Steve Wright's house

This is the former home of serial killer Steve Wright.

It is located at 79 London Road in Ipswich, England.

Wright, who was nicknamed the Suffolk Strangler, murdered five women between October 30 and December 10, 2006.

During that period, he picked up five sex workers in Ipswich's red-light district, asphyxiated them, and then dumped their remains in rural areas on the outskirts of the city.

On two occasions, he posed his victims in the shape of a cross and carefully arranged their hair above their heads.

The forklift driver and former dockworker rented this end-terrace house with his girlfriend, Pamela Wright, who coincidentally has the same surname as him. They moved into the apartment at the start of October 2006, just weeks before the killings began.

Despite tabloids describing it as a "house of horrors," there doesn't appear to be any indication that the murders took place at the address. One tenant said that the police told them they didn't believe any of the murders occurred at the residence.

Murders

Wright patronized sex workers throughout most of his adult life. His visits to the red-light district drastically increased when his girlfriend started working the night shift at a local call center.

After dropping Pamela off at work, he would cruise around in his Ford Mondeo, pick up sex workers, and bring them back to his place. Wright put two jackets on the bedroom floor instead of using his bed, as he was worried that his girlfriend might notice the women's scent on the sheets.

Like most serial killers who target sex workers, he did not harm every woman he picked up. He was such a frequent customer that many of the women were familiar with him and felt at ease in his company.

This would explain how he was able to continue killing even after the police announced that a serial killer was operating in the area.

One woman told the Guardian newspaper that he hired her several times between 2003 and 2006. She also said that he picked up the fourth victim, Annette Nicholls, on multiple occasions.

Although reports of a serial killer alarmed the women working in the district, many found it difficult to stay off the streets due to their addictions.

Some convinced themselves they would recognize the killer if he approached them. Others believed they were taking precautions by refusing to go with clients they hadn't seen before.

Arrest

Investigators identified Wright after his DNA was found on three of the bodies. Four years earlier, his DNA had been entered into the police database system after he was convicted of stealing a small sum of cash from his employer.

Blood belonging to two of the women was found on a jacket in his house, while specks of blood from another victim were discovered on the back seat of his Mondeo.

Security cameras recorded him driving close to where two of the girls had been picked up. The police also located CCTV footage of his vehicle driving in the direction of the areas where the bodies were dumped.

Wright was arrested on December 19, 2006. In February 2008, he was found guilty of the five murders and sentenced to life in prison.

Aftermath

Following the killings, local authorities clamped down on the industry and began offering sex workers drug rehabilitation.

This largely worked. In 2006, there were approximately 30 women working in the area. By 2021, that number had fallen to 8-9.

However, in October 2021, Suffolk News reported that a small number of women had returned to working on the streets.