Jury to see key locations

JURORS in the Steve Wright trial were today due to get an up-close view of key sites in the red-light killings investigation.

The trial judge Mr Justice Gross was set to lead the jurors across Ipswich as they were shown locations which will feature in the case against the man accused of murdering five Ipswich sex workers.

The visits follow the conclusion of the prosecution opening last week and a short opening statement from Timothy Langdale QC, the man heading Wright's defence team.

The court has not revealed which sites are to be visited but it is likely the locations where Annette Nicholls, 29, Paula Clennell, 24, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, and Tania Nicol, 19, were found during a ten-day period in December 2006 will be among those visited.

It is also thought Wright's home in London Road, Ipswich, could also be visited by the jurors.

They were also likely to pay close attention to the town's red-light district as all five women had been working as prostitutes when they were last seen.

Wright denies murdering the women and dumping their naked bodies but he admits having sex with four of them and picking up the other, Tania Nicol, in his car with the intention of having sex with her but later changing his mind.

Miss Adams' body was the first to be found. It was discovered by a water bailiff in Belstead Brook at Hintlesham on December 2 2006. She had been missing since November 15.

Miss Nicol's body was found two miles downstream at Copdock Mill six days after Miss Adams' body was discovered. The 19-year-old had been the first to go missing, having last been seen on October 30.

Anneli Alderton's body was found in woodland at Nacton on December 10. She had not been reported missing and it was later discovered that she had been pregnant.

On December 12, the bodies of Annette Nicholls and Paula Clennell were found not far from the Old Felixstowe Road at Levington.

In his opening of the prosecution case, Peter Wright QC gave the jury detailed accounts of the locations where the bodies were found and the circumstances surrounding them being discovered.

He also told the jury that evidence would be presented which dealt the home at 79 London Road which Wright, a former pub landlord, shared with his partner Pamela Wright, including strange noises which were heard by neighbours.

At the beginning of the opening of the case, the nine men and three women on the jury were handed folders, known as the jury bundle, containing photographs, maps, diagrams and other items which the legal teams will use to illustrate their case.

Among the photographs and maps were ones showing the sites where the bodies were deposited, the location of Wright's home and layouts of the red-light district. The site visits are a means of the court enabling the jury to gain a better knowledge of the key locations.

In adjourning the trial on Thursday, Mr Justice Gross asked the jury to return to Ipswich Crown Court this morning before they were taken together, along with the legal teams in the case, to a number of those sites that they will hear about during the trial.

Once those visits have been completed today, it is expected the prosecution will begin bringing witnesses from tomorrow.

Steve Gerald James Wright denies five counts of murder.

Count one is that on a day between October 29, 2006 and December 9, 2006 he murdered 19-year-old Tania Nicol.

Count two alleges that on a day between November 13, 2006 and December 3, 2006 he murdered Gemma Adams, 25.

Count three alleges that on a day between December 2, 2006 and December 11, 2006 he murdered Anneli Alderton, 24.

Count four alleges that on a day between December 7, 2006 and December 13, 2006 he murdered Annette Nicholls, 29.

And count five alleges that on a day between December 9, 2006 and December 13, 2006 he murdered Paula Clennell, 24.