Man re-arrested for murder 24 years on from unsolved killing of schoolgirl Victoria Hall, found in ditch after night out

7 December 2023, 19:59

A man has been rearrested on suspicion of murder, 24 years after a 17-year-old girl was found dead in Suffolk.

Victoria Hall was discovered in a ditch on September 24, 1999, five days after she was last seen alive.

No culprit was convicted in the initial investigation, but Suffolk Police reopened the case in 2019 after getting new evidence.

Officers arrested a man in July 2021, then released him under investigation.

They rearrested him on Wednesday on suspicion of murder and taken into custody for questioning. He was later released again, as police continue to investigate.

He has not been named by police.

Read more: Case of Charlene Downes, feared killed and ground into kebab meat at 14, reopened as investigators probe fresh clues

Read more: Man arrested in connection with unsolved murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall

Victoria left her home on the outskirts of Felixstowe on September 18, 1999, for a night out with a friend at the Bandbox nightclub in the town.

They left the venue at 1am the next day, and said goodbye to each other at around 2.20am, only a few metres away from Victoria's home.

But she was never seen alive again. Her parents woke up the next morning to find her missing, and alerted the authorities.

Victoria's corpse was found four days later in Creeting St Peter, around 25 miles away. Her clothes and possessions were never found.

Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Connick, the senior investigating officer, said: "We remain fully committed to this inquiry; the work being undertaken is extremely time consuming but absolutely necessary."

He added: "We never lose sight of the young life ended so needlessly at the centre of everything we are doing.

“We continue to be grateful for the support and patience of Victoria’s family and we ensure they are provided with regular updates as to the progress we are making. They understand the vital lengths that we need to take to achieve the end goal for us all - which is to achieve justice for Victoria.

“I would like to renew our appeal to anyone with information about Victoria’s murder who has not yet come forward, to do the right thing and contact us. If you have any information - no matter how insignificant this may seem - we want to hear from you. It is never too late."

People can call the incident room directly on 01473 613513 or use the major incident public reporting portal at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/3637020112A02-PO2

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org