After a while the 10-year-olds began to charge - a tenner an interview. Such a childish voice. 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'. Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. 'America is the land of shopping malls. When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. Guilty of abducting and murdering James PatrickBulger. Aged 10, he was barely literate. What happened to James Bulger? 'They would say 'take your son home'. The James Bulger murder View gallery Venables was born on August 12, 1982. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously where I was standing poor little James must have been not. When you have got people in the area threatening to blow your kneecaps off every moment of the daythats just the way they are. what is the bite force of a baboon. Three years ago, after his mother walloped him, he went to social services and asked them to put him in care. He has had Christmas presents. She said that Jon was always "loving, caring, thoughtful and considerate . Mr Venables said: "He wouldn't watch horror. UK news in pictures 15 February 2023. fun to be with". The primary concern among the faculty was Roberts growing amount of absences. In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. 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. Once they went into a home decoration shop and hid under a pile of carpets. Still, despite being clearly intimidated by him, Roberts brother appeared to share a strangely intimate bond with him. At school Jon was considered bright enough, though he had trouble keeping up with lessons. "It is hard to take in really. Mrs Thompson worked as an office cleaner until two years ago, when she got pregnant again by another man, who also left her. He was pale in complexion and had watery brown, listless eyes. 2023 BBC. 'Sometimes I told Robbie to do things so he does,' he told a police officer, with pride in his voice. Not really?. He would call people names and get them to chase him. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Parents of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson talk about their sons, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. He has had security with loving parents and a loving brother and sister.". 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. This story has no borders,' NBC correspondent Denis Murphy said. Look at mine. He had left her to bring up six children alone. Their parents entered the courtroom; The Venables arrived together, Ann Thompson came with supporters but no sign of Robert's father. Heck, we don't even have murderers that young in New York.'. Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. Witness after witness who had seen them, or stopped and asked them what was going on, took the stand. Two boys who forged a friendship out of breaking the rules. What upsets me is I've no way of bringing him up for the rest of his young years so he's going to lose all his childhood. 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. I said no. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. Then there were the separated parents, the poverty, the truanting, the videos. But that is the common lot of thousands of 10-year-olds who have not turned into murderers. 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. On the days he was at school he had a knack for stirring things up. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Join Facebook to connect with Susan Venables and others you may know. Our feelings haven't changed towards him. THE first time the boys set eyes on each other after they were arrested was in Preston crown court 3 1/2 weeks ago. "In order that justice can be done, no further details are being released at this stage and the proceedings are subject to reporting restrictions.". 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. fun to be with" and always had plenty of friends. Regrettably, yet perhaps not entirely unforeseen, the cycle of abuse continued. He didn't want to hurt James. Once the jury retired, so did the journalists - but we didnt go far. The case is doomed to be picked over by every faction within the caring professionals and politics. The parents of James Bulgers killers have also come to learn that the consequences of that terrible day will stay with them for ever too. S. Susan venables. 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.'. The Rt Reverend Glyn Webster lights a candle in front of the newly restored Lady Chapel East Window at All Saints North Street in York, one of thirteen stained glass windows from the church undergoing conservation work at Barley Studio, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen on the picket line outside Great Ormond Street Hospital in London during a strike by nurses and ambulance staff, Britains former prime minister Liz Truss leaves her home on February 5, 2023 in London, England. "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. gk. 'I can't read hard words,' he said. With Neil seldom in contact with Susan or the children during this time, Susan was forced to contend with Jons escalating troubles alone, sometimes taking her own frustrations out on the children. I would get him something like a cartoon.". Police respond to reporters of a swan being removed from the harbour by a drunk male before it being involved in a collision on Mutley Plain. Keep them apart or he'll get into trouble, they said. Twenty-five years on, Im still prone to hot tears at the memory of it all and I do question the trial. Their kids have got everything, she added, bitterly. As a result of the incident, Jon's mother decided to move him to another school. Eventually, Bobby walked out on his family, but not before beating his wife one final time. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. The final scene takes place among the tracks of a fun-fair ghost train where the doll, which resembles an infant with spiky hair has his face slashed before he is cut to pieces by a ventilator fan. Mr Venables said it had never crossed their minds that the video pictures from the security cameras in the shopping centre from which James went missing showed their own son. Maybe it was that incident that put the idea into Jon or Robbie's head to 'get a little boy lost'. I do believe that she feels guilty deep down for her own part in what happened., Despite the risks of discovery, the relationship is said to have contin- ued to thrive following Thompsons. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. "It is hard to take in really. 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. Naturaleza. Click here to find personal data about Susan Venables including phone numbers, addresses, directorships, electoral roll information, related property prices and other useful information. I didnt, did I? she said to Neil during their interview with Gitta Sereny. He did like to be liked, and loved to have friends, and he has got involved with the wrong person.". ", Her husband, Neil, said: "If you had a league table of children, you would put him at the bottom of the list for anything like this.". It is just heartbreaking.". I have lost my son as well. His body was found two days later on a railway line. They went on family outings together, slept together, and when Susan did find a place, virtually coexisted between the two homes. ", Her husband, Neil, said: "If you had a league table of children, you would put him at the bottom of the list for anything like this.". Dudson was given a minimum term of 18 years. For a start, there were only three children, of whom Jon was the middle. His mother cared about him. Susan and the children moved in with her mother for a short time, and then settled in a small cluster of derelict apartments in Old Swan, where Jon attended the nearby Broad Green Preschool. At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. In March 2010, Venables was recalled to prison for downloading and distributing more than 100 images of child abuse. But Robert was stuck in Walton with his older brothers and the baby. - a grey heron in Asawn, Southern Egypt. Grey Heron. 