the police and the courts, studies letters Wright wrote from prison. She comments how personality types like his are masking behaviour. "They're seething inside but you would never know. They can't control it and have violent outbursts.”