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Since his 14-year-old brother, Phillip , had already tried to stab him, the social services agreed. Sitting in the new class was a chubby boy with a cherub's face - Robert Thompson. kl. Forensic and pathology evidence was a huge challenge for everyone, not least the jury who were shown pictures of James' injuries. 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. Both were banned from ever returning to Liverpool and given new identities at a reported cost of 1.5million. His parents say he is 'broken-hearted'. 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. 'I sat away from him - he caused trouble,' Jon said. I thought he was all right, Jon said of Robert during his police interviews. On one occasion, he said, Robert ran off down the street laughing, "You can't catch me". Who were their parents? At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. The phone-in programme, as ever, was a place to turn to try to find reasons - evil, poverty, neglect, possessed anything to explain what felt inexplicable. Venables, who was said to have been subjected to regular beatings by his mother Susan, titled the drawing 'My Dads house'. They rejected suggestions that he could have watched Child's Play Three, a film that his father had rented three weeks before James's death, which, it has been claimed, included scenes similar to those of the attack on the two-year-old. But apart from his brother, Robert struggled to build friendships. Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. I am providing this page for those who are interested in learning more about the lives of these boys prior to their offense. Constantly restless, his workbooks were empty, and he would often be denied recess because he was so far behind. Read about our approach to external linking. Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. UK news in pictures 15 February 2023. He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. She got her drinking under control and began giving her murderer son the attention he. Aged 10, he was barely literate. Birds. They played truant, they pinched sweets, they terrorised old ladies. Will you tell his mum I'm sorry?". Truanting, or 'sagging off', had become a way of life for Robert. 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Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Everyone called him Chubby, because of his round, cherub's face. Unemployment levels were more than twice the national average in Walton. Thompson, who gained five GCSEs and A-levels in design and technology, is said to have developed an interest in theatre. football, snooker, things like that. It was this empowering chemistry between them that some argued set into motion the life-altering events that would devastate a family, challenge a community, and rock a nations core in the disquieting months that followed. TWO BOYS. 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. The pair was tried for the abduction and murder of James as adults owing to the fact they were over 10, which is legally deemed to be the age of criminal responsibility. The most agonising thing about the whole case was that so many people had stopped them and questioned them. He carried books on wrestling and wildlife in his school bag. DAVID James Smith, who visited Mrs Thompson at one of her secret homes, reveals that it was a sad existence. She said an educational psychologist had diagnosed hyperactivity in her son, who was bullied at his previous school. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. They had much in common. 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. By now the two boys from Walton were part of an international freak show. I know how I feel as a mother. Given the Venables family history, it was later suggested that Jon could arguably have been affected by an undiagnosed disorder at the time, and was clearly emotionally underdeveloped. I feel so sorry for them. Neither gave evidence to the court, but were found guilty after an officer told how Venables admitted the murder, saying, "We did it. After they became friends he initiated Jon into the delights of climbing into people's back gardens and the consequent thrill of being chased out by the owners. She spent much of her time at the pub after that, and rarely stayed in for a meal. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. everyone blamed Thompson and. The breaking point came when Jon was suspended from Broad Square after attempting to choke a classmate with a twelve-inch wooden ruler. And there were rewards for breaking rules. He began telling his father that he believed his parents loved his brother and sister more than they did him, and, at one point, implored his father to send him to school with his siblings. They have never come out of hiding. 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. Venables received a 40-month prison sentence after appearing via video link at the Old Bailey. Susan Venables, mother of Jon, blamed her son's "weakness" for the killing and said he was "fearful" and "provoked" by his accomplice Robert Thompson. Grey Heron. Mrs Venables described how she searched for Jon. What doing well means is anybodys guess. It should certainly be moved up to 12; in some European countries it is 14," she said. I know how I feel as a mother. One investigating police officer said: 'You could look into the eyes of Robert and knew you were looking at evil.' When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. Jobs were few and far between. It seems likely that he was bullied. Ann denied the physical abuse, but later admitted to being cruel to the boys at times. 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, Sarah Ferguson exclusive: Meghan has made Harry very happy, 32 best gifts for her: top present ideas to buy for mother's day in 2023, Midlife women are being told to sit down and shut up and not just by men, Imogen Stubbs: Its become less and less acceptable to age, Cost of HRT set to be slashed in new prescription scheme, Magic Mike and the naked truth about male strippers, Inside the James Bulger files 25 years on. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked," she said. A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. I would say he was provoked. The taunts upset Jons already volatile temper, and he began coming home in increasingly low spirits and crying. '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. Not that he had any need to borrow his dad's. There is hatred and envy directed at the baby - a wish to see it suffer in the way they have suffered. God knows how they must be feeling now.. [3] [4] Thompson and Venables led Bulger away . Our feelings haven't changed towards him. He disliked Thunderbirds because of the puppets' 'stringy thingies'. The shock in the city was plain to see, but it wasn't just in Liverpool that people stared at the CCTV pictures of the boy holding James' hand, while another led the way to the exit of the shopping centre where a frantic Denise Bulger would have been desperately looking for her child. You know, we just try and help him as best we can to try to come to terms with things. She said that Jon was always "loving, caring, thoughtful and considerate . Still, despite being clearly intimidated by him, Roberts brother appeared to share a strangely intimate bond with him. Jon's parents said they talked to their son about James after he was arrested, but had to stop. 'If, in their own lives, they have had it extremely tough and been bullied and neglected and abused then they end up rapidly having to prove themselves to be extremely tough and invulnerable - a bit like Arnold Shwarzenegger in The Terminator. He is an old-fashioned crime and punishment man. 'I didn't know it would be like this,' Mr Venables said with hindsight. It is about a Good Guy doll invaded by the spirit of a mass murderer who kills people in gruesome ways. By then, Robert and Jon had abducted James Bulger from the Strand and attempted to drown him in the nearby canal. Naturaleza. 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. But talking in 1993, his mother tried to explain how her child turned into a murderer. I just burst into tears because you just knew what that meanther heart was broken. James Bulger would now be weeks away from his 23rd birthday. His father, Neil, an unemployed panel-beater, was separated from his mother but they lived only a mile apart, saw each other every other day, and took equal care of the children. The statement said: "The man formerly known as Jon Venables has been charged with offences relating to indecent images of children and will appear in the Crown Court. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. The press were gobbling it up. I just think of James and his Dad and about all that fun with his little boy, like I had with Jon.". They and Ann Thompson, who has six other. Ultimately, wanting to escape the havoc, most of the boys opted to leave home, and some were placed into voluntary care at Dysons Hall, a childrens home just outside of Liverpool. He wanted a Rovers strip for his birthday present. He had that odd combination of obsession with and disdain for possessions that is characteristic of children who have never enjoyed any of their own. Online Marketing For Your Business The old wood panelled courtroom is small. 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. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. The couples first child, a son, had been born with a cleft pallet, and when Jon was born, much of the Venables focus was on getting their eldest son into speech therapy. Susan, aged 36, a sharp woman . "Just to let you know that even though footage was used of me on the CH4 programme, I had no part in it," she tweeted. "My heart really goes out to them. We still think the same of him as we always have. The documentary last night featured interviews with those involved in the 1993 trial, including James dad Ralph Bulger, Jon Venables solicitor Laurence Lee and detective sergeant Phil Roberts, who interviewed Robert Thompson. Grey seal pups on the beach at Horsey in Norfolk, as the pupping season draws to a close at one the UK's most important sites for the mammals. The atmosphere in the courtroom was oppressive as the tension of a month was about to break. Liked by susan venables. Put bluntly, Jon Venables still gets a kick out of seeing small children suffer. His grip was so strong that it took two people to pry Jon off of the boy. She was a happy baby, much happier than her eldest brother had been, but as she grew older, Susan began noticing that she, too, appeared lazy, and was not as advanced as Jon. One of the new works by Banksy, appears to show a 1950s housewife, wearing a classic blue pinny and yellow washing up gloves, with a swollen eye and a missing tooth seemingly shoving her male partner into a chest freezer, the piece is set on a white wall backdrop in Kent. Robert had eaten too many and felt sick. His mother was not so keen on the idea - they cost pounds 35 each. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt. eb. A heartstopping moment came when the playing of the tapes in court was paused. - a grey heron in Asawn, Southern Egypt. He frequented local cinemas and regularly hired videos for the night. 'I thought he was all right,' said Boy B, as he was known in court - Jon Venables. Robert had asked once before but Jon, who had rarely truanted in his previous school, was scared and said no. Ultimately, however, the couples indifferences led to separation, and they were eventually divorced in 1986. Their. Born 10 days apart in August 1982 in Liverpool. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. It worked. Asked later if he could recall a time when his brother had exhibited any unusually aggressive tendencies, Roberts brother said no: Hes frightened of his own shadow. Nonetheless, in hindsight, its safe to assume that by 1993, ten-year-old Robert was swiftly approaching crisis point., Alarmingly, some of the neighboring children later claimed to have seen Robert behave cruelly towards animals, and pull the heads off of baby pigeons, although this was never unequivocally confirmed. He didn't want to hurt James. 'I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. si fs. He always had plenty of friends. Get the biggest TV headlines, recaps and insider knowledge straight to your inbox. In some families this was the third generation to be unemployed. But his comment sparked anger from viewers. It is just heartbreaking.". I am not sure if in fact he was seen by the school psychologist, but I did complete a form for him.. It was when Jon turned seven that Susan and the children had relocated to Norris Green, one of Liverpools larger, more reputable areas. This time we came together in shock and disbelief. The sunrises through the sea mist over the sculpture The Couple by Sean Henry at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on the Northumberland coast. Just something to do.'