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Murder victims 'in crucifix pose' Murder victims 'in crucifix pose'
(20 minutes later)
The bodies of two of five murdered women were placed in a crucifix pose, a jury at Ipswich Crown Court has heard.The bodies of two of five murdered women were placed in a crucifix pose, a jury at Ipswich Crown Court has heard.
The bodies had their arms outstretched and were among a number of "striking" similarities in the victims' deaths.The bodies had their arms outstretched and were among a number of "striking" similarities in the victims' deaths.
All five worked as prostitutes to fund drug habits, were found naked and appeared to have been strangled or asphyxiated by one or more killers. All five, who worked as prostitutes to fund drug habits, were found naked and appeared to have been strangled or asphyxiated by one or more killers.
Steve Wright, 49, who denies five counts of murder, was the "common denominator", the jury was told.Steve Wright, 49, who denies five counts of murder, was the "common denominator", the jury was told.
Tania Nicol, 19, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and 29-year-old Annette Nicholls went missing during six weeks in 2006.Tania Nicol, 19, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and 29-year-old Annette Nicholls went missing during six weeks in 2006.
The court heard the victims were "systematically selected and murdered".The court heard the victims were "systematically selected and murdered".
'Cruciform shape'
Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said the decisions by the women to turn to prostitution "was ultimately to prove fatal".
"In the 10 days that elapsed from 2 to 12 December 2006, their bodies began to turn up," he said.
The women were all found dead on the outskirts of Ipswich
The naked bodies of two of the victims - Miss Alderton and Miss Nicholls - had been left in a "cruciform shape", the jury was told.
Miss Alderton's body was found in woodland near Nacton on 10 December while Miss Nicholls' body was found near Nacton two days later.
Mr Wright said of Miss Alderton: "In all likelihood she had been murdered elsewhere and her body abandoned and her body left posed in this isolated spot."
Evidence showed Miss Nicholls had been murdered and her body abandoned shortly after she was last seen alive on 8 December, the court heard.
The prosecutor told the jury that Mr Wright was a user of prostitutes in Ipswich and had transport to both pick them up and dispose of their bodies.
The women were also at ease in his company and unsuspicious of his motives, even when the bodies of other prostitutes began to turn up, the court heard.
Worked nearby
Jurors were told there was evidence that the women were asphyxiated while under the influence of hard drugs.
The prosecutor earlier said Miss Nicol and Miss Adams were the first to go missing.
At the time of the deaths, the accused was working in Hadleigh, an area a little to the west from where the bodies were found, he said.
He told the jury the circumstances of their disappearances and deaths showed they were "the work of the defendant, either alone or with the assistance of another".
Miss Nicol's naked body was found in a stretch of water known as Belstead Brook on 8 December.
Bodies in brook
She was last seen on 30 October "in an area of Ipswich often frequented by prostitutes and their clients" said the prosecutor.
Miss Adams was last seen on the evening of 14 November 2006 or early the next day.
Her naked body was the first to be found, on 2 December, in the same brook further upstream towards Hintlesham.
Steve Wright, of Ipswich, was charged with the murder of all five women on 21 December 2006.
A new jury is hearing the case after the first jury was discharged when one member reported health problems.