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Only surviving victim of 'Suffolk Strangler' Steve Wright says others may have lived if police had taken her seriously

February 06, 2026 at 07:23

The only surviving victim of "Suffolk Strangler" Steve Wright has told how if police had taken her story seriously, the other women he went on to murder may still be alive today.

The serial killer attempted to kidnap Emily Doherty in the Suffolk town of Felixstowe in 1999.

Wright went on to murder five women in the Ipswich area in 2006 and on Monday pleaded guilty to murdering 17-year-old Victoria Hall, also in 1999, as well as trying to abduct Emily.

In her first ever interview with the media, Emily told Sky News how, while she was on a night out, she had to flee from him repeatedly until someone came to her aid.

But when police were called, they treated her like "a silly little girl", and failed to follow it up with a full investigation even after Victoria Hall's body was later found.

"It's devastating what happened to everyone else, absolutely devastating," Emily said.

"You can't help thinking, if they had taken me seriously, Vicky could have survived, but certainly if they had found him sooner the five other women would still be here."

Emily was 22 years old when, in the early hours of Saturday 18 September 1999, she was walking home from a club called the Bandbox with her husband and another couple.

The two women ended up way ahead and then her friend said she had to go, leaving Emily alone in the Picketts Road East (off the High Road area of Felixstowe.)

'He saw me - and I saw him'

"There was this car going backwards and forwards past me, loitering," Emily recalled.

"It parked up, and I thought the driver was having a wee.

"He was just standing by the car. He saw me and I saw him.

"The car door was open, and the engine was running.

"I ran and jumped over a wall and knocked on someone's door and said 'let me in'. No one answered."

As she attempted to get away, the car turned into Park Avenue.

"I got on all fours to peer around a wall to see if he was still there," Emily continued.

"Suddenly he was literally right there. He stepped right into me. He said 'alright' in a low, sleazy way.

"In that instance, I knew my life was in danger. I just knew. The adrenaline kicked in.

"I started running up a driveway. I found a big stick and stood there, easily for 10 minutes. I thought if he does come up here, I will pound him with the stick."

She could hear the car going backwards and forwards, but it fell silent so she thought she was safe.

She went back to the road to continue her journey, but he was still there, leaving her with no choice but to flee again, knocking on more doors until finally someone answered.

She added: "He was in the car laughing at me.

"A couple eventually let me in. I said: 'please let me in, I'm being followed'. They called 999.

"This whole charade, awful, awful thing, went on for about 40 minutes."

But what happened next, is what, in time, made her feel even worse.

'Silly little girl'

"The police came, but they didn't believe me at all," Emily said.

"They said 'come on, how much have you had to drink tonight?'"

In fact, she'd been drinking soda water after only a beer or two earlier in the pub.

"I had to ask them for a lift home. I got in the car with the police, and they said: 'I suppose you should tell us what happened then'."

She said she gave them part of the number plate she remembered and offered to make a statement later that day, but they were dismissive.

"They said that won't be necessary. Forget about it. I really felt like they did not take me seriously at all.

"They treated me like a silly little girl."

The next day, Emily left to go travelling in India.

When she called home, there was a message urging her to call the police urgently. The manhunt was under way for Victoria Hall's killer.

Police said Victoria was abducted from the area of High Road and Faulkeners Way in Trimley St Mary, Felixstowe, in the early hours of Sunday 19 September.

Her body was found 25 miles away, five days after she disappeared on her way back from the same club Emily had been at.

Over the phone from the Himalayas, she gave a statement describing what had happened. She told Sky News the police mentioned sending two officers to produce an e-fit image of the suspect, but it didn't happen.

"That was the last I heard ever about it," she said.

The five murders that brought him to justice

In 2006, seven years later, that same killer, still walking the streets, murdered five sex workers he picked up in Ipswich's red-light district.

Their bodies were found in rural locations, just like Victoria's had been.

Terror gripped the Ipswich area after the first bodies were discovered, in October and November 2006.

The first to go missing was Tania Nicol, 19, on 30 October, followed by Gemma Adams, 25, two weeks later. Their bodies were not discovered until early December.

The body of Anneli Alderton, 24, was found on 10 December. On 12 December, the bodies of Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, were found in a village near to where Anneli's had been discovered.

It took until 21 December before Wright was arrested.

He denied the charges, but was given a whole life jail term after his conviction in February 2008.

Victoria's murder had remained a mystery but, 20 years on, the case was reopened and eventually Wright would be charged with killing her too.

At the start of his trial at the Old Bailey on Monday, he changed his plea to guilty, finally admitting Victoria's murder and attempting to abduct Emily.

Wright is due to be sentenced today. The case the prosecution would have used to convict him for Victoria's murder and Emily's attempted abduction, had he not pleaded guilty, is expected to be outlined.

'It's a burden that I carry'

Emily was living overseas when Wright went on his killing spree in 2006.

She didn't see a picture of him until Victoria's case was reopened.

