Strangler Conviction Triggers DNA Debate
Steve Wright, the Suffolk Strangler, faces spending the rest of his life in prison when he is sentenced today for murdering five Ipswich prostitutes during a six-week killing spree.
His conviction, on forensic evidence, last night reignited the debate on the rapid expansion of the national DNA database, which holds the profiles of at least four million people in Britain.
Ministers, police and prosecutors praised the database for providing the breakthrough evidence that led to the arrest of Wright after his DNA was found on the body of his third victim.
His profile was stored in 2003 when he was convicted of stealing £40 while working as a hotel barman to fund his addiction to sex with prostitutes.
Martin Salter, a Labour member of the House of Commons Home Affairs select committee, said that a compulsory DNA database was the “logical extension of biometric passports”.
Philip Davies, the Tory MP for Shipley, said: “I’m not averse to it being extended to everybody if it helps the police to clear up crime.”
Vernon Coaker, the Home Office Minister, said: “This result once again demonstrates the great strides we have made in DNA profiling.”
Liberty, the human rights group, told The Times that the retention of DNA samples should be limited to those convicted of sexual and violent crimes. Had that been the criteria Wright’s DNA would not have been on the database.
Wright, 49, one of Britain’s most prolific serial killer, is set to join 35 other prisoners serving whole life tariffs.
After less than six hours, a jury of nine men and three women at Ipswich Crown Court found him guilty of murdering Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Annette Nicholls and Paula Clenell. Whole life terms are deemed appropriate for multiple murders “that show a substantial degree of premeditation, involve abduction of the victim prior to the killing or are sexual or sadistic”.
Wright picked up his victims while his partner was working nightshifts. He strangled or asphyxiated them while they were incapacitated by massive doses of heroin, then stripped their bodies and dumped them in remote locations on the outskirts of the Suffolk town.
Experts have speculated that he must have killed before and details of his crimes have been made available to police forces across Britain and abroad.
