Killer Simon Hall only confessed to prison authorities after first admitting his crime to someone else – believing his dark secret would never come out.

The details emerged after The Star yesterday revealed the 35-year-old had confessed to the December 2001 murder in Capel St Mary.

The new evidence came to the attention of the authorities as Hall continued to protest his innocence and fought another campaign to clear his name.

The body of Mrs Albert, 79, was found with stab wounds in the hallway of her home in Boydlands.

Hall, formerly of Hill House Road, Ipswich, was convicted of killing the pensioner at Norwich Crown Court in 2003 but had always maintained he had been a victim of a miscarriage of justice.

But his appeal against his conviction is now over after finally admitting responsibility for the crime – after more than a decade of anguish for her loved ones.

The Star understands Hall had secretly confessed killing Mrs Albert to a third party. But that information came to the attention of the prison authorities and Hall then formally admitted committing the murder.

Mrs Albert’s family today thanked the public for their kindness in the wake of Hall’s confession.

In a statement they said: “We would like to thank everybody who has been in touch with us since Simon Hall’s confession.

“We are very grateful and it has helped us. Perhaps we can now try to put it behind us and more forward.”

A lengthy police investigation involving a team of more than 20 detectives followed in the months after the killing.

Since Hall’s conviction there have been numerous appeals and campaigns asserting that Hall was a victim of a miscarriage of justice and was wrongfully convicted.

He submitted two applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to consider his case. The first was heard at the Court of Appeal in 2012 but his conviction was upheld.

A CCRC spokesman said the organisation was informed Hall had confessed to Mrs Albert’s murder and contacted him asking if he wanted his current application withdrawn. Hall’s case has since been closed.

The spokesman added: “That Simon Hall has now confessed to the murder does not change the fact that this was a complicated case and that, while he continued to claim that he had not done it, there was uncertainty about aspects of the case that needed to be investigated in the light of these claims.

“This situation has now obviously changed that he has confessed to the murder of Mrs Albert and the Commission has closed its investigation.”