"It's always been in the back of my mind. Why didn't they show me a picture of the suspect?"

She knows how lucky she is to be alive but cannot shake the guilt she feels if only she had been taken seriously.

"I'm suffering massively from survivor's guilt… It's a burden that I carry.

"There's the guilt of not being heard. It makes me feel sick with grief."

Suffolk Police said it was "not able to comment on any of the evidential matters prior to sentencing".

Kirsty Gallacher calls for more police on streets after she was attacked in London

February 06, 2026 at 02:36

Broadcaster Kirsty Gallacher has called for more police on the streets and greater action on violence against women and girls after she was attacked last year.

Gallacher said she was assaulted by a man as she walked to her car after work in central London - but he has never been found.

"He turned around and kicked me - really kicked me - like he would kick a football," she told the UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee.

The former Sky Sports presenter said violence against females had almost become acceptable and was treated as "one of those things".

"That's why that's why women don't report these crimes because also not enough is being done about it," she said.

Gallacher said police were "fantastically supportive" at the time and she felt "we're going to get this guy" - especially as the CCTV was said to be clear - but the attacker appears to have evaded justice.

The 50-year-old presenter said she'd been shocked by how few police were around at the time of the assault.

"My biggest sadness or anger was there was not enough of a police presence. And we're in central London and I was looking everywhere, like I almost wanted to shout, 'please help me!'", said Gallacher.

"I would love a bigger police presence on the streets [to make women feel safe]," she added.

"And also I would like the police to take it seriously when women go 'I've just been assaulted' - even the most minor of assaults."

A Met Police spokesperson told Sky News it was "committed to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls".

"Officers spoke with the victim in this case on several occasions to share updates as the investigation progressed," they added.

"Our last contact with them was at the end of December when they were informed the investigation had been filed, but would be reopened if the suspect was identified. The suspect's image remains in circulation across the Met.

"The investigation is closed at this time but will be reviewed if new information comes to light."

Tinnitus after tumour

Gallacher also spoke to Sky News about living with tinnitus, a condition where a person hears sounds such as ringing and buzzing that don't come from an outside source.

She told Sarah-Jane Mee she had "a low level buzzing and it's just always there" and on some days, depending on what's going on, "it can be really loud".

"It can be quite low where it's manageable," she said. "So it really is about navigating day by day - and some days it can drive you a bit mad."

Gallacher developed the condition after having a benign tumour in her ear - which has left her almost deaf on one side - and now works as an ambassador for the charity Tinnitus UK.

Tinnitus affects one in seven UK adults and varies in intensity and the sounds people hear.

"It can be caused by, for example, stress, anxiety," Gallacher explained. "It can be through loud music, having spent years in a band, lots of musicians have tinnitus."

Gallacher said she wanted to raise awareness because "it can devastate lives" of those who suffer from it badly and "some people can't cope".

"It's really very sad and very emotional when you hear some stories," she added.

My five-year-old son has nightmares after ICE detention in Minneapolis, says father

February 06, 2026 at 08:32

A five-year-old boy who spent nearly two weeks detained in US immigration suffers nightmares, terrified his family could be separated again, said his father.

Liam Conejo Ramos, who was born in Ecuador, and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias returned to Minneapolis on Saturday after a federal judge ordered their release pending their asylum cases.

The pair were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on the driveway of their family home on 20 January.

"He hasn't been the same since this all happened," Adrian, an Ecuadorian national, told Telemundo.

"He's very scared. At night he wakes up several times crying and asking for help... he has nightmares. He calls me when he wakes up and says, 'Daddy, Daddy,' so I have to go to him."

He said ICE agents confronted him outside his home after returning from picking up Liam from nursery, and told his wife, pregnant with the couple's third child, to stay inside.

A photo of Liam, wearing a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack as he was surrounded by officers, went viral and caused outrage among protesters and the wider public.

Their detention came between the high-profile killings of Minneapolis residents Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, both 37 and US citizens.

Adrian told Telemundo that, since returning to Minneapolis, that the family are "in hiding".

Explainer: What is ICE and what powers do its agents have?

He said: "We are in hiding. Nobody really knows where we are. We are afraid to go out on the streets and have this happen to us again".

Describing his controversial detention, Adrian recalled one agent suggesting that Liam could knock on the front door to get whoever was inside the house out.

Witnesses, including an employee from Liam's school, would later recall hearing similar discussions among the agents, leading to accusations that they were using the young boy as "bait".

The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly denied using Liam as "bait", saying instead that Liam's father ran off without him to evade capture, and that his mother refused to take custody of him.

The incident became a flash point in ongoing debates over whether immigration officials had gone too far in detaining a young boy.

An attorney for the family has said Liam and Adrian were following all "established protocols" for pursuing asylum, and should never have been detained.

Nancy Guthrie: A neighbourhood left stunned by a crime that's mystifying America

February 06, 2026 at 04:59

The Catalina Foothills, a desert community just north of Tucson, Arizona, isn't the sort of place where these things happen. But it's now the focus of a crime that's mystifying America.

