Suffolk Strangler accused asked 53 times to explain 'coincidence of murdered women getting into his car'

The man accused of murdering five prostitutes today told a court that he was the 'unfortunate' victim of chance.

Steve Wright accepted that he could have been with all five women on the nights they vanished, but he denied having anything to do with their disappearances or deaths and said he had been the victim of a series of coincidences.

Prosecutor Peter Wright QC suggested to Wright: "It would seem that in terms of picking up prostitutes in Ipswich you have been singularly unfortunate."

Wright replied: "It would seem so, yes."

Mr Wright then listed more than 50 'coincidences' linking the accused to the disappearances of the women. He pointed to the evidence that Wright had been with the prostitutes on the nights they vanished and picked up the prostitutes in the order they vanished.

After each piece of evidence Mr Wright asked: "Is that a coincidence?"

Each time Wright replied either, "it would seem so, yes", or "it would appear so, yes" or "if you say so, yes".

Jurors heard that Wright's DNA was found on three of the women's bodies, blood from two of the women was found on one of his coats and fibres from his home or car were found on all five.

They also heard that Wright's car was twice captured by security camera technology on the night Miss Alderton disappeared. His Ford Mondeo was seen in the red light district of Ipswich at 11.18pm on December 3. It was spotted again heading out of Ipswich at 1.41am on December 4.

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Wright denies murdering Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24 and Annette Nicholls, 29.

The 49-year-old told Ipswich Crown Court that he had sex with four of the women and was intending to have sex with the fifth before changing his mind.

The naked bodies of the five women, who all worked as prostitutes in Ipswich, were found in remote locations near the town between December 2 and December 12, 2006.

Detectives began an inquiry after Miss Nicol disappeared on October 30, 2006. Jurors heard that Wright moved into a flat in the Ipswich red-light area on October 1, 2006. He lived there with his partner Pam.

The accused told the court that he began noticing prostitutes two weeks later and started to pick them up in the third week of October 2006.

Giving evidence from a seated position in the witness box, Wright said he was not aware that any prostitutes had gone missing from Ipswich until "some time late in November".

He said: "I don't really buy newspapers. I very rarely watch the news."

Timothy Langdale QC asked Wright why he had not spoken to police when he realised officers were looking for the two women.

He answered: "Because, basically, Pam. I was trying to keep the secret from her."

Yesterday, Wright told the court he betrayed his long-term partner Pam because their sex life was "non-existent", secretly visiting massage parlours after playing golf or whenever he had "the urge".

Then in mid-October 2006, he began kerb-crawling in the red light district of Ipswich, saying it was much cheaper - £40 for sex instead of £80 - than using girls in massage parlours.

The hearing continues.