. yet, as Venables is back behind bars. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. He had been quiet that weekend, they said, but they had thought that was because his mother had taken him to the police station on the Friday evening for playing truant. Southern. Usually, they were slung out. We will never be able to do the fun things any more . Then, one Friday in February, they discovered a new rule to break: they murdered a two-year-old. 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. "It is hard to take in really. But that is the common lot of thousands of 10-year-olds who have not turned into murderers. S. Susan venables. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? I would get him something like a cartoon.". Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. 'It's always our family that gets the blame,' Robert said to police after he was arrested for James's murder. Scores more watched proceedings from a neighbouring office block which, for the duration of the trial, came under court jurisdiction. Sometimes Robert would sag off on his own, but it was more fun with a friend. Good people asked the boys if they were lost or urged them to take "their baby brother" home as he cried for his mummy. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both 10, murdered him in cold blood. 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. He's a good reader if he's interested in it. Hes your son., Unhappily, it was during this critical time that Ann became pregnant with her seventh child, the product of another failed relationship. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. The beginnings of the friendship were inauspicious enough. The couple, who are living together again after a partial separation, said their feelings towards Jon had not changed despite the terrible crime. Mrs Thompson worked as an office cleaner until two years ago, when she got pregnant again by another man, who also left her. At 2:30 they went to the two-story shopping centre. At school Jon was considered bright enough, though he had trouble keeping up with lessons. The family was put up in a hostel temporarily and later relocated by the social services. At first, Robert seemed to respond well to this, taking the initiative to help feed and clothe the baby, and doing what he could to please his mother. Resentful of her husbands lack of involvement with the children, Susan conceded that the couple fought constantly, especially throughout 1983, but maintained that Neil had never been aggressive towards her, nor had she hit him. It was their sons picked up by detectives. His body was found two days later on a railway line. The first Susan Venables knew they had stayed away from school was when she saw one of Jon's classmates on her way home with the gerbils. the street. Pictures; Inside the Guardian; Guardian Weekly . He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security . In 2010, Meggie Atkinson, then children's commissioner for England, called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 12 in light of the trial. When Robert was asked what his hobby was he did not say trolls but 'skipping school'. "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. I would say he was provoked. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. The two had an aberrant relationship with one another, in the sense that it was almost as though they had never divorced. Shame? The couple was financially strained from the start, but Ann did what she could to make it work. Maybe it was that incident that put the idea into Jon or Robbie's head to 'get a little boy lost'. The pattern of bullying among the brothers, which had been noted by the Head mistress of the boys school, appeared to descend down the line, with the eldest Thompson brother beating the one just below him in age, and that brother beating the brother below him, in turn. Channel 5 is set to air a new two-part documentary that tells the definitive story of . But now and again. During the Bulger investigation, police checked the details of 50 videos Mr Venables had hired in recent months. We still think the same of him as we always have. I wish we could turn the clocks back,' Mrs Venables, 36, said. sons, were settled in council houses within easy reach of the institutions where their sons were being held. Robert always wanted to stay out late and encouraged Jon to join him. It was on his way back to the interview room when Venables finally admitted it: "We did it. Susan Venables has blamed weakness for her sons role in the killing of James Bulger, claiming that he got involved with the wrong person. Yet, even while Susan admitted to being under huge emotional strain on a daily basis, the couple later denied that her constant hysterics would have encroached on Jon in any way, considering he was still in infancy at the time. He believes these were evil boys. fn ye vw la. Their seats were just below the raised dock where their sons would sit for the next three weeks, listening to a prosecution which aimed to prove not only that they killed James Bulger, but that they planned to, and that when they did they knew it to be wrong. INSIDE the court sat the two boys, dwarfed by the weight and majesty of the place. . Friday 12th February 1993. ", Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. 'In my opinion he was victimised. and things like that is that he was frightened. cl gz. A day later she would face much worse. Will you tell his Mum Im sorry?. She also had to stay strong for the remaining children. Ironically, the relationship between mother and son improved when he, was behind bars. He was fearful of the other boy. Some people thought they were as old as 12 or 13, but when they met they were both only 10 years old. Susan Venable - we found 141 people search records: 55 CVs and social profiles with photos, 50 addresses & phone numbers, 1 real estate objects, 6 Susan Venable's cars, 2 companies. Susan opted to remove him from the school then, and some months later, she reenrolled him in St. Marys in Walton. All information on this page is true to my knowledge, and is not intended to diminish or justify either boys actions in any way whatsoever. Although Susan couldnt recall any dramatic change in Jons behavior, his teachers there expressed some concern that Jon had become upset and difficult following the separation. He would steal objects that he neither needed nor wanted, then chuck them away in the street. Englands Ollie Chessum dives in to score his sides second try during the Guinness Six Nations match at Twickenham Stadium, London, Sam Smith arrives for the Brit Awards ceremony, A robin redbreast takes flight in Dublins botanic gardens. Take him home, the officer would say to her. They would sneak out during the morning break, hiding behind a wall before the coast was clear. And now The Bulger Killers: Was Justice Done? We are proud to endorse the COP27 Leather Manifesto. Their kids have got everything. 