The 66-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and murdering 17-year-old Victoria Hall, who disappeared on her way home from a Suffolk nightclub in 1999

A man pleaded not guilty today to the kidnap and murder of a 17-year-old girl who disappeared on her way home from a Suffolk nightclub in 1999.

When Steve Wright appeared at Ipswich Crown Court this morning he spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to plead his innocence.

The 66-year-old is accused of killing Victoria Hall, whose body was found in a ditch five days after she was last seen alive. He is scheduled to go on trial in 2026.

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

The defendant, who appeared via videolink from prison, pleaded not guilty to the charge of kidnapping Victoria the following day.

The 66-year-old is accused of killing Victoria Hall, whose body was found in a ditch five days after she was last seen alive

The indictment presented to the court alleged that he “unlawfully and by force or fraud kidnapped or carried away Victoria Hall against her will.”

Wright also pleaded not guilty to murdering Victoria Hall on September 19, 1999.

The defendant, formerly of London Road, Ipswich, was not ordered to enter a plea over the attempted kidnap of Emily Doherty in Felixstowe on September 18.

Judge Martyn Levett set the trial date for February 2, 2026 at the Old Bailey in London and estimated it would last four weeks.

Victoria and the friend she was with left the Bandbox nightclub at around 1am on September 19, 1999 and broke up at around 2:20am.

The defendant, seen on prison video, pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping Victoria on September 19, 1999

That was the last time Victoria was seen alive.

Her parents, Lorinda and Graham Hall, woke up in the morning to find their daughter had not returned home and a missing person investigation was launched.

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

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