Live trial coverage
Steve Wright stands accused of the murder of five women around Ipswich in 2006.
His trial began on Monday, January 14, 2008, and on key days during the trial we'll be supplying live coverage of the events at Ipswich Crown Court.
Live coverage from January 14, 2008
16:19 The case has been adjourned until tomorrow.
16:19 Before leaving the courtroom, jurors were asked to reflect on whether they could meet the requirements of the case, which is expected to last between six and eight weeks, and were told to let a member of court staff know if there were any problems.
16:17 The judge told the jury they would not be required until Wednesday, when he would be in a better position to inform them of the days the court would sit in the weeks ahead.
16:14 Jury members were told to select a foreman at an appropriate moment. 16:13 The judge instructed jurors to concentrate only on the evidence presented to them in court. "Do not try and obtain information elsewhere such as the internet," he added. He also told them not to discuss the case with friends and family members. 16:11 Mr Justice Gross warned jurors to ignore media coverage of the case. "You may well have seen or heard media reporting of this matter. You may well see or hear more. Ignore such reports," he said. "Do not let them influence you in anyway." 16:09 The judge told jurors: "This will be your case to decide on and only on the evidence you will hear. You're the judges of fact. On the law, you must accept what I tell you."
16:07 High Court judge, Mr Justice Gross, told jurors nothing further would happen this afternoon. He said worked needed to be carried out tomorrow and the case would start properly on Wednesday.
16:05 The jury was told Steve Wright is also charged with the murders of Anneli Alderton between December 2, 2006, and December 11, 2006; Annette Nicholls between December 7, 2006 and 13 December 2006; and Paula Clennell between December 9, 2006 and December 13, 2006.
16:01 The court heard Steve Wright has been charged with the murder of Gemma Adams between November 13 2006 and December 3 2006.
16:00 The court heard Steve Wright has been charged with the murder of Tania Nicol between 29 October 2006 and December 9 2006.
15:58 The jury was told Steve Wright faces five charges.
15:57 The court has selected 12 further potential jurors, three of whom will remain on standby until the opening of the case has closed.
15:56 The jury of 10 men and two women have taken an oath to give "true verdicts according to the evidence".
15:40 Jurors in the case have been sworn in.
15:40 The trial of Steve Wright resumes after a break for lunch.
13:26 Members of the jury have been handed a questionnaire to assess their suitability for the trial. The jury, which was sitting in an annexe in another part of the court building, was addressed by the judge via a live video link. High Court Judge Mr Justice Gross told them: "The nature of this case is such that I must ask you to fill in a questionnaire you will be given as part of the process of jury selection. "Jury
service is an important public duty - it goes to the heart of our system of justice." The judge said if a member of the public is called upon to do jury service, it is expected that he or she will do so. But he added that the court is not unreasonable and knows some people are unable to do jury service because of holiday or hospital
appointments. The questionnaire contained names of witnesses, victim's names, and a number of occupations, which may preclude a juror from sitting on the case. There are a 114 potential jurors, of which they will select an initial panel of up to 24,
including a number of reserves. The hearing has been adjourned until 3pm to allow jury members to fill in their questionnaire. A jury is then expected to be empanelled. 12:01 The case has been adjourned until 12.15pm. Further administrative work is expected to be carried out when the court reconvenes.
11:58 One of the biggest trials in British criminal history began in Suffolk today. Steve Wright stands accused of the murder of five women, whose bodies were found in remote rural locations on the outskirts of Ipswich last winter. The 49-year-old forklift driver and former publican denies killing Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Annette Nicholls, 29, and Paula Clennell, 24. All worked as prostitutes in Ipswich's red light district. Wright, of London Road, Ipswich, arrived at Ipswich Crown Court shortly after 9.10am in a prison van flanked by police.
Proceedings inside the courtroom began at 11.20am. Wright, who has receding grey hair, was wearing a black suit, white shirt and a black striped tie. Such is the intense interest in the case that dozens of journalists not able to secure a seat in the press box have been housed in an annexe where proceedings are projected on to two big screens. Scores of lawyers filled the courtroom, while police officers patrolled
outside.
10:06 The case is listed to begin at 11am at which point court staff are expected to start the process of selecting jury members.
09:25 Steve Wright has arrived at Ipswich Crown Court for the start of his eight-week trial.
Live coverage from January 16, 2008
16:53 The court has adjourned for the day. Proceedings will resume at 10.30am tomorrow. Check back for up to the minute updates directly from the court room.
16:52 The court was told a mouth swab was taken from Wright in order to obtain a DNA profile, his Ford Mondeo was seized, and itmes of clothing were recovered from his house and examined. Peter Wright told jurors: "This was a painstaking and detailed analysis. "Neighbours were interviewed and a picture began to emerge of the man who was in custody."
16:49 Wright was arrested shortly before 5am on December 19 at his London Road home. 16:48 Wright's DNA was found on Paula and fibres were found on her body which matched clothing owned by the defendant and from his car.
16:47 There was a very high concentration of morphine in Paula's blood, consistent with a high dose of heroin having been taken not long before she died.
16:45 The cause of death was likely to be compression of the neck in association with opiate intoxication.
16:44 Jurors were told the condition of Paula's body was consistent with someone approaching the deposition site of Anneli and Annette but being disturbed by police and hurriedly disposing the body.
16:42 Whoever dumped her body, the court was told, may have been in a hurry to dispose of it and did not take time posing it as had previously happened.
16:41 Paula had bloodstained fluid coming out of her mouth that may have resulted from an attack upon her.
16:40 There were injuries to her neck and evidence of a struggle and of compression to the neck.
16:39 Unlike the bodies of Annette and Anneli, Paula's body had not been posed. The crown said it had all the signs of having been "hurriedly dumped".
16:38 The court heard that Paula Clennell was last seen alive on December 10. Her naked body was found on December 12 just off the Old Felixstowe Road.
16:36 Fibres on Annette's body also matched those found in the defendant's car, on his clothes and on a reflective jacket worn by him for work.
16:35 DNA on her body matched that of the defendant, he told the jury.
16:34 Mr Wright said Annette's body revealed vital clues about the identity of the person involved in her death.
16:34 However there were a number of superficial abrasions - including a scratch mark on her cheek which the prosecution claim was deep enough to bleed.
16:29 The casue of death could not be ascertained.
16:29 Both cars were close to where Annette's body was found. 16:29 This too was unattended.
16:28 About 300 yards further along the road she spotted another vehicle, believed to be a Renault Clio.
16:28 It was parked in what she considered to be an unusual position and at risk of collision from approaching traffic, the prosecution claim.
16:27 No one seemed to be in the vehicle and although the main lights were off the interior lights were on.
16:27 She saw a dark blue/black Ford Mondeo parked on the nearside of the road. 16:26 On December 8 at 8.30pm a lady was travelling by bus along the Old
Felixstowe Road towards Ipswich.
16:26 A post-mortem concluded that Annette was dead and in te position where she was found by December 8 or 9.
16:25 She was spotted lying in the undergrowth a short distance away.
16:24 Annette was discovered by a police helicopter, which was called to the scene following the discovery of the body of Paula Clenell.
16:24 The prosecution claim her body was left posed in ths woodland before the body of Anneli was discovered on December 10.
