Police have launched a new investigation after Sandra Court was last seen in Bournemouth in the early hours of May 3, 1986 – the day QE2 crew member Wright had docked 30 miles away in Southampton

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Steve Wright has been linked to Sandra’s murder(Image: PA)

A chilling new piece of information could provide answers about the death of a young woman found in a water-filled ditch as police confirmed new lines were being investigated.

Suffolk strangler Steve Wright has been linked to the unsolved murder of the young woman as it emerged police have launched a new investigation into the 40 year mystery. Sandra Court, 27, was last seen alive when a taxi driver dropped her outside her sister’s home in Bournemouth in the early hours of May 3, 1986.

Sandra’s body was found later that morning, three miles away in a water-filled ditch. She had been strangled. Dorset police said today that it is actively investigating Sandra’s murder after a recent review uncovered fresh lines of enquiry.

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Sandra Court’s killer has never been found(Image: Handout)

It now appears that QE2 crew member Wright had docked 30 miles away in Southampton in the hours before the murder. The Queen Mother had lunch on board the ship later that day to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the liner’s maiden voyage. Records show the QE2 departed on May 3. Wright was believed to be on board.

The smirking serial killer – who is serving a whole life tariff for killing six women – this month finally admitted to murder, pleading guilty to strangling Victoria Hall. Like his known victims, Sandra had been strangled and was abducted while alone in an urban area before being dumped in water in a rural location.

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Wright pleaded guilty earlier this month to murdering Victoria Hall(Image: PA)

Ex-police officer and author Chris Clark said: “If he did it he was able to murder her and sail away before the police had started their investigations. It’s indicative that he could just melt away and be 500 miles away before any real investigation is underway. The opportunity, method and means are all there – the three elements to prove a crime.

“He has a prima-facie case to answer. He definitely needs to be interviewed about it. He was within 30 miles of that crime scene and she was strangled and dumped in a ditch. Many of his known victims ended up in water and had been strangled.”

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Wright with Diane in the 1980s(Image: Daily Mirror)

Wright’s ex-wife, Diane Cole, told the Daily Mirror they spent time in Bournemouth at around the time Sandra was killed. She said: “We visited Bournemouth about half a dozen times around 1986. We visited my good friend who was on the ship with me and she had left and gone on to run a small hotel. We used to go out for meals and he always tried to behave when people were around. We visited the New Forest too, where another friend had a caravan.”

Teenagers on a Duke of Edinburgh award scheme found Sandra’s body at the Avon Causeway, between Hurn and Sopley, on May 3, 1986. She was clothed, except for her shoes. She had been wearing a white blouse, wide black belt and black ski trousers. A post-mortem examination revealed Sandra had been strangled.

She had just finished her job as a section head in the transactions department of a major insurance company and was due to take a post as nanny in Spain the following week. On the night she was killed Sandra had been at an office party, before going on to Steppes nightclub in Swithuns Road, Bournemouth. She had been with her younger sister, Jennifer, but they left the club separately.

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Diane worked with Wright on the QE2 before they married(Image: Daily Mirror)

Sandra took a taxi from the club and was dropped off at her sister’s home in Downton Close on the Muscliff Estate in Bournemouth at about 2.45am. But Jennifer was not at home. This was the last confirmed sighting of Sandra, although a woman matching her description was seen in nearby Moordown where her parents lived.

Sandra’s handbag and jewellery were missing, though some of the items were found in the next few days on the route to Southampton. Her photocard was recovered 13 miles away from the port in Stoney Cross, while her cheque book was found near the A31 in Picket Post. One of Sandra’s shoes had been left in Ringwood, also on the route between the two cities.

Two weeks after the murder the detective leading the hunt received an anonymous letter with a Southampton postmark. The sender, who did not disguise their handwriting, has never been traced.

It read: “Dear sir, I am writing to tell you that the tragic death of Sandra Court was a complete and utter accident, in no form is the person a killer or murderer. The person concerned is deeply unhappy, hurt and in total shock. The only reason the person has not come forward is the fact of being afraid that their explanation will not be believed. Please I beg take this letter to be of the truth.”

Wright was sentenced earlier this month to 40 years for the kidnap and murder of 17-year-old Victoria, and the attempted kidnap of another woman, more than 25 years ago. The 67-year-old, who is already serving a whole life term for the murder of five women in and around Ipswich in 2006, had been “on the prowl” in Felixstowe, Suffolk, in September 1999, the Old Bailey was told.

Wright attempted to kidnap 22-year-old Emily Doherty and, the night after, kidnapped and killed Victoria, whose naked body was found in a ditch five days later. The Mirror revealed last week that police are probing possible links between the disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh and Wright.

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Wright is being probed over Suzy Lamplugh’s disappearance (Image: SWNS)

Cold-case homicide unit detectives have been carrying out a review of Operation Phoebus, the original investigation into Suzy, who vanished two months after Sandra, in July 1986. And now they are examining serial killer Wright’s relationship with Suzy, after new witnesses told us about their time working on board the QE2.

Wright was a steward on the luxury liner while Suzy was a beautician. Fellow shipmate Paul Tennant, a former waiter, said previously that Wright “tried to become a friend of Suzy’s all the time”. Suzy had begun working on the QE2 three years earlier, aged 22. At the time of her murder she had been an estate agent for 16 months in Fulham, south west London.

A woman fitting Suzy’s description was seen by a number of witnesses leaving a flat she was marketing with a man at around 1pm and getting into her car with him. An artist’s impression showed an “extremely smart” man wearing a dark suit with dark, swept-back hair, who bore a resemblance to killer John Cannan. He was between 5ft 7in and 5ft 9in tall, white and aged between 25 and 30. Cannan was considered to be the prime suspect in both Suzy and Sandra’s murders. It was not until 2006 that Wright featured in the investigations.

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John Cannan has been the prime suspect in Suzy and Sandra’s murders(Image: SWNS)

Inmate Cannan died last year aged 70 before officers had a chance to quiz him again. It is thought Wright has never been quizzed by police about Suzy or Sandra’s disappearance. Suzy’s mother, Diana Lamplugh, died in 2011 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2003, and her retired solicitor father Paul passed away in 2018.

Wright is serving time for five murders in Ipswich all in 2006; Tania Nicol, 19, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29. It is believed he could be behind at least five more, including three sex workers from Norwich.

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Paula Clennell, 24, was murdered by Wright(Image: PA)

Jeannette Kempton, 32, from Brixton, whose body was found in a ditch in 1989 having been strangled; Natalie Pearman, 16, who died of asphyxia in Norwich in 1992; Amanda Duncan, 26, from Ipswich went missing a year later in 1993; Kellie Pratt, 28, last seen in Norwich in 2000 and Michelle Bettles, aged 22, from Norwich who was strangled in 2002.

A Dorset police spokesperson said the force would not comment on individuals. They added: “This case remains unsolved and, as with all major crimes that are classified as undetected, has been the subject of regular reviews to establish any new lines of enquiry. Following the latest review, detectives have identified a number of active lines of enquiry and these remain under investigation. Our thoughts go out to the family of Sandra Court and we sincerely hope that one day they get the answers they deserve.”

Chris Clark and Tim Hick’s book, Serial killer: Inside the Mind of Steve Wright: the Suffolk Strangler, is due out soon.