He said giving him lifelong anonymity was a failed experiment and claimed the authorities could not manage him in the community. Few will ever forget the chilling footage of two 10-year-old boys holding a toddler's hand as they led him to his death. The naive words of the paedo's parents have come to light once again as a new documentary is set to air on ITV 25 years after the horrific murder. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt. The other boy, Robert Thompson, we are told is now abiding by the conditions of his life license since he was released 17 years ago, and is doing well. David Sharrock, Maggie O'Kane, and Edward Pilkington look at the lives of the rebels who turned to killing, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. These are the words of an officer who was in the police station when DCI Geoff MacDonald of Merseyside Police broke the news to Denise that James was dead. On Sundays he used to watch Thunderbirds. Will you tell his Mum Im sorry?. Child killer Mary Bell and Maxine Carr, the former girlfriend of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, are the others. Donald Trump to visit Scottish golf courses in first UK trip since 2019. There, he is terrorising a girl. They played truant, they pinched sweets, they terrorised old ladies. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. I know how I feel as a mother. Save. But his comment sparked anger from viewers. Dr Lauren Juyia discovered her own stage 4 colon cancer at age 37 despite only experiencing two mild symptoms. The experience gave Jon renewed confidence, and the second time they sagged off together he suggested it. 'It was good. It was another derby win for Celtic as they moved to within two wins of another Treble. But I still kept him in if he was naughty or anything like that.'. Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Grainy CCTV footage later showed the innocent toddler being led away by Venables and Thompson, who marched the little boy through the streets of Bootle for two miles - a walk that would have taken hours given his size. By then, Robert and Jon had abducted James Bulger from the Strand and attempted to drown him in the nearby canal. The Radio Merseyside newsroom, where I was working at the time, was full and everyone was on this story one way or another. Baby who had heart surgery at two months carried over Glasgow Kiltwalk finish line by dad, Liam Campbell pushed 14-month-old Rosie in pram over three-mile route in her pram before holding her aloft for last 100 yards, BP and Shell set to announce more 'obscene' profits as energy giants rake in billions from oil. But after a year they let Ian out again. My young body must have been tense with the deep anxiety that permeated every inch of that courtroom. The Swedes, French, Germans, Canadian and Americans had all come to gaze at Liverpool's child killers. One time they sagged off with Robert's younger brother, which went disastrously wrong. As his killers began their sentences, such was the revulsion that it was already clear their families could not. Susan cried silently in the interview room as Jon was charged with the toddler's murder, and was eventually forced to leave Liverpool with a new identity after an avalanche of death threats. The Duchess of Sussex family including her dad Thomas Snr, half-sister Samantha, and half-brother Thomas Jnr sat down with the Australian news show 7NEWS Spotlight. His mother called him hyperactive since, even more than his friend, he was scarcely able to sit still. 'It's always our family that gets the blame,' Robert said to police after he was arrested for James's murder. To widespread dismay and condemnation from the Bulger family, the killers were given new identities, courtesy of the taxpayer. has prompted a public outcry for an investigation into issues surrounding the case. Jobs were few and far between. I'm bringing up on my own but if I went round and screwed every warehouse my children would have everything too.'. A picture taken from CCTV footage shows the tot being taken by the hand in what would become one of the defining images of the shocking case. Their faces affected me deeply. 'His mum was more strict. IN A letter to her son written soon after he was sentenced, Ann Thompson wrote: no matter what you did or didnt do, Im your mother and I will stay with you no matter what happens.. On the walls hung oil paintings of local judges and magistrates, their surfaces crinkled with age. . Everyone called him Chubby, because of his round, cherub's face. Her warnings arent being heeded, but 25 years on, I think she is probably right. On March 4, 2019, it was announcedVenables is to keep his anonymity after a judge ruled it would protect him from "serious violence". Denise Fergus is the same age as me, a fact I only registered when I met her for the first time two weeks ago. He started with Liverpool, but by the time of the murder he had switched to Blackburn Rovers. 2023 BBC. He would often have to stay in class at break times to catch up. He once came to me crying saying the other boys were picking on him, trying to steal his bike.'