16:23 Her body was found in December 12 in woodland just off off the Old Felixstowe Road, close to the junction with Levington.
16:23 She went missing two days before the body of Anneli Alderton was discovered.
16:22 Annette Nicholls was last seen alive on December 8.
16:19 Swabs from Anneli's body found Wright's DNA profile, jurors were told. 16:18 The crown claims she was taken to the scene already naked, perhaps wrapped in something and deliberately positioned in the crucifix pose in which she was found.
16:16 There were no snag marks on Anneli's body. The prosecution believes this could be because her naked body was carried by more than one person or was wrapped in something.
16:15 Anneli, who was in the early stages of pregnancy, had injuries to the neck and lip consistent with subtle compression of the neck.
16:14 Anneli's naked body was in the process of decomposition by the time it was found on December 10.
16:13 Jurors were told the defendant was yet again "spending a restless evening while his partner was out at work".
16:12 Wright's car was captured that night by the same London Road number plate recognition camera as on October 30. At 1.41am on December 4, two hours and 20 minutes later, his car was captured heading out of town towards the A14 roundabout. 16:11 A vehicle expert considered the image of the car and Wright's Mondeo. The two both had Christmas tree air freshners hanging from the rear view mirror and both had the tax discs placed unusually high on the windscreen. They were one and the same, he claimed.
16:07 That car is believed to be the same as the defendant's.
16:07 CCTV at Sir Alf Ramsey Way also captured an image of the front of a car driving towards it along Portman Road from Princes Street and in the direction of Handford Road.
16:06 Mr Wright told the court: "It is the prosecution case that the defendant did not remain at home whilst his partner worked. On the contrary, we suggest that he had gone out looking for another suitable victim."
16:04 The evening of December 3 and the early hours of December 4 was also a period in which the defendant's partner was at work.
16:04 The company's offices are just 200 metres from where the body of Anneli was found, Mr Wright said.
16:03 He told the jury that the defendant possessed this local knowledge because he used to work at an employment agency in Nacton called Gateway.
16:02 He said the sites were rural or semi rural and were reasonably close to main roads, yet isolated or quiet spots.
16:02 Mr Wright said the choice of Nacton was "significant" as the defendant had to have a "degree of local knowledge".
16:01 The prosecution argue that Anneli lost her life shortly after she was last seen on December 3 or in the early hours of December 4.
16:00 On December 7 a passing motorist mistankingly took her body for a mannequin.
16:00 Her naked body was found close to Amberfield School, Nacton, on December 10.
15:59 The prosecution claim something happened to Anneli that stopped her from attending.
15:59 On December 4 she failed to turn up to a meeting with the Probation Service, something she had never done.
15:58 She is believed to have been seen in the town's red light district on Handford Road between 10pm and 11pm that night.
15:58 In the early evening of December 3 she left the home of her mother in Harwich and went to Ipswich.
15:57 Anneli was a user of hard drugs and on December 2 she told a police officer she was working the streets to get money to buy her young son some Christmas presents.
15:56 "Consequently the killer needed to find an alternative venue. He did so," said Mr Wright.
15:56 The killer or killers decided to change the location of where they dumped the bodies because by now the first two had been discovered, the prosecution claim. 15:55 Her body was discovered on December 10 in woodland on the outskirts of Nacton, 18 days after Gemma Adams went missing.
15:54 Anneli Alderton went missing on the evening of December 3 - a period that coincided with the defendant's partner being at work.
15:53 The court was told Wright returned home to "bide his time". "He did not have to wait long," Peter Wright said. "It was only two days later that another woman went missing."
15:51 Peter Wright, prosecuting, said this was "palpably untrue". "He lived locally and he was a frequenter of prostitutes," he said. "His lie was not out of
embarrassment. It was designed to conceal what his real motive was in being out that night."
15:50 Wright told police he was out driving because he could not sleep so he had gone out for a drive. He claimed he did not know he was in the red light area.
15:49 Wright was stopped by police in the early hours of December 1 driving slowly through the red light district.
15:48 Peter Wright told jurors it was the crown's case that when Wright's partner returned to work, he had "resumed his activities".
15:47 The prosecution said the period between the night of Tania's disappearance and that of Gemma's, Wright's partner had only been to work on one occasion. 15:45 The pathologist found a haemorrhage in Gemma's left eye, which was consistant with asphyxia, the court was told.
15:44 There was no clear evidence of drowning.
15:44 The court heard that, as with Tania, there was found to be hyper-inflation of the lungs, a condition consistent with a woman fighting for her breath.
15:42 The cause of death was never confirmed, although there were no obvious injuries, no signs of sexual assault and no bruising to the strap muscles of the neck. 15:40 Gemma was found on December 2 in the swollen waters of Belstead Brook at Hintlesham, a short distance downstream from the bridge over the road to Hadleigh and in an area known as Hintlesham Fisheries.
15:39 At 1.07am and at 1.21am on November 15, a vehicle was captured on CCTV in Handford Road. The court was told experts believed the car to be a Mark III Mondeo, similar to Wright's. The prosecution claims Wright was again cruising the streets of the red light district in search of a "suitable victim".
15:37 Gemma may have been picked up by a man in the evening of November 14, the court was told. They had sex in a car park before Gemma was dropped off in West End Road at around 12.45am. The man soon after drove past the spot he had dropped Gemma off at, but she was nowhere to be seen.
15:33 A last incoming text message was received on Gemma's mobile phone at 12.58am on November 15 and her phone became detatched from the network shortly after.
15:31 She usually collected her methadone daily, but she failed to do so after November 14.
15:30 Gemma Adams collected her methadone prescription from the Barbour Pharmacy in Ipswich before going to work as a prostitute on November 14.
15:29 The body could not have been that of Gemma Adams, who did not go missing until eight days later.
15:28 On November 8, a student by the name of Ruqshanna Quddus was travelling by bus when she noticed what she thought was a woman's body, in the brook not far from the fisheries at Hintlesham.
15:24 "You may wish to consider precisely what he [the defendant] was up to during the early hours of October 31", the jury was told.
15:11 The defendant's Mark III Ford Mondeo was seen leaving Ipswich in the direction of Hintlesham and Belstead Brook - the location where Tania's body was found.
15:10 This was two hours and forty minutes after the last CCTV images of Tania and one hour forty five minutes after her mobile phone stopped working.
15:09 A car with the same registration number as that of the defendant was also photographed by automatic number plate recognition leaving Ipswich at 1.39am on October 31.
15:08 Mr Wright told the jury: "You may conclude on the evidence you hear the he [the defendant] was cruising the red light district a short distance from his home in order to pick up not merely a prostitute but a suitable victim. In the event that victim was Tania Nicol."
15:06 In addition it is believed the defendant would have had ample time to drive around the streets because his partner, Pamela, was at work.
15:05 The prosecution claim the car is exactly the same as the type owened by the defendant, including corresponding alloy wheels.
15:05 It appeared to be doing circuits of the red light district and would go past the junction of Burlington Road and Handford Road - where Tania was last seen
15:04 At around 11pm on October 30 a dark coloured car was captured on CCTV at the junction of Portman Road and Sir Alf Ramsey Way
15:02 Steve Wright's car left Ipswich in the early hours of October 31 - a little over an hour after Tania's mobile phone stopped being detected
14:58 What happened to Tania's clothes and personal possessions remains a mystery, the court was told.