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. One of the focal points of the local community was QD Videos at the bottom of Robert's street, where the kids would browse through the horror stacks, discussing their favourites knowledgeably. Drivers have been warned to leave extra time for their Monday morning commute due to icy roads during rush hour, following a weekend of wintry weather. 'Sometimes I told Robbie to do things so he does,' he told a police officer, with pride in his voice. "In terms of knowing what the full consequences of your actions are, you are into older childhood or adolescence. They said their son met Robert Thompson in September 1991, when Jon was transferred from another school. . Another added: "An awful mistake??!! qu fy. He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. In the autumn term of 1992, Robert played truant for 49 half days and Jon for 40. A day later, when James still hadnt been found, it was clear from CCTV footage that he had been taken by children. Once Robert shared with him a tin of Roses chocolates which he had poured surreptitiously into his coat pocket. Susan seemed happy with the arrangement, although, for the children, this type of relationship would have been just one more confusing anomaly to cope with in the wake of an already confusing time in their young lives. Two boys who forged a friendship out of breaking the rules. Then there were the separated parents, the poverty, the truanting, the videos. According to a legal source we spoke to this week, Jon Venables parents have sought to be a support for their son, despite the enormity of his crime. Jon's first year after he was moved was relatively successful. The boys, by now lacking any sense of guidance within the home, took to the streets, robbing, truanting, and some of them experimenting with drugs. . Ian was clever enough to know that to survive he had to get out. Denise, James Bugler's mother, went with her brother's girlfriend Nicola to the Bootle Strand Shopping Centre and took James with her. Last week the author Angela Phillips spoke of how the gentle son of the female friend of hers turned into a fascist skinhead: 'The boy his mother wanted him to become was not man enough for the world he was forced to inhabit. When social workers came round, they did so to see his sister and his brother, who had learning difficulties and was receiving special education. The case of James, a two-year-old who was snatched from a shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, in 1993, before being tortured and left to die, shocked the nation. Since the murder Robert has been in a state of post-traumatic shock, hounded by nightmares and flashbacks from the railway tracks. It was their sons picked up by detectives. 'When the fisticuffs ended, they made friends.' Venables and Thompson abducted, tortured and killed two-year-old James in Liverpool in 1993 when they were both aged just 10. While, on the face of it, there doesnt appear to be as much external devastation present in Jons family history as in Roberts, his outlandish behavior suggested that internally, Jon was in a state of extreme emotional upset. He has had more love and attention than a lot of children I know. 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. More press conferences, terrible details beginning to emerge about the state James was found in, and the chilling prospect, soon confirmed, that indeed it was children who had done this. "In order that justice can be done, no further details are being released at this stage and the proceedings are subject to reporting restrictions.". His mother, Anne Marie Thompson, who is 39, got the house from the local housing trust after her husband, Robert, ran off with a woman from Stockport five years ago. Moments later, we were told, Jon Venables uttered the words, We did it. 'I think it has something to do with a hatred of vulnerability and babyness in themselves which they projected on to this toddler.'. David James Smith, who wrote a book about the Bulger case, The Sleep Of Reason, and stayed in touch with Ann Thompson afterwards. They occasionally exchanged furtive glances. But just as he was entering the school gates he met Jon and they decided to sag off together for the fourth - and final - time. After spending just eight years in custody, Britain's youngest killers were released and given lifetime anonymity in the UK. They didnt kill him in an accident it was premeditated and they tortured that poor baby. 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. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. They were intent on killing. Less thanfive hours laterthe verdicts were in. He wore his dark hair short, almost a crew cut, which accentuated his ample forehead and blunt nose. Venables on the other hand was becoming increasingly agitated in the police interviews. Robert is not believed to have reoffended - Venables has been convicted twice since being set free. As a grim portrait of abuse, drunkenness and neglect emerged, the hatred and loathing for Robert Thompson and Jon Venables was also turned on their parents. The four who drove Suzanne to Romiley - Jean Powell (now Jean Gillespie), Bernadette McNeilly, Glyn Powell, and Anthony Dudson - were all found guilty of murder. Meanwhile, A petition demanding a public inquiry into James Bulger's murder case has got nearly 15,000 signatures in one day. That was in September 1991, 17 months before they killed James Bulger. The James Bulger murder View gallery Venables was born on August 12, 1982. "I don't think we went wrong as parents at all. It's high time they were investigated. He is broken- hearted over it.