UK prostitute murder trial continues

A man accused of murdering five prostitutes in Britain offered no explanation as to why the blood of two of the women was found…

A man accused of murdering five prostitutes in Britain offered no explanation as to why the blood of two of the women was found on his coat.

Steve Wright, giving his last day of evidence at Ipswich Crown Court today, denied the blood had got onto his reflective jacket while he was dumping the women's bodies.

Wright, of Ipswich, denies killing Annette Nicholls, 29, Paula Clennell, 24, Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, and Anneli Alderton, 24, between October and December 2006.

Prosecution lawyer Peter Wright said a scratch had been found on the cheek of Nicholls' body.

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"Is the reason why her blood is on your jacket that you carried her dead to where she was deposited and in carrying her there she scratched her face on the brambles and low-lying vegetation?" the lawyer asked.

"No, I did not," Wright replied.

Wright said he had "no idea" why Clennell's blood was also on his jacket.

"The blood got there when you were dumping her body," said the lawyer.

"No, it did not," said Wright.

The naked bodies of the five women were found dumped at rural locations around Ipswich within the space of just 10 days.

Alderton and Nicholls were found with their bodies deliberately posed in a cruciform shape with their arms outstretched.

Wright has admitted having sex with four of the five women, and said he picked up the fifth, Nicol, with a view to having sex with her before changing his mind.

The trial continues.