14:55 However, the post mortem showed that Tania's thyroid cartilage was in a condition consistent with it having been compressed or squeezed.
14:53 She had been in the water for around five-and-a-half weeks. As such, the exact cause of death was never confirmed.
14:52 The jury was told that the precise site at which Tania was dumped remains a mystery.
14:51 On December 8, divers who had found the body of Gemma Adams, discovered the badly decayed body of Tania Nicol at Copdock Mill.
14:50 The court was told that within a short time of her death, Tania must have been place in Belstead Brook, or very close to it, and eventually swept to her final resting place.
14:48 He said: "Tania Nicol was by then either in the company of her killer or dead." 14:48 After that time, her phone stopped being detected by the mobile phone network. Peter Wright told jurors something must have prevented Tania responding to the call or forever thereafter using her phone.
14:46 At 11.42pm on October 30, Tania's mobile phone received a telephone call, which was not answered.
14:42 "The defendant owned such a vehicle at the time," he told the jury 14:42 Mr Wright said an expert believes the car to be a Mark III Ford Mondeo 14:41 Further CCTV images show a woman believed to be Tania go to the passenger side of a dark coloured car
14:40 "She appeared to be laughing and shaking her head. Whoever it was may, by their reaction, have been declining any suggestion from the occupant or occupants of that vehicle," the prosecution counsel told the court
14:38 It is believed another person may have also been in the car
14:38 A witness also describes someone they believe to be Tania talking to the driver of a dark coloured car
14:38 She was seen by a CCTV camera in Handford Road just after 11pm
14:37 The prosecution claim she met her death late on October 30 or in the early hours of October 31
14:36 At 11.42pm her mobile phone stopped being detected by the phone network 14:35 Around that time she received a text message on her phone, to which she never replied
14:35 Tania Nicol was last seen on Monday October 30 about 11pm when she went to work in the red light district in Ipswich
14:34 On the night of her disappearance Tania Nicol was seen on CCTV to approach a dark coloured car similar to that of the defendant's
14:31 The jury was told the evidence suggests all were asphyxiated while under the influence of hard drugs, with the killings being the result of smothering, manual compression of the neck or a combination of both.
14:30 Although Tania and Gemma were found in water it is unlikely they drowned. 14:29 The lungs of each off the women were hyper-inflated, consistent, the
prosecution alleges, with them fighting for breath in the moments before their death. 14:28 The similarities in each murder and the fact that the bodies were left naked in semi-rural locations was no coincidence, the prosecution claims.
14:27 The prosecution claims that while his partner was at work, Wright was
engaged in "other activities" - picking up prostitutes and, in the case of Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Annette Nicholls and Paula Clennell, killing them by asphyxiation or manual compression of the neck while they were "severely affected by opiates".
14:25 Miss Wright did not drive, so Wright would driver her to work in his dark blue Ford Mondeo and she would get the bus home.
14:24 His partner, Pamela Wright, worked night shifts at a call centre called Ansaback on Ransomes Europark, on the same side of Ipswich as the remaining three bodies were found.
14:22 Wright worked as a forklift driver and, significantly said prosecution counsel Peter Wright, at the time of the first two murders he was working in Hadleigh, not far from where the bodies of Gemma and Tania were found.
14:20 He had lived there since late September/early October and rented the property with his partner, Pamela Wright.
14:19 The court is told Steve Wright lived in London Road, an address in Ipswich's red light district.
14:07 The hearing resumes following the lunch break 13:18 The court broke for lunch
13:16 He said there was one "common denominator" in each death - the defendant, Steve Wright
13:15 "People do not die of natural causes, accident or misadventure with such frequency only to end up abandoned and dumped naked with the regularity that seems to have afflicted women working the streets of Ipswich during late 2006," he said
13:13 Mr Wright said given the similarities it was reasonable to conclude that the deaths were not an accident
13:13 Each was found totally naked and abandoned on the outskirts of Ipswich and in each case their were circumstances similar to asphyxiation or compression to the neck
13:12 He said there were "striking" similarities between the girls - all were young, all were addicted to hard drugs and all had to work as prostitutes to support their habit 13:11 "It is the prosecution case that either alone or in conjunction with another these deaths were the handiwork of the defendant and for a period of six and a half weeks he had preyed upon women working as prostitutes in and around Ipswich," Mr Wright said.
13:09 Mr Wright told the jury that the circumstances of Paula's disappearance, togehter with the location of where her body was found and complete absence of clothing pointed "overwhelmingly" to the murders being linked
13:08 Paula's body had not been posed like that of Anneli or Annette
13:08 Cause of death was compression of the neck - similar to what would arise from the use of a forearm or crook of an elbow
13:07 It was discovered close to that of Annette
13:06 The naked body of Paula Clennell, 24, was found dumped just off the Old Felixstowe road on December 12
13:01 The court was told the chances of these women having met wholely unrelated deaths was "so unlikely as to be capable of being excluded"
13:01 Annette's body was found by a police helicopter which had been called to the scene as a result of the discovery of the body of fifth victim Paula Clennell.
13:00 Peter Wright told the court that the disappearance of the women and the discovery of their bodies was the work of someone engaged in deliberate campaign of murder directed at the working prostitutes of Ipswich.
12:59 A post-mortem revealed that her lungs were also hyper inflated in keeping with some form of interfernce with the normal mechanics of breathing.
12:58 As with Anneli, Annette's body appeared deliberately to have been posed in a crucifix shape with her arms outstretched.
12:55 Annette's body was "to a degree decomposed", the court heard. The evidence of an expert as to fly infestation on her body suggested she had been dead and in the position she was found for three or four days.
12:54 Her body was discovered just off the Old Felixstowe Road.
12:53 Annette Nicholls went missing on December 8 and was found on December 12.
12:52 Peter Wright said the discovery of Anneli's body showed a degree of local knowledge on the part of the killer as the spot was isolated yet readily accessible. 12:51 Her body was laid out in the shape of a crucifix and it is likely she had been murdered elsewhere and left at the isolated spot she was found.
12:49 Anneli died due to asphyxia, the court was told.
12:43 The naked body of Anneli Alderton, 24, was discovered in a stretch of woodland just off the A14 at Nacton.
12:42 Mr Wright said their deaths were not coincidence but the work of the defendant either alone or with the help of another
12:42 The condition of Gemma's body was also in keeping with her having entered the water shortly before or around the time of her death
12:41 Both Gemma and Tania had been stripped naked, both had lungs that were hyper-inflated and both had little in the way of injuries.
12:39 Mr Wright said a pattern was beginning to emerge in the discovery of the two bodies
12:38 A post-mortem could not determine Gemma's cause of death
12:38 Mr Wright told the court that the discovery of both bodies was consistent with them either being deposited directly in the brook and possibly carried downstream or they had been left at the waters edge and carried downstream by the rising water level.
12:36 Although Gemma was the second young woman to go missing she was the first to be found
12:35 Her naked body was discovered on December 2 in Belstead Brook close to Hintlesham Fisheries
12:34 "Everything pointed to her having met her death at the hand or hands of another or others," he said.
