The Ipswich Murders Trial Starts Today

What must be the biggest trial ever at Ipswich Crown Court begins today.

Steven Wright, described by one radio station as a "lorry-driver," by a newspaper as a "former pub landlord," and by a different newspaper as a "fork-lift truck driver" and yet another as a "former steward on a cruise liner" is accused of murdering five young prostitutes.

I knew one of the victims, a very thin rather pretty extrovert called Gemma - very slightly and was interviewed four times about the killings. From the beginning of the inquiry the Police suspected it was someone local, and sure enough Steve Wright's house is at the end of the road, less than 100m from my place.

So... for obvious reasons I'm going to be following this trial closely, although the media's performance so far doesn't impress. Steven Wright worked at a number of different jobs in his 49 years; picking and choosing a job seemingly at random seems sloppy.

It's also worth remembering that Wright is technically as innocent as you or me, yet has already served over a year in prison before being tried. The delay seems excessive, even for a complex five-murder case.