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

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".

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