12:33 He said it seemed likely that Tania's body had entered the water when she was already dead
12:32 "Such a finding is in keeping either with drowning or with some form of
interference having taken place with the normal mechanics of breathing," Mr Wright told the jury.
12:30 A post-mortem examination could not ascertain the cause of death but it revealed her lungs were hyper-inflated
12:22 Her body was trapped in debris within the brook just a short distance from a bridge.
12:21 Tania's body was discovered in an area known as Copdock Mill. The site is off an old and practically disused stretch of trunk road that runs next to the A12 London Road and close to the A14.
12:19 The last possible sighting of Tania Nicol, the first to go missing was on
October 30 at around 11pm. She was in Ipswich's red light area. Her body was found on December 8 in a stretch of water known as Belstead Brook.
12:16 Court is told each of the victims had a drug problem at the time of their death. 12:16 On December 12, two further bodies were found, near Levington.
12:15 The third, found on December 10, was found near Nacton.
12:15 The first two bodies were found in an area to the south west of Ipswich in the vicinity of Hintlesham and Copdock.
12:14 Peter Wright tells jurors that in the ten days between December 2 and 12, the bodies "began to turn up".
12:13 The court is told five women went missing in six-and-a-half week period from late October to early December 2006.
11:36 Peter Wright QC opens the prosecution's case at 11.38am 11:35 Jury is sworn in
11:26 The process of swearing in the new jury starts at just before 11.30am
11:20 He is listening to proceedings through a pair of earphones and is wearing a dark suit, white shirt, striped tie and glasses.
11:18 Court resumes at 11.20am
11:15 Justice Gross rises at 11.12am for an expected 15 minutes
11:14 He discharges the jury and a new jury will now have to be selected 11:12 Justice Gross sits down at 11.10am to open proceedings
08:57 Steve Wright arrived at Ipswich Crown Court in a white police van flanked by two patrol cars at 8.55am
Live coverage from January 17, 2008 12:26 The court has adjourned until Monday.
12:25 Steve Wright admits being in the company of all five victims of the red light killings – but denied playing any part in the murder. Wright’s defence counsel, Timothy Langdale QC said his client had full sex with four of the women in his car or at his London Road home. He also claimed Wright had picked up Tania Nicol in his car “with a view to having sex with her” but had changed his mind. Mr Langdale said: “It is not the case that the defence are suggesting some kind of freak coincidence in relation to these findings. “It is therefore the principal issue in this case as to what is the significance of scientific findings. “The defence challenges the assertion that these findings illustrate that he was responsible for their deaths as opposed to someone who had sex with them.”
11:53 Peter Wright QC added: "It is the prosectution case that this link with the defendant and the bodies of Tania Nicol and Gemma Adams is yet another strand that connects the defendant to the murder and disposal of the body of each of these women."
11:50 Peter Wright QC said: "It is the prosecution case that the finding of fibres in the head and hair debris of each of these women that matched fibres from the defendant's home environment and clothing was again no coincidence."
11:49 A fibre found on Gemma Adams matched those found on tapings from Wright's sofa and his clothing.
11:47 Fibres found on Tania Nicol matched the carpet from Wright's car, the sofa in his flat and his reflective jacket.
11:45 A pair of tracksuit bottoms were recovered from Wright's flat and samples of fibres found on these matched fibres recovered from the bodies of Anneli Alderton, Annette Nicholls, Paula Clennell and the hair of Tania Nicol.
11:38 Peter Wright said: "It is significant that such an item was not found."
11:37 Some of the fibres found in Wright's car and on his sofa may have been from a red throw, which was never found.
11:36 The court was told of extensive fibre evidence which linked Wright to each of the five victims.
11:35 "The presence of the DNA profile matching that of Paula Clennell and blood matching Paula and Annette Nicholls is a remarkable coincidence," Peter Wright said, "unless Paula and Annette were being carried after death and being dumped by their gloved assailant."
11:33 The chances of the blood or DNA not coming from Paula or Annette are one in one billion.
11:33 The court was told the attack on Paula Clennell resulted in the shedding of blood, as did a scratch found on Annette Nicholl's face.
11:32 The DNA of Paula Clennell was discovered on the jacket and gloves, as was her blood. Blood from Annette Nicholls was also discovered on the jacket.
11:30 During the police search of Wright's house, a yellow reflective jacket, a further pair of gloves and lumber jack-style coat were discovered.
11:29 One of Wright's neighbours told police he heard "odd" noises in the middle of the night. The court was told the neighbour heard banging noises and sometimes the washing machine would be put on between midnight and 2am.
11:27 Jurors were told by prosecutor Peter Wright: "You may conclude that the presence of these DNA componenets and...the wearing of these gloves when he was in contact with these women is highly unusual - unless he was wearing the gloves having murdered the women and was about to dispose of their bodies."
11:25 Semen-stained gardening gloves seized from Wright's car bore traces of Annette Nicholls and Paula Clennell.
11:23 After Wright's arrest, he was interviewed under caution. The court was told he chose not to answer questions relating to the presence of his DNA upon the bodies of Anneli Alderton, Annette Nicholls and Paula Clennell.
11:21 Mr Wright QC said: "It is the prosecution case that these findings point not to an unfortunate coincidence but rather to the defendant as being engaged in an active campaign of murder during the period from October to December 2006. A campaign that only came to an end with his arrest. A campaign in which he had deliberately targeted working prostitutes in the Ipswich area as his victims and succeeded in murdering no fewer than five in a very short space of time."
11:18 Forensic Scientist Dr Hau will say it is considered likely that Wright's DNA was deposited on the three women by close pysical contact with each of the naked bodies.
11:16 Mr Wright QC said: "It is the prosecution case therefore that the defendant must have had some form of close contact with each of these three women and that such contact must have occured shortly before their deaths."
11:14 The prosecution say that scientific evidence disclosed that while there was DNA from other potential sources, no other person's DNA profile was found on more than one of the victims. Wright was the only common denominator that was found on each of the victims.
11:11 Swabs taken from Paula Clennell gave DNA profiles matching that of Wright - the probability of obtaining such a match by chance is one in a billion.
11:10 Parts of Ms Nicholls' face, neck, breasts, inner right upper arm and pubic region indicated the presence of DNA from Wright and Ms Nicholls.
11:10 Parts of Ms Nicholls' face, neck, breasts, inner right upper arm and pubic region indicated the presence of DNA from Wright and Ms Nicholls.
11:08 Swabs taken from the inner left thigh and the inner right thigh of Annette Nicholls gave profiles matching that of Wright.
11:06 Prosecutor Mr Wright QC said: "It is the Prosecution case, however, that the significant aspect of the defendant's DNA is common to each of the victims."
11:04 Swabs taken from the left and right thighs gave a mixed DNA profile matching that of Anneli, Wright and Ms Alderton's boyfriend Sam Jefford.
11:02 The prosecution say that the probability of obtaining such a match by chance is in the order of 1 in a billion.
11:01 On the right nipple and breast swab taken from the body of Anneli Alderton a male DNA profile was found which matched that Wright.
10:59 Peter Wright QC says that it is "hardly suprising that no DNA was found on either Tania Nicol or Gemma Adams" as they had been immersed in water.
10:57 Wright's DNA was found on the naked bodies of Annette Nicholls, Anneli Alderton and Paula Clennell.