A long line of TV reporters from all over the world are positioned outside Nancy Guthrie's home, an expansive red brick bungalow set back from the road on a large plot, bordered by cacti and yucca shrubs.

Private security stand guard on the driveway.

It's from this house that detectives believe 84-year-old Nancy was snatched in the dead of night.

She is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, one of the country's best known TV hosts, and the pair have often appeared on screen together.

As the search for her enters a sixth day, police have no suspect and no person of interest.

They did confirm blood found on the front porch of the house belonged to Nancy. They are also treating a ransom note sent to two news organisations seriously.

The note made reference to an Apple Watch worn by Nancy and a floodlight outside the house.

"The ransom note that was distributed to the media did make a demand for 5pm today, and if a transfer wasn't made, then I think a second demand was for next Monday," Heith Janke, special agent in charge of the FBI's Phoenix division, said.

Family renew emotional plea

Camron Guthrie, Savannah's brother and Nancy's son, made a new appeal from the family, released on social media at the exact time of that 5pm deadline.

"Whoever is out there, holding our mother, we want to hear from you," he said, staring directly at the camera.

"We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out, and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward, but first we have to know that you have our mum.

"We want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact."

Neighbours in shock - and increasing security

People in the usually sedate neighbourhood where Nancy lives are stunned by this apparent kidnapping.

An elderly couple walk past her house, the man holding a giant staff, to ward off feral pigs he tells me. That's the biggest danger here, usually, he says.

But now local people are reviewing their own security.

"I do know that there's some people looking at their own security for their homes," said Laura Gargano, whose house backs on to Nancy's. "If they have them, maybe they're enhancing them or if they don't, they're installing them.

"I had been to [Nancy's] house before about a year, a year-and-a-half ago, and she's a very sweet woman, very nice, she welcomed me right into her home."

Cindy Matte, who lives a few streets away, believes Nancy was targeted because of her daughter's high profile.

"I definitely think that, yeah," she said. "That's what I told my friends who are afraid for me to walk in this neighbourhood. I'm like 'my family doesn't have any money. They're not gonna come after me for any reason'."

A sign on the pavement at the end of Nancy's driveway reads: "Dear Guthrie Family, your neighbors stand with you."

In a place where they speak with collective pride about Savannah Guthrie, the TV star who was raised here and became one of its most successful exports, someone may hold the clue to finding Nancy.

Crotch enhancements: The latest controversy at the Winter Olympics

February 06, 2026 at 06:32

Crotch enhancements. Banned helmets. Qualifying manipulation claims. And Russian hacking.

Even before Friday's opening ceremony at San Siro in Milan, the build-up to the Winter Olympics in Italy has provided its fill of controversies.

Athletes are always trying to find a competitive edge. This alleged attempt - dubbed "crotchgate" by some - is bizarre.

Why might ski jumpers be injecting an acid serum into their genitalia to artificially increase the size? It's nothing to do with bedroom gymnastics in the Olympic Village.

According to German's Bild news site, claims were put to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that it's being done to enlarge the skin suit surface area around the crotch to give ski jumpers greater lift - to glide further in the pursuit of gold.

WADA director general Olivier Niggli said he was not aware of the claims on how it could improve performance.

But he added: "If anything was to come to the surface, we would look at anything if it is actually doping related. We don't address other means of enhancing performance."

Rules were tightened after Norwegians were caught adding stitching to the crotch area of their suits during the World Championships last year.

Helmet ban

A more scientific case of seeking aerodynamic advantage landed Team GB in a hearing in Milan with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on the eve of the opening ceremony.

The British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association has been appealing to overturn a ban on new helmets that were found to have breached the competition rules because of an irregular shape, denying skeleton gold medal contender Matt Weston from wearing it.

He said while awaiting the CAS outcome: "This is a sport that is won by hundredths of a second, so for us as GB and the team we have around us, we're constantly innovating from race week to race week.

"We try to push the boundaries and find those gains, this is just one of the parts of innovation we do as GB and I think we do it pretty well."

Now, having the best team of lawyers can be as essential as having the best coaches in sport.

The US launched legal challenges after skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender fell just short of qualifying for a sixth Olympics.

Fewer qualification ranking points became available after rivals Canada pulled four sliders from a race last month, reducing the status of the event.

The sport's governing body recognised it could look like the event was manipulated but found no rules were broken.

Cyberattacks thwarted

Russia has been trying for a decade to return to the Olympics - losing sport's court battles.

First banned for running a state-sponsored doping programme at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine extended its exclusion from the biggest sports extravaganza as a team under the Russian flag and anthem.

Russians were accused of trying to undermine those Games through online disinformation and hacking attempts.

Now the Italian government says it has thwarted cyberattacks on Olympic websites and hotels in one of the games hubs at Cortina d'Ampezzo.

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