"I Really Don't Know Him at All": Pamela Wright on Steve Wright, Sky News, 2008

Days after Steve Wright was sentenced to a whole life term for the Ipswich murders, Sky News reported on his partner Pamela Wright, who now accepted his guilt, and heard from his family about his violent childhood. Wright is not heard.

Subject

Steven Gerald James Wright

Recorded

about February 22, 2008

Runtime

2:08

Content warning: Concerns the murders of five women and domestic violence against a woman and children; no graphic detail.

The Report

This is a 2-minute-8-second Sky News report by Enda Brady, posted by Sky News on its own channel on February 24, 2008, two days after Steve Wright was sentenced for the Ipswich murders. It centers on his partner, Pamela Wright, who had visited him in prison for more than a year believing him innocent and who now accepted his guilt. It also includes a woman who appears to be Wright's mother speaking about his childhood, and a closing comment from a commentator who is not identified. Steve Wright himself is not heard; a passage from a letter he wrote to his father is read by the reporter.

Historical Context

Between October 30 and December 10, 2006, five women were murdered in Ipswich, Suffolk: Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Annette Nicholls and Paula Clennell. Steve Wright was arrested on December 19, 2006. On February 21, 2008, a jury at Ipswich Crown Court convicted him of all five murders, and on February 22 Mr Justice Gross sentenced him to life with a whole life order. He dropped an appeal in February 2009. In February 2026 he pleaded guilty to the 1999 murder of Victoria Hall, 17, and was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 40 years.

Circumstances

According to the narration, Pamela Wright had just given interviews to the Sunday Mirror and the Mail on Sunday; those interviews were not separately verified for this record. Wright and Pamela Wright, who are not related, had been partners since 2001 and lived together from 2004.

What the Report Covers

The narration says that in the newspaper interviews Pamela Wright revealed that Steve Wright had known Suzy Lamplugh, the estate agent who vanished in London in 1986. On camera she recalls a television appeal: "he said, 'Oh, I used to know her.' He said, 'She used to come in the pub.'" Asked whether a better sex life might have prevented the crimes, she answers, "Maybe, but I don't know that now, do I?" and adds, "I really don't know him at all." The reporter says his family described a man scarred by a violent father; the woman who appears to be his mother says the father beat the boys and her, once almost killing her, "and that's when I left." The reporter reads from a letter Wright sent his father from prison, saying he buried his upset "deep inside" because he had seen "too much anger and violence" in childhood. The report says Pamela Wright planned to visit him once more to ask him to admit the crimes, and closes with a commentator on the confusion and shame the family may feel.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It is an early on-camera interview with Wright's partner, recorded within days of the verdict, with family testimony about his childhood and a quoted letter from prison.

Archival Importance

The report adds the partner's and family's view to the record of the Ipswich case.

Important Caveats

Steve Wright is not heard in this video. The Suzy Lamplugh remark is Pamela Wright's account of something he said, not established fact: the Metropolitan Police did not treat Wright as a strong line of inquiry, and in 2002 named John Cannan as the man they believed killed Lamplugh. The woman who appears to be Wright's mother and the closing commentator are not identified on tape; the page should not name them. The family's account of childhood violence is theirs and does not excuse the crimes, as the woman herself says.

Enda Brady: For more than a year, Pamela Wright visited her partner in prison, confident of his innocence. Now she finally accepts he's guilty of a killing spree that shocked the nation. In interviews with the Sunday Mirror and Mail on Sunday newspapers, she reveals that Steve Wright also knew Suzy Lamplugh. The estate agent vanished in 1986 after going to meet an unknown client.

Pamela Wright: I think we were watching [unclear: "her at a Crimewatch" / "another Crimewatch"] or something like that, and she came on, and he said, "Oh, I used to know her." He said, "She used to come in the pub."

Interviewer: Do you think if you'd had a better sex life, he wouldn't have done this?

Pamela Wright: Maybe, but I don't know that now, do I? I don't know if he was even doing it when we did have a sex life. I really don't know him at all.

Enda Brady: His family paint a picture of a man scarred by a violent father who had himself been abused and in turn passed violent tendencies on to his son.

Woman: I was there. He was beaten a lot by his dad. And his dad had also come from a violent home where he was beaten as a child. Um, that's no excuse, but I don't know if you can call that understandable, but he used to beat the boys, and I. When I say beat, I mean beat the boys. And he used to beat me, um, to the point where he almost killed me one time, and that's when I left.

Enda Brady: In a letter Wright sent to his father from prison, he wrote: "Whenever I get upset, I tend to bury it deep inside, which I suppose is not a healthy thing to do, because the more I do that, the more withdrawn I become, because I've seen too much anger and violence in my childhood to last anyone a lifetime." Pamela has pledged to visit Wright one last time and ask him to admit his heinous crimes. As Wright's whole life sentence begins, his family will be left to figure out how someone they knew and loved could have turned into a serial killer.

Commentator: I think they will feel deeply confused, very bewildered. Um, they may blame themselves. There will be a huge element of shame. Um, I think it's going to be very hard for them. Very hard indeed. [02:06: speech ends; clip runs to 02:08.] ---