10:44 The trial resumes.
Live coverage from January 21, 2008 16:09 Jurors left the final of the five sites on their tour.
16:08 Both sites were about five yards from the side of the road, which is known as the Old Felixstowe Road.
16:07 They examined the area where Annette's body was found, before going on to see the spot where Paula's body was found.
14:55 Jurors then moved on to Levington, where the bodies of Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls were found.
14:55 At Nacton, the jury studied an area of woodland about 15 yards off the road.
14:50 This afternoon jurors travelled to Nacton, where Anneli Alderton's body was found on December 10.
14:49 Near the spot where Tania's body was found lay a posy of flowers.
14:49 They saw where her body was discovered on December 8, in a stream running past a small industrial area.
14:47 They then travelled to nearby Copdock, where Tania Nicol's body was found.
14:47 Jurors made their way to the spot via a muddy track between the lakes.
14:46 There were also four bunches of flowers. But earlier the judge told jurors to ignore any floral tributes they may come across in the tour.
14:46 On a boggy grass bank next to the bend, a tree had been planted with a label attached saying 'Gemma's tree'.
14:45 They spent about 30 minutes at the fisheries and saw the bend in the stream where Gemma's body was discovered.
14:44 On one lake a lone angler was fishing and the area was guarded by police.
14:44 The court heard last week that Gemma's body was found naked in a brook near Hintlesham Fisheries. Jurors were driven to the fisheries, which consist of two lakes divided by a track.
14:42 After spending about 20 minutes at Burstall Bridge, the jurors were taken to the spot where Gemma's body was found.
14:42 They left the bus briefly to look at and over the bridge.
14:41 Jurors were taken to a bridge crossing the brook on the A1071 near Hintlesham, where Gemma Adams' body was found on December 2.
11:40 The jury viewed the outside of Steve Wright's home at 79 London Road. They spent about ten minutes outside the flat, but did not go inside, before being driven around the red-light district.
11:33 The jury members were brought into court one at Ipswich Crown Court before being taken as a group on the site visits. Mr Justice Gross told them to stay together and to avoid contact with others "who are not members of the jury".
09:44 Jurors will today be visiting locations in and around Ipswich connected with the case. The court will reconvene tomorrow.
Live coverage from January 22, 2008 16:42 The trial continues tomorrow.
16:42 Proceedings have finished for the day.
16:41 Mr Saunders said that he knew the area well and that in his opinion the body had been deposited further upstream and had been carried downstream by the current.
16:41 He waited for the police to arrive back at the fisheries and when two officers turned up he took them to where he had found the body.
16:40 Mr Saunders said he then phoned a colleague who suggested calling the police, which he did immediately using 999.
16:39 In his statement he described the body as that of a white female, in her late teens or early 20s, with shoulder length mousy hair and an earring in her right ear.
16:37 It was only after he removed some of the debris that he realised it was the body of a human being.
16:36 In his statement Mr Saunders said the body was "cold to the touch" and so he still was not sure if it was a dummy.
16:35 At this point he still thought it was a dummy but could tell that it was naked. 16:35 As he got closer he could see that shape of the body under water, the jury was told. 16:34 Mr Saunders said he thought they belonged to a dummy that someone had thrown in the brook.
16:34 As he got nearer he realised these were buttocks, the court heard.
16:33 He said he was walking along the bank and as he got to the bend in the stream he saw what he described as "two small mounds protruding from the water."
16:32 He said he was walking close to the bottom lake at the fisheries and had turned upstream along Belstead Brook.
16:30 Mr Saunders said he went to work at the fisheries on December 2 at 10.30am.
16:28 The prosecution read a statement from Trevor Saunders, the water baliff at Hintlesham Fisheries who discovered the body of Gemma Adams.
16:06 Mr C gave a statement to police after officers had visited him when his number plate had been spotted by a plate recognition camera in London Road.
16:05 He told the court that he had heard some days later that a prostitute had gone missing and saw the picture of Gemma Adams, whom he recognised to be the woman he had paid for sex.
16:04 At 1.15am, Mr C drove past the spot he had dropped the woman off, but she was nowhere to be seen.
16:03 After having sex, Mr drove the woman back to West End Road at around 12.45am before going to work nearby.
16:01 Mr C said he asked the woman if she was working, which she confirmed. They agreed on a price for oral sex and the woman directed Mr C to the car park of the Holiday Inn near Copdock.
15:58 Mr C spotted a sex worker in West End Road, near to the junction with London Road. He told jurors how he turned round before returning and picking up the woman.
15:57 The next witness to give evidence was referred to as Mr C. He told how he had arrived in Ipswich's red light district at around midnight on November 14 prior to starting work nearby an hour later.
15:40 The court takes a short break before the next witness is called.
15:40 She said she thought the vehicle she was in was dark in colour but was "more interested in looking at Gemma."
15:39 When the lights went green Ms Grant said the car Gemma was in went on to Handford Road.
15:38 In her statement Ms Grant said Gemma kept looking forward and didn't look around. 15:38 When they stopped at traffic lights at the Sainsbury's garage on London Road Ms Grant looked across and saw Gemma in the car beside theirs.
15:37 On Tuesday November 14 Ms Grant said she was a passenger in a car driven by her brother.
15:34 Prosecuting counseil Peter Wright QC reads a statement from Kim Grant, who used to go to school with Gemma Adams.
15:31 He said five or six weeks earlier, Gemma had complained that a man had given her problems and would not leave her alone.
15:30 Mr B said the last time he had been with Gemma was on November 10, when he had full sex with her at an address in Blenheim Road.
15:28 Mr B would call Gemma on her mobile and meet at a location specified by her.
15:28 A second statement, given by a man described as Mr B, said he used Gemma's services exclusively. He claimed Gemma was "different, by far the nicest".
15:26 He said a short time later, he discovered Gemma had gone missing.
15:26 Mr A said Gemma was called by someone she later described as "Tania's sort of boyfriend". The conversation was about Gemma going to the police about another girl who had gone missing.
15:25 Mr A said he would call Gemma and meet for sex, before paying her £60 for her services. The last time Mr A saw her was on November 3.
15:23 A statement given by a man identified as Mr A was read to the court. He said he had paid Gemma Adams for sex after first meeting her at a massage parlour in Ipswich.
15:21 "I had no idea how Gemma was living," Mrs Adams told jurors.
15:21 The court heard that Mrs Adams had identified Gemma on cctv footage taken in London Road on November 14 at 11.23pm.
15:20 Mrs Adams said she tried to call Gemma on her mobile phone, but could not get through.
15:19 On November 15, police told Mrs Adams that Gemma had gone missing. Miss Adams said she had not spoken to Gemma "for months".
15:18 Gemma Adams' mother, Gail, told the court how she had a wholly separate life to her daughter.
15:12 A few days later she saw on the TV that a body had been found and contacted police to help them with their inquiries.
15:11 She said she believed the person to be of European extraction and that the body had its legs together.
15:11 In her statement she described it as face down and completely naked.
15:10 Ms Quddus was on the top row of the double decker and looked out of the window and saw what she thought was a body in the water.
15:07 In her statement she said the bus had come to Hintlesham when it went over a small bridge.