. Without anyone in the family to turn to for support, he had to look outside for people whose swaggering aggression he could emulate. One day they stayed out until 10.30pm and Jon received a severe reprimand from his mother. When they finally came to a disused railway track near the police station, the murderous duo tortured James, throwing stones and bricks at the baby, and kicking and stamping on him before finally dropping a heavy iron bar on to the defenceless tot. James mother Denise Fergus has been saying this for a long time, but still we hoped that the boy who savaged a tiny child to death could become a man safe to be in our midst. The boys lived off chips. The hardliners in the police have a simpler explanation. Three days later his body was found, and three days after that a tip-off came from a shopkeeper who had seen two boys playing truant on the day James went missing and gave police two names - Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. "My decision is in no way a reflection on the applicants themselves, for whom there is a profoundest sympathy," he said. THE first time the boys set eyes on each other after they were arrested was in Preston crown court 3 1/2 weeks ago. After a while the boys became used to it. The other shops in the area were also armoured with mesh, including the Red Garden chipper where Robert used to pop in with his brothers most nights for a 25p bag of chips. Both of them struggled at school and had been lumped into the year below their age. Just seeing the size of them that first time, the childish figures they naturally were, caught my breath. It is not known whether the boy watched any of his father's adult movies. But that is the common lot of thousands of 10-year-olds who have not turned into murderers. From a distance Robert looked a sweet child. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. When social workers came round, they did so to see his sister and his brother, who had learning difficulties and was receiving special education. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? On Feb. 12, 1993, in Liverpool, England, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables murdered 2 year old James Bulger after kidnapping the toddler from a butcher's shop in a shopping center with his mother, Denise who was momentarily distracted as she conducted business. James' distraught dad Ralph Bulger blasted Venables for his repeated offending and branded his child abuse images sentence as an insult. On the days he was at school he had a knack for stirring things up. What a horror it all was. READ ALSO: Susan Venables: Who Is Jon Venables' Mother? Jon Venables said the class teacher tried to entice Robert by offering him a prize for a week's continual attendance - he did, but the prize never came. Such a childish voice. Many commentators regarded Venables's parents, Neil and Susan, a working-class couple from Liverpool, respectable compared with the Thompsons. Cops found the vile collection on a laptop hidden behind the headboard of his bed. Nine months later, I was one of 30 or so journalists inside Preston Crown Court when the trial began. We will never be able to do the fun things any more football, snooker, things like that.". Unemployment levels were more than twice the national average in Walton. Venables has been convicted twice since being set free - Robert is not believed to have reoffended. It's a very difficult situation, when you are getting no support as a family, you're alone and you face the world alone, the same as I'm doing now.". Read about our approach to external linking. Not that he had any need to borrow his dad's. He was released in 2013 after he was deemed to no longer be a risk to children, but told police in 2017 he "needed help to understand why he did this and ensure he didn't do it again". The best instincts led hundreds, including me, to lay flowers a few days later at the site of James horrific end. Shame? I wish we could turn the clocks back," Mrs Venables said. The living versions on the floor of the court looked equally wrinkled and austere. She also had to stay strong for the remaining children. Ironically, the relationship between mother and son improved when he, was behind bars. There was almost total silence there apart from the sound of shoes on the ground. In the autumn term of 1992, Robert played truant for 49 half days and Jon for 40. Look at mine. His response couldn't have been more different as he sank into the oversized blazer he was wearing. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, James was just two when he was brutally murdered by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, Chilling CCTV shows the moment James Bulger was led away from his mum, Jon Venables was ten years old when he was arrested for the torture and murder of two-year-old James, Robert Thompson and Venables became Britain's youngest killers for 250 years, Denise Fergus talks about the lack of punishment for Jon Venables and Robert Thompson on Loose Women. Mrs Thompson said she was so often called to Walton Lane police station to retrieve her truanting son that they should have given her a job there. Usually, they were slung out. But talking in 1993, his mother tried to explain how her child turned into a murderer. Best of all, they would spend time on the Walton railway line where Robert had built a den close to the bridge. His mates called him a girl because whenever there was something on his mind he sucked his thumb. The street in which Robert lived was not untypical: a row of terraced bay windowed houses that stretched from the railway line back towards the city. Are they mad? Jon Venables has had his hopes of Christmas freedom dashed after a parole hearing was ditched until the new year. His mother especially has been a tower of strength, says the source. I'm warning yer,' she would say. Hyperactive children can't sit still all day,' Mrs Venables said. 'Just mad. Facebook gives people the power to. MOST of the boys were bright. 'In my opinion he was victimised. his killers were just 10 years old and attention focused on their upbringing and dysfunctional home life. el diablo food truck fort collins. Its an insult to the family.. It was a sign of such restlessness that he was unable to hang on to a football team for long - he kept shifting his allegiance like a floating voter. Witness after witness who had seen them, or stopped and asked them what was going on, took the stand. Lock him in it.'