Regrettably, yet perhaps not entirely unforeseen, the cycle of abuse continued. The case is doomed to be picked over by every faction within the caring professionals and politics. They did. The James Bulger murder View gallery Venables was born on August 12, 1982. The family was already exhaustingly overextended, and Robert, being the fifth edition, was quick to pick up on the coping mechanisms needed to survive in a life of unremitting chaos and enmity. Ironically, Jon was the child who caused his parents least anxiety. The experience gave Jon renewed confidence, and the second time they sagged off together he suggested it. Their age was hard to gauge from the CCTV images, so just when you imagined you couldnt be more shocked by this story, it emerged the two accused were just 10-years-old. I know how I feel as a mother. ql zo. Some people thought they were as old as 12 or 13, but when they met they were both only 10 years old. Once the jury retired, so did the journalists - but we didnt go far. 'They were just your average scruff - like the rest of us.'. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. He was fearful of the other boy. But talking in 1993, his mother tried to explain how her child turned into a murderer. Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. Self pity? Could they have planned to do it in advance? He had an elder brother, aged 13, and a nine-year-old sister. A heartstopping moment came when the playing of the tapes in court was paused. Like Ann Thompson, however, both parents of Jon Venables rallied round their son and in preparationfor his release Mr Venables accom-panied him on trips to football matches. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. Facebook gives people the power. Will you tell his mum I'm sorry?". Our feelings haven't changed towards him. The police have uncovered no evidence of any abuse within either family. Financially, the couple appeared to be functioning, but meanwhile, Susan was at the end of her rope with her eldest son, who, having become increasingly frustrated at his inability to communicate, had grown terribly unhappy and was having temper tantrums regularly. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. 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. But they shouldn't have been tried in an adult court because they were still children. 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. S. Susan venables. Thompson & Venebales. But apart from his brother, Robert struggled to build friendships. But his outbursts of anger grew worse and he was suspended for trying to throttle a boy with a ruler. wo. Since the murder Robert has been in a state of post-traumatic shock, hounded by nightmares and flashbacks from the railway tracks. 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. gl. Pictures; Inside the Guardian; Guardian Weekly . 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. football, snooker, things like that. Everyone called him Chubby, because of his round, cherub's face. "I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. ', Mrs Thompson had no illusions about her son: 'He's a little liar, he's devious, he's a scally, he robs, he plays truant.' Robert is not believed to have reoffended - Venables has been convicted twice since being set free. 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. 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. 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. A parole board ruled that Thompson and Venables were no longer a threat. He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. Neil Venables, 40, said he felt "just devastated, thinking of that little boy'. 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. He also liked to scare old ladies by jumping out in front of their noses. But his progress took a nose dive in September 1991 when he was transferred into another class. 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. Guilty of abducting and murdering James PatrickBulger. Trauma? Depressed, Ann began drinking heavily and was taking narcotics which caused her to hallucinate. She was prone to hysteria and hailed from a 'strict and disciplined' background. 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. In the autumn term of 1992, Robert played truant for 49 half days and Jon for 40. This would have put Jon in a particularly arduous position, as the couples only excelling child, and as author Gitta Sereny observed from her time spent with the Venables in 1994, forcing this middle child, Jon, for a long time, perhaps unconsciously, to compensate his mother for her two problem children, put an enormous weight of responsibility on this child virtually from the time he was born., As Susan struggled to manage her two disadvantaged children day to day, Neil was the familys breadwinner, working as a forklift driver. "Contrary to what the papers will tell you, he is not a little urchin boy. Wiping away tears, he went on: 'I feel for that family. The government will be required to respond within 14 days if as the petition achieves more than 100,000 signatures. He took a jar of paracetamol. I would get him something like a cartoon.". She got her drinking under control and began giving her murderer son the attention he. I didnt, did I? she said to Neil during their interview with Gitta Sereny. He denied having had any films that were not mainstream, or that were pornographic, in the house. One day they stayed out until 10.30pm and Jon received a severe reprimand from his mother. On November 24, 1993, the two boys, by then aged 11, became the youngest defendants to be sentenced for murder in a British court. and things like that is that he was frightened. 'I couldn't be arsed talking about them,' said one. The most agonising thing about the whole case was that so many people had stopped them and questioned them. Natural Landmarks. They fled the city, never to return. Such pleasantries were not for Robbie. 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 parents of James Bulgers killers have also come to learn that the consequences of that terrible day will stay with them for ever too. On November 24, 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables became the youngest persons to be convicted of murder in Britain in almost 250 years, when the pair, both eleven, was found guilty of the abduction and murder of two-year-old James Patrick Bulger. The petition, that now has 14,682 signatures, reads: "We want a Public Inquiry into the James Bulger murder case. She also had to stay strong for the remaining children. Ironically, the relationship between mother and son improved when he, was behind bars. Mrs Thompson claimed she had been the victim of revenge attacks after her identity became known. The Swedes, French, Germans, Canadian and Americans had all come to gaze at Liverpool's child killers. Usually, they were slung out. Many of us had dined together most nights throughout the trial, mulling it all over but distracting ourselves, too. INSIDE the court sat the two boys, dwarfed by the weight and majesty of the place. Denise Fergus is the same age as me, a fact I only registered when I met her for the first time two weeks ago. ", Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. 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. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously, where I was standing poor little James must have been not far . Ann denied the physical abuse, but later admitted to being cruel to the boys at times. The fathers of both Robert and Jon were without work. That was in September 1991, 17 months before they killed James Bulger. sp. We still think the same of him as we always have. I just heard an almighty screech. His grip was so strong that it took two people to pry Jon off of the boy. 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. To be absolutely accurate, she had only one illusion. At 2:30 they went to the two-story shopping centre. He had been stripped from the waist down,. He was fearful of the other boy. To widespread dismay and condemnation from the Bulger family, the killers were given new identities, courtesy of the taxpayer. After a while he tried to commit suicide to get back in. Extraordinarily, she even shouted up to the railway tracks at Walton where she knew Robert had a den. ', 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. release. Susan, aged 36, a sharp woman . 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 details of Jamess death were sickening. They knew what they were doing," another wrote. "Just TV programmes and little things remind me of the good times we had together . I would say he was provoked. Susan opted to remove him from the school then, and some months later, she reenrolled him in St. Marys in Walton. . Shame? The toddler's mum Denise Bulger was at the counter of a butchers in the Strand shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, on February 12, 1993, when she briefly let go of her son's hand to get some change from her purse. Meanwhile, A petition demanding a public inquiry into James Bulger's murder case has got nearly 15,000 signatures in one day. 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. Then between 1990 and 1991, Jons teachers recognized a dramatic change in the boys behavior, which was alarming enough for one of his teachers to begin keeping a daily log. Heck, we don't even have murderers that young in New York.'. Thompson admitted nothing. When social workers came round, they did so to see his sister and his brother, who had learning difficulties and was receiving special education. Without anyone in the family to turn to for support, he had to look outside for people whose swaggering aggression he could emulate. She was a woman as large in personality and physique as the burdens she carried. 'I don't know,' he replied. The haunting words of Jon Venables' parents only interview have resurfaced, twenty five years after he killed tot Jamie Bulger. How could two small boys savage and leave a toddler for dead? 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. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. ', They sagged off in the afternoon and walked around the shops in County Road, near Walton. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. Twenty-five years on, Im still prone to hot tears at the memory of it all and I do question the trial. I made notes of the pathologists evidence. 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The atmosphere in the courtroom was oppressive as the tension of a month was about to break. The citys worst instincts produced the wrongful hounding of a family whose sons people decided were responsible. I am providing this page for those who are interested in learning more about the lives of these boys prior to their offense. Jon Venables is demonstrably no such thing. "We are committed to driving sustainability in the leather industry, through the commitment of. 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. Get out and get into Dyson Hall children's centre, the only residential care school in the country just outside Liverpool. 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. Mrs Venables said: 'I think it was because the class group was too big for them to go in . Few had the patience to be friends with him, only his younger brother and a couple of lads who lived nearby. 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. By now, Robert had also stepped comfortably into the role of the aggressor, and, following in the footsteps of his elder brothers, began tormenting his eight-year-old brother on a daily basis. Thousands of members of Unison, Unite and the GMB unions are set to walk out across England and Wales on Monday as part of continued industrial action in the health service, Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in London, Everton fans hold up banners protesting against the board of directors during their Premier League match against West Ham at the London Stadium, A pair of swans fly over a frozen pond in Bushy Park in London, People take part in a demonstration in support of trans rights outside the UK Government Office in Edinburgh, A member of the Royal College of Nursing holds their dog whilst on the picket line outside Kings College Hospital in London, as nurses take industrial action over pay, The scene on the A39 Quantock Road in Bridgwater after a double-decker bus overturned in a crash involving a motorcycle, A man walks dogs in snowy conditions in a park in Hexham. This time we came together in shock and disbelief. On countless occasions, Bobby battered his wife, once causing her to miscarry, and his temper didnt stop at his wife. The two bumped into each other - literally - in the school playground in the middle of a fight. His mother cared about him. "The age of criminal responsibility in this country is 10 that's too low. The Crown Prosecution Service released a statement in January confirming Venables had been charged. 'I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Whatever problems she had in her own life, she was always there. Mr Venables said that the two boys had played truant together four times before, adding that he caught them twice. Both were banned from ever returning to Liverpool and given new identities at a reported cost of 1.5million. his killers were just 10 years old and attention focused on their upbringing and dysfunctional home life. By now the two boys from Walton were part of an international freak show. Who knows. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Once Robert shared with him a tin of Roses chocolates which he had poured surreptitiously into his coat pocket. Jon breaks into hysteria whenever the subject is mentioned. On one occasion, he said, Robert ran off down the street laughing, "You can't catch me". Robert would give Jon presents of stolen objects: trolls, of course, toy terrapins, sweets. Mr Venables said: "He wouldn't watch horror. 'His mum was more strict. Robert's mother agreed with her son's assessment: 'Name one family in the area who would have a good word for us.'. Constantly restless, his workbooks were empty, and he would often be denied recess because he was so far behind. Such a childish voice. 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. Susan Venables is on Facebook. Then they would hide their school satchels under a subway and set off on their adventure. "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. I wonder how many parents looked at their sons of a similar age that week, sure in the knowledge their own children could never be so wicked, but asked themselves anyway "what would I do if?". Venables received a 40-month prison sentence after appearing via video link at the Old Bailey. 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. She was paranoid about being discovered. Another added: "An awful mistake??!!
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