15:06 Ms Quddus, who studies art and design at Suffolk College, was travelling to Hadleigh on the 4.15pm bus from Ipswich on November 8.
15:05 Mr Wright read another statement from Ruqshanna Quddus.
15:04 "I saw her name was Tania Nicol and that she was missing," Mr Richardson said in his statement.
15:03 Mr Radford said he drove home and thought nothing more of it until he saw a picture of the girl on the front of a local newspaper a few days later.
15:02 In his statement he described her asa "nice looking", quite tall, with long legs, long shoulder length hair, between 18 and 25 years of age and slim.
15:01 Mr Radford said he noticed Tania becasue he had not seen her before.
15:01 He said that on the night Tania went missing - October 30 - Mr Radford saw a woman that mathced her description in Handford Road, close to the junction with Allderman Way. 15:00 Prosecuting counsel Peter Wright QC read a statement from Richard Radford, who lives in Ipswich's red light district.
14:53 The man talked to the sex worker about self defence techniques, jurors were told. Ms Fenning said she thought he was an undercover officer because he spoke of a restraining position called the goose neck thumb bar, which Ms Fenning recognised from her time serving with Dorset police.
14:51 Ms Fenning told the court she later came to believe that man was Tom Stephens, whom she recognised after seeing his picture on the television.
14:50 Ms Fenning said she was out in the red light district and talking to a sex worker called Karen when a man approached the pair.
14:49 Ms Fenning said she saw Tania on October 4, when she was with a man who was wearing a shell-suit and a baseball cap and who had white hair.
14:47 She said she met Tania in August 2006, and spoke two her two or three times after that. Normally Tania would be found touting for business in London Road, sometimes alone, sometimes with other sex workers.
14:45 Ms Fenning said she knew Tania Nicol, and the other four sex workers who were killed towards the end of 2006.
14:45 Members of the Bridge Project would regularly go out in the red light district of Ipswich and offer "moral and practical support", the court heard.
14:43 A third witness, Alison Fenning, gave evidence. Ms Fenning works for the RSVP Trust, which runs the Bridge Project, a charity which is run for women with broken lives, particularly those in the sex industry.
14:33 Ms Nicol said Mr Stephens had given her two phone numbers through which he could be reached but she had never called them.
14:32 When Mr Stephens phoned Ms Nicol he told her: "Will the girls still go out and do what they do if one of them had been murdered," Mr Langdale told the court.
14:30 Tania had stayed at Mr Stephens' old address but never at his new home, the jury was told.
14:30 He told Ms Nicol that Tania was thinking of moving out and that if she tried to stop her she would "do a runner and live with drug dealers," the court heard.
14:28 Ms Nicol said Mr Stephens admitted driving Tania around Ipswich.
14:28 He told her that Tania was buying between £30 and £50 worth of heroin a night. 14:26 On the night Tania went missing Mr Stephens said the 19-year-old had asked for a lift but he was unable to pick her up, Ms Nicol said.
14:26 She said that he told her he would often pick her up at the end of Woolverstone Close, where she lives.
14:25 Ms Nicol said he was talking to her for about 45 minutes. 14:25 Mr Stephen's phoned again on November 10, the court heard. 14:24 "He seemed to be concerned," Ms Nicol told the jury.
14:24 She said that she told Mr Stephens that she was thinking of phoning the police and he said that would be a good idea.
14:23 She told the court that by now she was becoming concerned.
14:23 Ms Nicol said she told Mr Stephens that her daughter was not at home and that she thought she was staying with a friend.
14:22 Mr Stephens phoned again on November 1.
14:21 Ms Nicol sais she told Mr Stephen's that her daughter was asleep and that there was a pause and he seemed confused.
14:21 She told the court that Tom Stephens phoned her home looking for Tania on October 31 - the day after she went missing.
14:09 The trial resumes. Kerry Nicol, the mother of Tania, is again giving evidence. 13:14 The court breaks for lunch.
13:13 The court heard that the numbers were for a man who would not give his name and for another called Tom Stephens.
13:12 Ms Nicol said she knew her daughter had made some phone calls on the home telephone before she left.
13:11 She said she was going into town to meet some friends, Ms Nicol said.
13:11 On the night Tania went missing she left home around 10.45pm, Ms Nicol told the court.
13:10 "But after a few days she did contact me and let me know she was alright," Ms Nicol said.
13:09 The court heard that in summer 2006 Tania went missing for several days.
13:08 Ms Nicol never discussed this with Tania becasue she didn't want her to know she had been in her room, she said.
13:07 In late 2005 Ms Nicol found a letter in her daughter's bedroom addressed to "Chantelle", the court heard.
13:06 When she spoke to Tania about this Ms Nicol said her daughter denied all knowledge. 13:06 It was for a massage parlour called Cleopatra's, the court heard.
13:06 Ms Nicol said the name did not mean anything to her and used the 1471 facility on the phone to check the caller's number.
13:05 On one occassion she received a phone call at the house asking for someone named "Chantelle".
13:04 She said she had no idea at all her daughter was working as a prostitute. 13:04 Ms Nicol said Tania denied she was taking drungs.
13:03 Timothy Langdale QC started his cross examination for the defence. 12:44 Ms Nicol was shown CCTV footage of Tania.
12:44 On November 1, Ms Nicol said it became clear Tania was missing and she contact police at around 9pm.
12:43 "I presumed she was staying at a friend's and had not got round to telling me," Ms Nicol said.
12:42 Ms Nicol did not realise Tania was missing until 7pm on October 31. She told jurors she phoned Tania's friends to try to trace her daughter. When she tried to call Tania's phone, it went straight to voicemail.
12:41 The court was told Tania never returned home.
12:40 Tania was wearing cut-off jeans and pink high heel shoes.
12:40 Ms Nicol called her daughter at 10.57pm to make sure she had caught the bus. It was the last time Ms Nicol would ever speak to Tania.
12:39 On October 30, Tania was at home with Ms Nicol until 10.45pm when she left to catch the bus to Ipswich. Tania said she was going to meet friends.
12:38 Ms Nicol said towards the autumn of 2006, Tania had "bad skin" and looked thin. 12:36 Ms Nicol said she would ask her daughter about this but that she was an adult and that it sometimes caused arguments.
12:35 She said Tania would tell her she was going to see friends.
12:34 In the early part of 2006 Tania started going out a bit later at night, Ms Nicol said. 12:34 When she asked Tania about this she said they belonged to a friend.
12:34 Ms Nicol told the court that she found syringes in her daughter's bedroom. 12:33 In 2005 Tania moved back home to live with her mother and brother.
12:32 She said Tania had "bad skin" and had lost weight about six months before she went missing.
12:31 However she did say that she noticed a differance in her daughter's appearance. 12:29 Ms Nicol said she was never aware that her daughter was working as a prostitute - even up to the day that she disappeared.
12:28 She said Tania told her she had a job and was managing "alright".
12:27 She said she saw her daughter "occassionally" and asked about her drug use but that she "looked and seemed fine".
12:26 Tania moved back to a flat in Ipswich in 2004, Ms Nicol said.
12:25 Ms Nicol said Tania had asked for help in getting off drugs. She told the court she had "sent Tania away" for a while.
12:24 Tania left home for a while at 16, eventually moving into a hostel where she tried heroin "a couple of times," according to Ms Nicol.
