Suffolk Police remain "fully committed" to solving Victoria Hall murder 21 years on

The 17-year-old was last seen alive on this day in 1999.

Published 19th Sep 2020

Victoria Hall went for a night out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub in Bent Hill, Felixstowe, on 18th September 1999.

They remained until around 1am the following morning, when they then got some food at the Bodrum Grill in Undercliff Road West and began walking back to Trimley St Mary.

They separated at around 2.20am near to the junction of High Road and Faulkeners Way, just yards away from Victoria's home.

Five days later, her naked body was found in a ditch beside a field on Creeting Lane in Creeting St Peter.

It quickly become one of the largest cases Suffolk Police have worked on.

The investigation was reopened last year and since then, the force say they have made 'significant' progress.

That includes 90 calls or messages from members of the public which have helped create new lines of enquiry, and reviewing 3,000 exhibits that exist within the investigation.

Movements of over 70 people from that night have been assessed by reviewing over 9,000 statements, documents, messages and reports from the original investigation.

Detective Chief Superintendent Eamonn Bridger said: "I'm convinced there are people still around who have information, some of that will be eye witness evidence on what happened that night, but I think it goes beyond that.

"I know that over the years people's allegiances change and I'm confident that people in the community will have known who was responsible."

At the centre of the investigation remains Victoria's family, who was robbed of their 17-year-old daughter who had her entire life ahead of her.

DCS Bridger told us they remain fully committed to bringing them closure: "We will always make sure they are at the absolute centre of everything we are doing, as the justice is for them.

"They've lost their daughter and not seen her become the woman she could have become, and everything we do is in the interest of them as a family, to help bring them the answers that they deserve."

A dedicated Operation Avon team was set up last year when the reinvestigation into Victoria's murder was launched, who continue to pursue new lines of enquiry and identify fresh opportunities from the original investigation in 1999.

While Victoria's clothing and personal belongings have never been found, Suffolk Police have issued images of what she was wearing at the time, which can be seen in the gallery below.


Suffolk Police remain "fully committed" to solving Victoria Hall murder 21 years on
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Details were also released last year for the first time, about some of Victoria's personal belongings.

They include a black oval shaped New Look purse with zip fastener, containing a house key on a fob with 'Vicky' across the top and 'Victoria' down the sides.

She also had a Rimmel lipstick in a black plastic case, believed to be the colour 'Zorro', and the inner soles of one or both of her shoes had been fixed with sellotape.

Police are continuing to work through over 1,200 links to people and vehicles and are specifically appealing to hear from anyone who was walking or driving in Trimley St Mary between 2am and 4am on 19th September 1999.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Investigation Team online or by calling 101 and quoting Operation Avon.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.