Chapter Updates

Chapter 6: The courts structure and civil and criminal processes

The Suffolk murders case commences

Major crimes inevitably throw the media spotlight on the criminal investigation processes and the workings of the criminal justice system. The police response to the horrendous murders of five young women in Suffolk has quickly led to charges being brought against a suspect, Steve Wright. Wright appeared at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Friday 22 December 2006 to mark the commencement of proceedings against him for murdering the five women. This brief preliminary hearing, before a bench of three magistrates, remanded Wright in custody and prepared the ground for the trial proceedings to be heard at Ipswich Crown Court in 2007. For further information on the criminal procedure relating to indictable offences, please see textbook at pp119–122.