12:23 Often Tania would sleep through the morning until the afternoon or evening.
12:22 Ms Nicol said Tania would stay in contact through her mobile phone if she stayed at friends' houses.
12:22 Ms Nicol said Tania would stay in contact through her mobile phone if she stayed at friends' houses.
12:21 She said she worked as a care worker on Sunday nights and on certain days of the week.
12:20 Ms Nicol told the court she lived with her daughter Tania in Ipswich. 12:10 It is Kerry Nicol, the mother of Tania Nicol.
12:03 He calls his next witness.
12:03 Mr Wright tells the court he has no further questions for Ms Humphrey.
12:02 However she said it was very unusual for them to use Nacton village and had never heard of it happening in her 22 years at Suffolk Constabulary.
12:01 She said it was also common for them to use an area nearby known as Nacton foreshores.
12:01 She told the court that sex workers would often take clients to a layby off the Old Felixstowe Road close to the junction with the A1156, known as Felixstowe Road. 11:55 Sex workers were often "in trouble with the law," she added.
11:54 "The women led chaotic lifestyles," Ms Humphreys told jurors.
11:53 She said there were a number of people supplying sex workers with drugs.
11:53 Ms Humphrey said sex workers would charge between £20 and £30 for oral sex, and between £30 and £50 for full sex.
11:52 The court was told the Nacton area was a popular spot for outdoor sex, or "dogging". 11:51 One such area was near to Belstead Brook.
11:50 Ms Humphrey told the court it was normal for sex workers to take clients out of the red light district for "services".
11:47 She said the younger women preferred to work closer to residentail areas while the "more mature" women could be found at the junction of West End Road and Sir Alf Ramsey Way.
11:46 She told the court she had come to recognise most of the sex workers in Ipswich town centre.
11:46 However this number rises to between 30 and 50 if you included those who worked occassionally, she said.
11:45 Ms Humphrey said in the early 2000s there was a core of 15 to 20 regular workers. 11:44 She said women could often be found in West End Road, Handford Road, Burlington Road, London Road and Sir Alf Ramsey Way.
11:43 She said in recent years, becasue of the introduction of CCTV and redevelopment around the Portman Road football ground, this had moved closer to residential areas.
11:42 She told the jury there had been a red light district in Ipswich since the 1980s.
11:41 She has been working in Ipswich for more than 22 years and regularly policed the red light district.
11:40 Prosecution counsel, Peter Wright QC, calls PC Janet Humphrey of Suffolk Constabulary.
11:24 The first witness, a police officer, is about to give evidence. 11:23 The trial has resumed.
with a man, who had ginger hair.
16:05 Peter Wright QC asks him about seeing her in Majors Corner. He said he thinks it was a Friday, on December 8 between 11 and 12
16:03 The next witness to take to the stand is Jay Bernard. He tells the court he went to school with Annette and saw her in Ipswich town centre from time to time
16:02 Stacey had formed a view that her sister was using Mr Billingham for a taxi and to borrow money off him. Annette had said she did not fancy him
16:00 The last time she saw her was October 2006
16:00 She was aware her sister was working on the streets as a prostitute from the start of 2003
15:59 Another statement from Stacey Nicholls, dated 24 January 2007, told the court she was aware of her sister's heroin habit from 2002 and that she led "a chaotic lifestyle"
15:57 The statement said the family had to talk to her about how much she was washing and her boyfriends were always well kept in appearance
15:56 The court heard she would shower or bath "two or three times a day" and she would take particular care of making sure her make-up was done properly
15:55 The statement says her sister Annette was extremly proud of her appearance and always wore trendy, clean clothes. It said her home was also very clean and she was "obsessed" by cleaning herself
15:51 The court is read a statement made by Stacey Nicholls dated 17 May 2007 15:50 He could not remember the exact dates
15:50 Mr Billingham tells the court there was one occassion when Annette told him a client had grabbed her and she had got frightened and made an excuse to leave. He said there was another occassion where she was scared by a large man and lied to him that her brother was waiting around the corner
15:47 Timothy Langdale QC tells the court that Annette left her address and went to Kingsley Guest House, in London Road, Ipswich. The witness confirms the information 15:46 She stayed at his falt, jurors were told. He describes her as a very clean girl, who would wash regularly
15:44 The court hears he knew Annette in late November and early December 2006 15:43 The next witness to be called is Daniel Billingham
15:42 The witness tried calling her in the early days of November, to November 5 but there was no answer
15:40 Jurors heard how regular telephone calls took place between Mr K and Tania in September 2006 and then Mr K had tried to call her on October 31 three times during the evening after 6pm and then after 8pm. He thinks he heard it ringing but there was no answer 15:38 He was now talking about Tania Nicol, who he said he had dropped at a bus station at Whitton estate in Ipswich on one occassion
15:37 He told the court he made regular telephone calls to her
15:25 The last time Mr K saw Annette, he told the court it looked as though she had not showered for a couple of days. Her hands were "blacked", he said.
15:24 Annette introduced Mr K to other sex workers, including a woman called Lucy Adams. 15:24 He said the last time he saw Annette was at around 9pm on December 4 when she asked him for £15. Mr K said Annette seemed "ok".
15:22 Mr K said she would tout for business at the junction of London Road and West End Road, not far from two petrol stations.
15:22 He also discovered she was working as a prostitute.
15:21 Jurors were told Mr K became aware Annette was using drugs a year after the pair first met.
15:20 Mr K admitted the pair had enjoyed a sexual relationship, although intercourse only took place "very infrequently".
15:20 Mr K said she took his mobile phone number. Annette called him "a few weeks later" and Mr K collected her and the pair went for breakfast at a cafe in Wherstead Road.
15:18 The court heard that two or three weeks later, Mr K saw Annette again. He dropped Annette off in Ipswich town centre.
15:17 Mr K said he met Annette Nicholls in summer 2003 while he was working as a taxi driver. Annette had asked for a lift to Nacton Road, which she could not pay for because she had no money.
15:16 The next witness is known only as Mr K.
15:15 Mr Jefford said after Anneli left him on December 3, he had no further contact with her.
15:00 The court hears Anneli told the witness she was going to Zest nightclub in Ipswich 15:00 When Anneli went missing Mr Jefford tells the court he did not call the police the next day and Mr Langsdale suggests this is because it was no suprise to him that she stayed out all night
14:58 The court hears Anneli told him she was going to a nightclub in Ipswich and stayed out all night
14:57 He told the court he thought she was staying over a friend's house 14:57 He admits to the court that she "occassionally" stayed out late at night 14:56 Mr Jefford says that Anneli did have the use of a mobile phone
14:56 The witness said he guessed she might have been into harder drugs but never saw them himself. He admits to the court he is in prison for drug and robbery offences
14:54 He is asked by the defence counsel if he knew of a hard drugs habit. He says he knew she smoked a bit of cannabis and Mr Langdale QC suggests he knew of harder drugs and that Anneli worked in the red light district
14:52 Mr Langdales said: "You knew she was working from time to time on the streets of Ipswich as a prostitute?" the witness said he did know she did in the past but not at the time she was with him
14:51 The witness tells the court they only did it once and he did not like it 14:50 Mr Jefford remembers he did have anal sex with her
14:50 His police statement is shown to him
14:49 He asks Mr Jefford if he told the police he had anal sex with Anneli? But he says he cannot remember
14:48 Sammy Jefford says he does not know but Mr Langdale QC suggests he knows perfectly well
14:47 Timothy Langdale QC says he will have to ask him a very personal question. He asks the witness if he ever had anal sex with Anneli
14:46 The defence begin their cross examination
14:45 The witness did not use contraception and got up about 1.30pm and walked her to the bus stop, where he gave her a kiss goodbye. He tells the court he expected her to return that night
14:43 The jury hears they had sex together on that morning
14:42 Mr Jefford tells the court he last saw Anneli on the morning of Sunday December 3 14:40 They were both living in a flat in Colchester together in December 2006, the jurors are told
14:39 The court hears that Sammy Lee Jefford is a serving prisoner and was in a relationship with Anneli Alderton at the time she went missing
14:23 The first witness is Sammy Jefford. 14:23 The case resumes.