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. 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. The boys lived off chips. 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. Were they to blame? 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. In quest of companionship, he occasionally bullied his younger brother into truanting with him, and, in an effort to impress his peers, frequently boasted of his late-night exploits on the railway line, but failed to attract much attention. "My heart really goes out to them. ', 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. Both parents hope was that he would make something of his life and eventually find some peace. 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 this state it is quite painful to see a normal relationship between mother and child. . Their. 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. Jon was afraid of her. 'I didn't know it would be like this,' Mr Venables said with hindsight. 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"BULL**** about 'two frightened kids whod made a terrible mistake' The tapes said they kept stoning him, even when he kept getting up. Usually, they were slung out. They were drawn to one another quickly. Following the arrest of their sons it was reported that the mothers of the boys had been attacked and vilified in. The two bumped into each other - literally - in the school playground in the middle of a fight. The Americans fed 1 1/2 minutes of the Jamie Bulger story into a 22-minute bulletin of national and international news. 'I couldn't be arsed talking about them,' said one. He says 'I know, Mum'. rk ye. His mates called him a girl because whenever there was something on his mind he sucked his thumb. He is an old-fashioned crime and punishment man. Gillespie, McNeilly, and Powell were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years. Put bluntly, Jon Venables still gets a kick out of seeing small children suffer. He had an elder brother, aged 13, and a nine-year-old sister. Real bottom of the gut stuff, like an animal. On one occasion one of Anns sons let his real name slip at school and they had to move almost at once, says. Who were their parents? If it suited his moodwhich it frequently didBobby would beat the boys, curse at them, and threaten to send them to a home for children who misbehaved. I wish we could turn the clocks back,' Mrs Venables, 36, said. When Robert was asked what his hobby was he did not say trolls but 'skipping school'. 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 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. Not for long though. 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. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. . 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"He fell over," was the response. He didn't want to hurt James. By chance, the rest of Jon's family was driving past and spotted them. 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. In the autumn term of 1992, Robert played truant for 49 half days and Jon for 40. He always had plenty of friends. Although he appeared to have the more stable upbringing of the two boys, there was a history of family problems. Both were banned from ever returning to Liverpool and given new identities at a reported cost of 1.5million. 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. Since the murder Robert has been in a state of post-traumatic shock, hounded by nightmares and flashbacks from the railway tracks. March 10, 2021 - 20:29 GMT Eve Crosbie. Ann was a heavy drinker, separated from her husband, also called Robert, who had deserted the family several years earlier and did not attend court. Neighbors later reported that it wasnt uncommon for Robert to be seen wandering the streets of Walton after midnight, since he was always running off at night. The left will make play of social deprivation, unemployment, bad housing and general inner-city rot. We are proud to endorse the COP27 Leather Manifesto. It is not known whether the boy watched any of his father's adult movies. I remember watching her then on TV, her sobbing plea for information and thinking how much guts it must have taken to get up that day and face a roomful of journalists and photographers. He had been stripped from the waist down,. MOST of the boys were bright. Friday 12th February 1993. To widespread dismay and condemnation from the Bulger family, the killers were given new identities, courtesy of the taxpayer. 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. Its beyond me," one viewer tweeted. According to the teacher, Jon would rock back and forth in his desk, making strange noises (this behavior was later speculated to be Jons jealous attempt to emulate his elder brother, in order to receive the same special attention), bang his head on the desk or walls repeatedly, glue bits of paper all over his face, wedge himself in between desks, throw himself on the ground, throw chairs across the corridor, rip projects off the classroom walls, cut holes in his socks, and intentionally cut himself with scissors. 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. They did. xf fy. He used to be bullied by other children for being so behind, and would return home at night visibly upset. We have found 88 people in the UK with the name Susan Venables. They hid his body under bricks so that the first train to come along cut his body in two, but he was already dead before this happened. That seems the very least they could face for what they did. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013.. But now and again. 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. Architect Shahed Saleem in the Ramadan Pavilion 2023 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Jon, who had the most trouble sleeping, appeared fearful of Susan, and was terrified, above all, of her condemnation. Neston Town Council unveil plans for Good Friday Easter Market, Drivers at risk of a 1,000 fine for these simple number plate mistakes, Trip Advisor: Six best Chinese restaurants in Wirral, 'Pubs need to adapt' if they are going to survive the times ahead, Birchwood company donates huge 45,000 to children's hospice, Series of strict conditions placed on dog after Widnes attack, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. You know, we just try and help him as best we can to try to come to terms with things. Robert was number five of seven. One time they sagged off with Robert's younger brother, which went disastrously wrong. Not that he had any need to borrow his dad's. 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. Fiction Writing. One investigating police officer said: 'You could look into the eyes of Robert and knew you were looking at evil.' Little Bobby went to visit his brothers every so often, eager to show them the latest playthings he had robbed from the assorted shops nearby. Since his 14-year-old brother, Phillip , had already tried to stab him, the social services agreed. I would say he was provoked. 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. Toddler James Bulger disappeared on February 12 1993. She was paranoid about being discovered. So, when he first began his association with classmate Jon Venables, in September 1992, Robert was happy to have finally befriended a boy like Jon, who could almost always be persuaded to follow in his lead. Ian was clever enough to know that to survive he had to get out. It worked. 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.