Date in year · 2003 · The 2000s

December 17, 2003

On December 17, 2003, the Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice. The year's #1 song was "In da Club" by 50 Cent. Jackson Merrill, Xavi Simons, Xavier Worthy would arrive in the same year.

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Year

2003

2000s

Around 2003

The year in brief

2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2003rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 3rd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2000s decade.

Read the full year of 2003 →

What happened

On December 17, 2003

  1. 2003 The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

    2002 double murder in Cambridgeshire, England

    On 4 August 2002, two 10-year-old girls, Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Amiee Chapman, were lured into the home of a local resident and school caretaker, Ian Huntley, in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England. Both children were murdered – most likely by asphyxiation – and their bodies disposed of in an irrigation ditch close to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. The bodies were discovered on 17 August 2002.

  2. 2003 SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.

    American experimental spaceplane

    SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (2,000 mph) / 910 m/s (3,300 km/h) using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" atmospheric reentry system where the rear half of the wing and the twin tail booms folds 70 degrees upward along a hinge running the length of the wing; this increases drag while retaining stability. SpaceShipOne completed the first crewed private spaceflight in 2004.

  3. 2003 Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or "D17") as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes, and highlight State violence against sex workers by police and others.

    Annual awareness day

    The International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers is observed annually on 17 December by sex workers, their clientele, friends, families and allies. Originally conceived as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle, Washington, US, it has evolved into an annual international event. The day calls attention to hate crimes committed against sex workers worldwide, as well as the need to remove the social stigma and discrimination that have contributed to violence against sex workers and indifference from the communities they are part of.

Farewells

Died on December 17, 2003

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 2003

The class of 2003

Others born in 2003

Jackson Merrill 2003– American baseball player
Xavi Simons 2003– Dutch footballer
Xavier Worthy 2003– American football player
Emily Carey 2003– British actress
Jung Yun-seok 2003– South Korean actor
Harvey Elliott 2003– English footballer

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