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. Neil explained to him that the school they attended was special, and that Jon wouldnt be accepted. Two boys who forged a friendship out of breaking the rules. Depressed, Ann began drinking heavily and was taking narcotics which caused her to hallucinate. I am providing this page for those who are interested in learning more about the lives of these boys prior to their offense. Extraordinarily, she even shouted up to the railway tracks at Walton where she knew Robert had a den. His former wife would send their boys up the street to give their father the fingers through the bay windows of his mother's house. It is just heartbreaking.". fn ye vw la. Join Facebook to connect with Susan Venables and others you may know. . He would go to bed. fun to be with" and always had plenty of friends. I came back and then (Mrs Venables) went out. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? He said that on the day James was killed, when he went to the school in the afternoon to collect Jon he was told his son was missing. portrayed him as the leader and evil one, says James Smith. Aged 10, he was barely literate. Jon's parents said they talked to their son about James after he was arrested, but had to stop. "An awful mistake for 10 year olds is shoplifting not murdering a 2 year old FFS," another angry viewer tweeted. Not really?. The press were gobbling it up. His mother, Susan, attributed this behavior with peer pressure and hyperactivity, and put him on a special diet, though it did nothing to quell his frequent emotional outbursts. The best photos of birds and other wildlife from around the world. Only two people can answer the question, and even their ability is doubtful. While Robert was described as a wily child, known to tell lies, most of the St. Marys school staff agreed that the boy posed little trouble, and, if and when he attended, was generally well-mannered during class. David James Smith, who wrote a book about the Bulger case, The Sleep Of Reason, and stayed in touch with Ann Thompson afterwards. ', The closest either boy came to offering an explanation was when Jon was asked by police why he had taken James's shoe off by the railway tracks. 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. His mother called him hyperactive since, even more than his friend, he was scarcely able to sit still. By now the two boys from Walton were part of an international freak show. When she turned around moments later, her son was gone. 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. Forlorn hope, though. In the mean time, Susan, finding her new living conditions insufferable, soon decided to move back in with Neil until she could find another place of her own. Eventually, Bobby walked out on his family, but not before beating his wife one final time. 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 got on with my job, but months later the impact of that trial had sunk in and a difficult, tearful, confusing year followed for me. Jon was slim in build and taller than Robert, just over five feet. Or they would mess around in shops, playing on computer games if Robert had his way, sliding on the polished floors if Jon had his. 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. She initially enrolled the two younger children in Broad Square Elementary, but it soon became clear that her daughter was struggling to keep up with the schools curriculum. Just as Venables's confession convicted him, a shoe print belonging to Robert Thompson, found on James cheekbone, confirmed his guilt, too. They would hang around the video shop in Walton Village where the shop girl was pleased to have their company. ", Children accused of a crime are usually granted anonymity, but at the end of the trial the judge allowed both to be named, "because the public interest overrode the interest of the defendants.". In the business world, too many people think it's all about being hard, tough, ambitious, or having grit. Im bringing them up on my own, but if I went round and screwed every warehouse, my kids would have everything, too. Even so, while Roberts community was rough, his home life was perhaps worse, and could hardly be considered a refuge for the boy. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. When a police officer asked him why he didn't rescue James bleeding on the railway lines he replied: ' 'Cos blood stains, doesn't it, and then me mother would have to pay more money. Facebook gives people the power. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, and said he was going through torment. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both 10, murdered him in cold blood. It is time to examine all this.". 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. The breaking point came when Jon was suspended from Broad Square after attempting to choke a classmate with a twelve-inch wooden ruler. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. Mrs Thompson claimed she had been the victim of revenge attacks after her identity became known. ANN THOMPSON, the mother of Robert Thompson, child A, says her son is a thief, a liar, is devious and plays truant. Channel 5 is set to air a new two-part documentary that tells the definitive story of . It was when Jon turned seven that Susan and the children had relocated to Norris Green, one of Liverpools larger, more reputable areas. Thompson did what he often did, looked around, grabbing clumsily at his tongue. It was during this time that Susan, having suffered from clinical depression for many years, had experienced what were later described as two traumatic incidences, both of which Jon would have witnessed. In any case, the couple drifted together, and in 1983, just fifteen months succeeding Jons birth, Susan gave birth to their third child, a daughter. She found it hard bringing the kids up in the neighbourhood. But talking in 1993, his mother tried to explain how her child turned into a murderer. Liked by susan venables. The details of Jamess death were sickening. Some of the red brick houses were well-kept, others had torn net curtains and grubby windows. Sometimes Robert would sag off on his own, but it was more fun with a friend. After a while the boys became used to it. In March 2010, Venables was recalled to prison for downloading and distributing more than 100 images of child abuse. Venables received a 40-month prison sentence after appearing via video link at the Old Bailey. [3] [4] Thompson and Venables led Bulger away . "My heart really goes out to them. When shop keepers asked what they were doing they would pretend they were waiting for their mum. That means he is currently 35-years-old. Robert would give Jon presents of stolen objects: trolls, of course, toy terrapins, sweets. Neil had been laid off in the months prior, so the couple sold their home, and Neil moved back in with his father, before finally relocating to an apartment in Kirkdale. The primary concern among the faculty was Roberts growing amount of absences. But after a year they let Ian out again. Such pleasantries were not for Robbie. She said an educational psychologist had diagnosed hyperactivity in her son, who was bullied at his previous school. Shortly after the breakup, an accidental fire destroyed the Thompsons home, leaving Ann homeless, jobless, and with little money to support her kids. We feel so sorry for him because he must be going through so much torment. In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. We have found 88 people in the UK with the name Susan Venables. He also liked to scare old ladies by jumping out in front of their noses. It is not known whether the boy watched any of his father's adult movies. Both Ann and the children knew well the sting of palm against flesh, and Bobby often used these beatings to ensure that his wife and children conformed. Once Robert shared with him a tin of Roses chocolates which he had poured surreptitiously into his coat pocket. 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. Naturaleza. They have never come out of hiding. He was fearful of the other boy. At night, for instance, the two boys would lie in bed together and suck each others thumbs. To be absolutely accurate, she had only one illusion. He was always getting prizes for maths at school. He's quite bright and clever. Their. By now the Venables were reunited as a result of the court case. It is claimed that taxpayers could have to fork out another 250,000 to provide a new life when he is eventually released. However, given that the tension in the household was persistent throughout the most crucial of Jons formative years, the belief that he had moved through the ordeal entirely unaffected is questionable. Both of them struggled at school and had been lumped into the year below their age. ', A psychoanalyst and child psychotherapist comes up with yet another possible explanation. 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 abduction and brutal murder of this two-year-old by Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, who were just 10 at the time, prompted a conversation in Britain that we are still having today. 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. 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. In Crosbies corner shop Ian, the next oldest to Robert, was able to tot up the shopping in his mind before the cash register rang up the total. He was also given 'respite care' - six weekly weekend breaks to relieve the family of the burden of looking after him. "'It wasnt fair to interview him. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously, where I was standing poor little James must have been not far . Our feelings haven't changed towards him. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. It would be a week before we heard their voices, in hours of taped police interviews, They stopped us all in our tracks. Jon continued to attend Broad Square, where children of the neighborhood openly mocked and poked fun at his siblings, calling them backward. Jon was also an easy target due to a squint in his eye. In some families this was the third generation to be unemployed. View the profiles of people named Susan Venables. I just heard an almighty screech. He carried books on wrestling and wildlife in his school bag. Half way through the 1992-1993 school year, Robert had already racked up nearly 50 unauthorized absences, and was falling significantly behind in his schoolwork. Meanwhile, A petition demanding a public inquiry into James Bulger's murder case has got nearly 15,000 signatures in one day. He is far from it. Thompson & Venebales. Read about our approach to external linking. Lock him in it.'