. Not for long though. It was to be an adult trial, both boys appearing every day in the full gaze of whoever was in that room, but neither giving evidence directly to the court. She would arrive at the secure unit with food parcels and is said to be proud of his achievements since the crime. New calls to scrap Council Tax bills for people on State Pension rejected by UK Government. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. "Youngsters are usually tried in a youth court, [Thompson and Venables] were tried in an adult court. We pay for videos too. Mrs Thompson claimed she had been the victim of revenge attacks after her identity became known. In all, they played truant four times. Following the arrest of their sons it was reported that the mothers of the boys had been attacked and vilified in. They didnt kill him in an accident it was premeditated and they tortured that poor baby. James Bulgers mother Denise claims that she managed to track down Thompson six years ago, planning to confront him but instead stared at him from the opposite side of the street, full of rage but unable to act. 'You'd better tell the truth. The Americans fed 1 1/2 minutes of the Jamie Bulger story into a 22-minute bulletin of national and international news. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. At the time Ann Thompson pleaded for her son to be left alone and revealed that she and her other children had been forced to move house nine times in eight years. She was paranoid about being discovered. WALTON, where they both lived, is, in the jargon of planning, an inner-city urban priority area; neither the best nor the worst the city has to offer. Absence of a male role model is increasingly being explored - by both left and right - as one of the main reasons why today's boys and young men are going wrong; why 90 per cent of indictable offences are committed by men. In return, Jon would let Robert ride his bicycle, and from time to time he would suggest naughty deeds himself. 'I couldn't hear anything,' she said. School had no hold on him - there was no corporal punishment or other form of penalty that touched him. In 1999, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the pair did not receive a fair trial and awarded costs and expenses of 29,000 to Jon Venables and 15,000 to Robert Thompson. Apart from Jon's incident with the ruler, there had been no record of previous violence. I didnt connect the dots until much later on. In some families this was the third generation to be unemployed. Maybe it was that incident that put the idea into Jon or Robbie's head to 'get a little boy lost'. She couldn't. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. what is included in a uniworld river cruise; po box 72690 oakland ca 94612. 'He always seemed perfectly well behaved and I think he looked on me as some kind of grandma. Who are Jon Venables and Robert Thompsons parents and what have they said about James Bulgers murder? Robert always wanted to stay out late and encouraged Jon to join him. Ian was clever enough to know that to survive he had to get out. Although not officially entered into a witness protection programme they were given help by the authorities in finding new homes and taking on new identities. . When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. Christopher Ireland, who was found dead in his flat in Dundee, "unlawfully" withheld 4,890 from an employee in the months before his death. They played a double act towards the children: his mother, Susan, aged 36, a sharp woman with a hawkish look, was the hard one. Self pity? When Jon left home on the morning of Friday, February 12 he was happy because it was the last day of school before a week's holiday and he was going to take some pet gerbils home. The officer who questioned Venables took the stand and explained how he had asked Susan Venables to absent herself from the next session as her presence was now inhibiting her son from telling the truth. They fled the city, never to return. of Household Head Line 1 Page 1 Household William Venables Head M 39 Liverpool Lancaster Susannah Venables Wife F 37 Liverpool Lancaster Susan Jane Venables Daughter F 2 Port . One investigating police officer said: 'You could look into the eyes of Robert and knew you were looking at evil.' The distress of one woman who had come agonisingly close to taking James by the hand herself to a police station, only to be hoodwinked by Thompson and Venables that they were doing just that. 'They were just your average scruff - like the rest of us.'. Service and Cremation at . He would call people names and get them to chase him. He frequented local cinemas and regularly hired videos for the night. They had to report him missing at the security office before he was found, and Jon's mother was very angry. The petition , that now has 14,682 signatures, reads: "We want a Public Inquiry into the James Bulger murder case. Such pleasantries were not for Robbie. After spending just eight years in custody, Britain's youngest killers were released and given lifetime anonymity in the UK. Celtic trump Rangers aftermath LIVE as Ange nears Treble and Beale begins mammoth Ibrox rebuild. All rights reserved. The 47-year-old, from Arbroath, was travelling in a grey Porsche 911 Carrera when the smash occurred at roughly 5pm on the B954 between Alyth and Meigle. "Throughout the conduct of the case there have been a number of issues that have been swept under the carpet. Most of the fun revolved around shoplifting - sweets, trolls, pepperami, tins of modelling paint, drinks, candles; anything, really. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. Venables, who was released on licence in 2001 after serving eight years for the murder of two-year-old James, was returned to prison last November after he was caught with the pictures. The Bulger case has prompted widespread debate about how to handle young offenders when they are sentenced or released from custody. Once Robert shared with him a tin of Roses chocolates which he had poured surreptitiously into his coat pocket. He stayed away from school so often the local police called him a professional truant. Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. His parents say he is 'broken-hearted'. A maudlin ballad about Liverpool was playing in the back- ground and she was cooking the dish known as Scouse. And there were rewards for breaking rules. Just something to do.'. Both had parents who had separated. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Venables was banned from any internet access after his last release in 2013, but the judge was told he started searching for child abuse images last July. Less thanfive hours laterthe verdicts were in. Then they had carried, dragged and kicked him along a two and a half mile journey, at times swinging him violently in the air or dropping him against the road, until they reached the railway where they stoned him with bricks, bashed his head with a 22lb iron bar, and left him dead across the tracks to be cut in half by a passing goods train. and things like that is that he was frightened. He didn't want to hurt James. Robert had asked once before but Jon, who had rarely truanted in his previous school, was scared and said no. It was another derby defeat for Beale who is yet to crack the code on how to get the better of Celtic. They were in the Strand shopping centre in Bootle when the brother wandered off. (modern). oley motorcycle swap meet 2022; target peach comforter. The killers walked James for two and half miles and were spotted by 38 people some of whom challenged the pair. sons, were settled in council houses within easy reach of the institutions where their sons were being held. It is claimed that taxpayers could have to fork out another 250,000 to provide a new life when he is eventually released. The toddler was abducted from the Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12, 1993 by Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. everyone blamed Thompson and. . Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. James Bulger would now be weeks away from his 23rd birthday. Directly in front of the bench was the raised dock in which Thompson, Venables, and two social workers would sit for the next four weeks. "This is, therefore, a wholly exceptional case and the evidence in 2019 is more than sufficient to sustain the conclusion that there continues to be a real risk of very substantial harm to (Venables).". But they shouldn't have been tried in an adult court because they were still children. 'I can't read hard words,' he said. Get the latest Scottish crime and courts news sent straight to your inbox with our daily Criminal Record newsletter. But however hollow a gesture it might have seemed, those who are in touch with the Thompson and Venables families insist that they have sought to make some sort of amends with their sons after the horrific events of 17 years ago that will rightly stay with them for the rest of their lives. Venables was a different creature. Thank you Tracey Armitage for sharing on Hospital Hub exciting news that David HANCOCK will be joining Highland Marketing as an associate. Then, one Friday in February, they discovered a new rule to break: they murdered a two-year-old. However, you will find some great articles which you can comment on right now in our Comment section. He added: Weve got to watch this sexual deviant. Get out and get into Dyson Hall children's centre, the only residential care school in the country just outside Liverpool. The suspect was waiting outside Scotmid on Tullichewan Drive, Alexandria, when staff opened the doors at 7am. Find out more, The latest offers and discount codes from popular brands on Telegraph Voucher Codes, As James Bulger killer Jon Venables is sent back to prison, Shelagh Fogarty writes about her experiences as a young reporter on the case at the time, James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in the New Strand shopping centre in the Bootle area of Liverpool, Denise Bulger arrives at Preston Crown Couty on November 24 1993, Shelagh Fogarty was a young reporter at the time of the murder, The police van carrying Venables and Thompson arrives at Preston Crown Court, Want to have children and a big career? . The left will make play of social deprivation, unemployment, bad housing and general inner-city rot. He believes these were evil boys. A day later, when James still hadnt been found, it was clear from CCTV footage that he had been taken by children. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. Jon spent Sunday to Thursday with his mum and the rest of every week with his dad. Join Facebook to connect with Susan Venables and others you may know. She remained very frightened and felt that she and her son were the most hated people in the country. They would sneak out during the morning break, hiding behind a wall before the coast was clear. Wishaw woman's move to dream home turns into nightmare. this weekend for breaching the terms of his early release, the parents of both the Bulger killers continue to stand by them. I wasnt on duty that day, so the very beginnings of the story washed over me. I just burst into tears because you just knew what that meanther heart was broken. Mrs Thompson worked as an office cleaner until two years ago, when she got pregnant again by another man, who also left her. 