13:43 The court has adjourned until 2.15pm.
13:42 He was never violent, the court heard, but he once abandoned her after she had got out of the car.
13:41 There was another client who had struck Miss D as strange - a man who drove a 4x4. She said he would drive to isolated spots as far away as Stowmarket. He also sometimes took her to Sproughton.
13:40 She said the man had paid her for sex at locations around Ipswich.
13:39 The defence asks if the witness remembers a client who drove a vauxhall car and asks if he made her uncomfortbale. Miss D replies yes to both questions
13:37 She told jurors she had heard stephens was someone who gave the girls lifts from time to time
13:36 The court hears how stephens was still parking there after the girls were going missing 13:34 He used to park in Kingsley Guest House, in London road, although he was not a client of the witnesses
13:28 She recognised him from being a man often seen in the red light district
13:28 Timothy Langdale QC asks the witness about a man called Tom Stephens. Miss D said she recognised his face in the paper
13:27 The witness said it would have been between 9-12pm one evening
13:26 Before Gemma Adams went missing the witness tells the court Gemma, a working girl called Louise Heath and herself had a conversation for a short period of time
13:24 Timothy Langdale QC asks if Anneli had a bag with her, but the witness cannot recall 13:23 The defence begin cross-examining the witness
13:23 The court hears the witness knew four of the five girls, with Tania the only one she never met
13:22 Miss D says she remembers it was around December sometime
13:21 The witness was coming out of the town centre along Handford Road and saw Anneli standing alone looking at the cars going by. It was between 9-11pm, but she cannot
remember what day, although thinks it might have been a Sunday or Thursday
13:20 She says she last saw her on the junction between Handford Road and Burlington Road as she was driving past
13:19 The witness said she engaged in hard drugs but she did not speak to Anneli about whether she also did. Although she tells the court she did see Anneli around known drug spots
13:18 The court hears Anneli described as a "cheeky, funny and quite loud" character 13:17 She describes their relationship as regular "acquaintances"
13:16 Miss D tells the court she has known Anneli Alderton for about 5-6 years
13:16 She says most of the work is done by mobile phone contact and the girls meet people in pre-arranged areas. She herself drives
13:14 The witness tells the court she had also been working in an Ipswich massage parlour known as Cleopatra's
13:14 The jurors are shown an electronic plan of Ipswich's red light district
13:13 The court hears she was a prostitute working in Ipswich in late 2006 and had operated as a working girl for a period of 7-8 years
13:12 A new witness, referred to as Miss D, is sworn in before the jury
13:05 The court was shown CCTV footage of a woman believed to be Anneli at Harwich station on December 3.
13:05 Jurors were told Anneli had been given a 12-month supervision order on September 5, 2006 for assault. She had 22 appointments which she always kept. She never made the appointment on December 4, nor any after that.
13:03 Her mother said she spoke to Anneli about the disappearance of Tania Nicol and Gemms Adams, both of whom Anneli said she knew. Anneli said Gemma had taught her how
to be a "clipper" - a woman posing as a prostitute who takes a punter's money and runs away before providing sex.
13:01 The court was told Anneli could be physically violent at times. She was also known to drink heavily.
12:59 Anneli left to catch the 6.02pm train. Her mother told the court: "She said 'goodbye mum, I love you'. "I didn't answer." It was the last time Anneli's mother saw her.
12:58 Anneli visited her mother on December 3. Her mother said she left the bathroom "in a mess" after showering. Pubic hair was left in the bath.
12:56 Her mother said it was a clear sign Anneli was back to being "a drug-taking girl on the streets".
12:56 Anneli's mother told the court her daughter had naturally red or brown hair, but she sometimes coloured it peroxide blonde.
12:53 The court was told Anneli would always have a bath or a shower at her mother's home. "She liked to be clean," her mother told the court. "She liked to have full make up, she liked designer clothes."
12:52 From October 2006, Anneli would often visit her mother, using the train to get there. 12:51 It was around this time that Anneli entered into a relationship with Sam Jefford. Anneli's mother told the court she knew about "someone called Sam".
12:49 But she was recalled to prison once more until she was released in September 2006, when she began living with her mother.
12:48 Sometime after her release, the court was told Anneli began to use hard drugs again. She was eventually recalled to prison and released again in June 2006.
12:45 But the court hears Anneli ended up in prison again and was released in 2005 12:44 After she was released her mother said she was "Calm" and looking forward to life 12:43 The court hears eventually she ended up in prison and was released in late 2000 12:42 Many attempts were made to rehabilitate her, the jury hears, but these were unsuccessful
12:41 Eventually she did discover though
12:41 But the mother says at this point she did not know her daughter was engaging in prostitution
12:39 The jury hears Anneli was 17 at this time and her mother admits their relationship became "dislocated"
12:38 The court hears how Anneli moved into a flat found by the Borough Council to seek an independant life
12:35 She tells the court she made efforts to address that
12:34 She admits Anneli's behaviour went down hill after this point
12:33 Anneli's mother said she returned to the UK a few months later and her daughter moved in with her again
12:31 She tells the jury her daughter returned to the UK to her father in 1997, after visting him in the holidays and she says Anneli's behaviour and lifestyle began to change from that point
12:27 The court hears Anneli was fluent in both languages
12:26 "She was an excellent student," the witness tells the court, referring to her daughter Anneli
12:26 The court hears the witness obtained a degree in 1992 which resulted in a job in Cyprus. She confirms her son, 14, moved in with his father in Ipswich and her daughter, 10, moved to Cyprus with her and went to school there
12:23 Peter Wright QC says Anni was 4 at this time and till then they had all lived together in the Ipswich area
12:22 In 1986 she seperated from her husband, the jury is told
12:22 The witness confirms her daughter was born on March 1982 and she also has a son 12:20 She tells the court she called her daughter Anni and Peter Wright QC tells the court he will begin going through the details of Anneli's upbringing
12:06 The next witness to take to the stand is Anneli Alderton's mother who is giving evidence behind a screen.
12:00 The night in question was October 30, the day of Tania's disappearance.
12:00 She later saw a photograph of Tania Nicol in a newspaper and realised it was the 19-year-old who she had seen.
11:58 Ms Leighton said she realised the events police were asking about related to the same night she had seen the sex worker talking to two men in Handford Road.