. 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. 'He always seemed perfectly well behaved and I think he looked on me as some kind of grandma. She also had to stay strong for the remaining children. Ironically, the relationship between mother and son improved when he, was behind bars. 'I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. Hyperactive children can't sit still all day,' Mrs Venables said. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013.. 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. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt. His mother was not so keen on the idea - they cost pounds 35 each. Counsel for the prosecution, Richard Henriques QC, made it clear all three elements needed to be proved for a murder conviction. Dudson was given a minimum term of 18 years. Sitting in the new class was a chubby boy with a cherub's face - Robert Thompson. He caused me such anxiety, the teacher later recalled of Jon in a statement given to the Merseyside police. The only sign he was discomforted by hearing it was a near constant pulling of his tongue in his hands. And now The Bulger Killers: Was Justice Done? his killers were just 10 years old and attention focused on their upbringing and dysfunctional home life. There was a pattern of bullying, with the older boys picking on their younger brothers down the line. To do that he put on the witness stand all those people who had seen the three boys on the route from the shopping centre to the railway line. I know how I feel as a mother. He had left her to bring up six children alone. "He fell over," was the response. From the start, Jon was drawn and repulsed by Robbie like opposite and equal poles of a magnet. Just something to do.'. He had been stripped from the waist down,. 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. 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. "In terms of knowing what the full consequences of your actions are, you are into older childhood or adolescence. 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. 'I couldn't hear anything,' she said. The old wood panelled courtroom is small. The teacher had a different perspective, saying that Susan was in fact aware of the issue, and had expressed deep concern. She got her drinking under control and began giving her murderer son the attention he. 'I sat away from him - he caused trouble,' Jon said. One investigating police officer said: 'You could look into the eyes of Robert and knew you were looking at evil.' She would arrive at the secure unit with food parcels and is said to be proud of his achievements since the crime. 'I don't know,' he replied. For weeks, she stayed in bed, not bothering to tend to the children, and when she finally did reemerge, she readily admitted she drank from morning to night, but had stopped taking the pills. The case is doomed to be picked over by every faction within the caring professionals and politics. For a start, there were only three children, of whom Jon was the middle. I feel so sorry for them. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. The reaction prompted James' mum Denise Fergus to let supporters know she had nothing to do with the programme. A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. Ironically, Jon was the child who caused his parents least anxiety. There is hatred and envy directed at the baby - a wish to see it suffer in the way they have suffered. Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. Their kids have got everything. "He is easily led. In the first press conference she gave the day after her son was taken, this 25-year-old woman struck me as a girl, a desperate, grief stricken girl whose tired swollen eyes told their own story. In court, he hid his face again. The first time he asked Jon to play truant with him was last September, only weeks after they had become friends. It has already been reported that Jon Venables real identity has been exposed in prison, where he is said to be receiving 24-hour protection. The Americans fed 1 1/2 minutes of the Jamie Bulger story into a 22-minute bulletin of national and international news. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. Online Marketing For Your Business Who knows. As a new documentary is set to air on ITV, the haunting words of Jon Venables' parents have resurfaced. . Mrs Thompson worked as an office cleaner until two years ago, when she got pregnant again by another man, who also left her. The most startling moment of the trial came when, in lieu of giving evidence in person, the boys' taped interviews with police - recorded just after their arrest - were played in court. Robert had asked once before but Jon, who had rarely truanted in his previous school, was scared and said no. Money was always a struggle, and she got through the first years drinking in Higson's Top House off St Mary's Lane. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013. He gets upset. "The age of criminal responsibility in this country is 10 that's too low. Susan Venables has blamed weakness for her sons role in the killing of James Bulger, claiming that he got involved with the wrong person. Yes, these things are important, but trust. Forensic and pathology evidence was a huge challenge for everyone, not least the jury who were shown pictures of James injuries. Some neighbours claim they saw the boy snaring birds into traps in the back yard of his home, while one local youth claimed he saw the boy pull the heads off live baby pigeons. Wiping away tears, he went on: 'I feel for that family. Toddler James Bulger disappeared on February 12 1993. A maudlin ballad about Liverpool was playing in the back- ground and she was cooking the dish known as Scouse. Get the biggest TV headlines, recaps and insider knowledge straight to your inbox. 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. Denise, James Bugler's mother, went with her brother's girlfriend Nicola to the Bootle Strand Shopping Centre and took James with her. Not for long though. Money, or his family's lack of it, preyed on his mind. 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. 'I thought he was all right,' said Boy B, as he was known in court - Jon Venables. Sorry, we are unable to accept comments about this article at the moment. Twenty-five years on, Im still prone to hot tears at the memory of it all and I do question the trial. Susan Venables Facebook: susan.venables.9 Lives in Mellor, Blackburn With Darwen, . His father, thin and balding, had a much gentler edge. eb. Ann and Bobby fought regularly in front of the children, with virtually all of the fights leading to physical violence. The shocking murder that shook the nation, Both Venables and Robert Thompson were 10 years-old when they tortured and killed 2 year-old James Bulger, Thompson and Venables were tried as adults, James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in a shopping centre in Liverpool, Denise Fergus denied having anything to do with the Channel 4 documentary about her son, James Bulger's murder case could now be investigated, The petition is on nearly 15,000 signatures, James Bulger was just two when he was brutally murdered, He had been out shopping with his mum Denise, James was made to walk two miles before being left for dead on a disused rail line, Denise tirelessly campaigned to have their sentence increased, Denise once admitted she's lived 'in fear' since the trial. A sudden pause in the tapes and one of the officers appeared in person to describe how he asked Neil and Susan Venables to leave the room because he thought Jon wanted to tell him something. They pair was ordered to be detained at her majesty's pleasure - meaning indefinitely - but in 2001, a six-month review by the parole board found they were no longer a threat to public safety and they were released on life licence after serving just eight years. This happened, more often than not, at night, when they refused to go to bed when told. She was a woman as large in personality and physique as the burdens she carried. Trauma? I didnt, did I? she said to Neil during their interview with Gitta Sereny. 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. 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. A video still of James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in the 'New Strand' shopping centre. Members of the Up Helly Aa 'Jarl Squad' parade through the streets in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon using a camera during her visit to BBC Studioworks in Glasgow, Passersby chat with the police as they arrive to see King Charles III and the Princess Royal attend a church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, People at a vigil at Lurgan Park in Lurgan, Co Armagh in memory of murder victim Natalie McNally and opposing violence against women, Firefighters use hoses to dampen down at the scene of a fire at St Marks Church in Hamilton Terrace, St Johns Wood, London, which has been destroyed by the blaze which began in the early hours of the morning, Huskies pull their musher during a training run before this weekends annual Aviemore Sled Dog Rally, in Feshiebridge, A knitted topper celebrating Burns Night placed on a post box in Alloway, Ayrshire, Deer graze during sunrise at Ashton Court Estate, Bristol, where clear misty skies and a cold morning brings frost across parts of the south west UK, Ambulance workers on the picket line outside the Donnington Ambulance Hub, at Donnington, near Telford, Shropshire. Jon Venables is demonstrably no such thing. Among the list were several horror films, including one video in which the police took special interest: Child's Play 3, a film which carries the line 'Children are consumer trainees'. Still, despite being clearly intimidated by him, Roberts brother appeared to share a strangely intimate bond with him. . The two had an aberrant relationship with one another, in the sense that it was almost as though they had never divorced. Mr Venables ran out of the car and grabbed him, while Robert ran off down the street laughing and shouting: 'You can't catch me.'. We still dont know why. The police have uncovered no evidence of any abuse within either family. 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 has had Christmas presents. 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.