'I sat away from him - he caused trouble,' Jon said. Robert was number five of seven. Venables has now been sent back to jail twice after being discovered in possession of child abuse photographs, despite having a parole board determined that he no longer posed a risk to the public's safety. yet, as Venables is back behind bars. They have never come out of hiding. JON Venables's family was far from affluent, but it was not as close to the breadline as Robert's. Anne Thompson could hold her drink and no one ever saw her staggering home. Once they went into a home decoration shop and hid under a pile of carpets. In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. I don't think so. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. In the years between Venabless first return to prison and this latest conviction he was deemed to be living successfully in the community, when in fact he was working out ways to dodge his internet ban and hiding a computer in his headboard in order to download abusive images of children, including what the judge described this week as serious crimes inflicted on male toddlers. A global audience was watching to see Ange Postecoglou's side follow his most iconic demand in the national stadium. portrayed him as the leader and evil one, says James Smith. It is just heartbreaking.". He had a Game Boy console and hankered after a Sega machine, and when they played truant he would head straight for the computer game corner of Tandy's or Dixons. Shed never been back but she clearly missed Liverpool and had tried to recreate the city in her new home, he recalls. I cant believe people find excuses for these murderers. The guilty verdicts came quickly - within five hours. He will soon have a parole hearing, according to The Mirror. The Crown Prosecution Service released a statement in January confirming Venables had been charged. We still think the same of him as we always have. After a while he tried to commit suicide to get back in. He also liked to scare old ladies by jumping out in front of their noses. Trauma? A smell of bleach lingered on some of the tiled steps that led up to the front doors. But curiosity drew him towards Robert in equal measure. They played truant, they pinched sweets, they terrorised old ladies. Here is who their parents are and how they reacted Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were only 10 years old when they became the countrys youngest murderers in 250 years. Cutting & Grinding; Access; General Building; Concrete & Compaction "The age of criminal responsibility in this country is 10 that's too low. Venables was 18 when he was freed from Red Bank secure unit in St Helens, Merseyside, in 2001, and 27 when he was recalled to prison early last year after being caught with child pornography on his computer. login . The 2 pressing Rangers questions that just won't go away as haunted Michael Beale faces familiar Celtic hangover - Keith Jackson. Tara Hussain had been experiencing the pain for a year, but believed it to just be a bad pressure headache. Meanwhile Robert Thompson always regarded as the ringleader and the most likely of the murderous duo to fall by the wayside is said to be doing well. Both parents hope was that he would make something of his life and eventually find some peace. The week after he walked out the family's home burned down in an accidental fire. But viewers were shocked when experts "defended" the 10-year-old murderers saying they made "an awful mistake". For me, though, it is Susan and Neil Venables who stay most in my memory of that day. His mother cared about him. Claire Ainsley moved into her new home in Park Place earlier this year after waiting several years for a new home for her family. Jon only revealed his part in the tot's murder after they reassured him they'd still love him if he confessed. The atmosphere in the courtroom was oppressive as the tension of a month was about to break. "He is easily led. Crude vandals target car of Scots doctor struck down with Covid. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. Consumer champion Which? Celtic fans are 'hyenas' as Brendan Rodgers' confidant reveals all about the rules of Fortress Paradise. "In terms of knowing what the full consequences of your actions are, you are into older childhood or adolescence. Susan Venables has blamed "weakness" for her son's role in the killing of James Bulger, claiming that he "got involved with the wrong person". Venables and Thompson were seen on CCTV calmly leading the toddler out of the shopping centre by his hand. From the moment Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were convicted of the murder of James Bulger, their, families have been condemned to lives spent looking over their shoulders. He used to be bullied by other children for being so behind, and would return home at night visibly upset. 'When you have got people in the area threatening to blow your kneecaps off every moment of the day - that's just the way they are. Susan Venables, now 53, suffered from severe depres-sion and struggled with her two other children, an older son and younger daughter, who suffered learning difficulties. Sometimes Robert would sag off on his own, but it was more fun with a friend. On the 20 year anniversary of the murder of James Bulger, BBC Radio 5 Live's Shelagh Fogarty recalls the trial of his young killers. Only two people can answer the question, and even their ability is doubtful.
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