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the street. Robert passed this down the line bullying his eight-year-old brother into playing truant. Her family were dignified throughout, but on that day one of theBulgerfamily supporters allowed themselvesa loud 'YES' as the verdicts came in. 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. 'I think it has something to do with a hatred of vulnerability and babyness in themselves which they projected on to this toddler.'. 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. ', 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.' A day later, when James still hadnt been found, it was clear from CCTV footage that he had been taken by children. The government will be required to respond within 14 days if as the petition achieves more than 100,000 signatures. Are they mad? 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. 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. Sometimes Robert would sag off on his own, but it was more fun with a friend. Robert would give Jon presents of stolen objects: trolls, of course, toy terrapins, sweets. I thought he was all right, Jon said of Robert during his police interviews. You know, we just try and help him as best we can to try to come to terms with things. 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. Eventually, Bobby walked out on his family, but not before beating his wife one final time. 'Sometimes I told Robbie to do things so he does,' he told a police officer, with pride in his voice. The experience gave Jon renewed confidence, and the second time they sagged off together he suggested it. What doing well means is anybodys guess. 'I couldn't be arsed talking about them,' said one. 'I was the softie,' Neil Venables said. The days James was abducted, February 12 1993, I was a young reporter in my home city of Liverpool. So much happened whilst I was there involving Jon. In a 1993 interview, published in the Guardian newspaper just one day after Robert was convicted of the murder of James Bulger, Ann Thompson was quick to place fault on the neighborhood and the surrounding authorities, who she felt had failed both her and her sons. I'm warning yer,' she would say. 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. The best instincts led hundreds, including me, to lay flowers a few days later at the site of James horrific end. "Throughout the conduct of the case there have been a number of issues that have been swept under the carpet. King Charles III shakes hands with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky as he welcomes at Buckingham Palace, in London, ahead of an audience during his first visit to the UK since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ultimately, however, the couples indifferences led to separation, and they were eventually divorced in 1986. On the walls hung oil paintings of local judges and magistrates, their surfaces crinkled with age. He appears to be a normal human, but inside the soft flesh there is indestructable metal. MOST of the boys were bright. She couldn't. He wore his dark hair short, almost a crew cut, which accentuated his ample forehead and blunt nose. The questioning was calm, steady, even playful at the beginning to try to get a sense the two boys really did know the difference between right and wrong. He would often have to stay in class at break times to catch up. 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. 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. 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. When Robert was asked what his hobby was he did not say trolls but 'skipping school'. Usually, they were slung out. . I don't think so. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. She got her drinking under control and began giving her murderer son the attention he. 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. Her husband came back to Walton now and again to see his mother, but he never came to see the boys. 'It was good. Haunting CCTV footage shows the pair leading the tiny, trusting boy . It was on his way back to the interview room when Venables finally admitted it: "We did it. 'I didn't know it would be like this,' Mr Venables said with hindsight. The base of the dock floor at Preston Crown Court had to be raised 18 inches so each boy could see over it. A smell of bleach lingered on some of the tiled steps that led up to the front doors. It's high time they were investigated. He denied having had any films that were not mainstream, or that were pornographic, in the house. For she added: 'But he's not a murderer.'. 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. He's quite bright and clever. His parents say he is 'broken-hearted'. Susan Venables agreed but on condition that she saw her son first. I wish we could turn the clocks back,' Mrs Venables, 36, said. Robert was number five of seven. Bird Pictures. The couple, who are living together again after a partial separation, said their feelings towards Jon had not changed despite the terrible crime. Ironically, Jon was the child who caused his parents least anxiety. Three years ago, after his mother walloped him, he went to social services and asked them to put him in care. . Teachers hold placards as they shout slogans while taking part in a protest organised in Manchester as part of a national strike day. When social workers came round, they did so to see his sister and his brother, who had learning difficulties and was receiving special education. He was too scared to be naughty on his own. gl. Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. 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. Everton was his team. Murder of James Bulger. 'It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. They fled the city, never to return. Most of the fun revolved around shoplifting - sweets, trolls, pepperami, tins of modelling paint, drinks, candles; anything, really. It worked. See that cell. His mates called him a girl because whenever there was something on his mind he sucked his thumb. This happened, more often than not, at night, when they refused to go to bed when told. They occasionally exchanged furtive glances. 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. 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. S. Susan venables. '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. ', A psychoanalyst and child psychotherapist comes up with yet another possible explanation. His body was found two days later on a railway line. Grey Heron. At his first primary school the headmistress referred him to a psychologist, noting how he used to bang his head against the classroom wall to gain attention. 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". 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. Shame? 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. "My heart really goes out to them. Neither gave evidence to the court, but were found guilty after an officer told how Venables admitted the murder, saying, "We did it. 'I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. "On the other hand, you are looking at him and you are saying 'Well, I know why - because he is so weak'. Susan Venables is on Facebook. Put bluntly, Jon Venables still gets a kick out of seeing small children suffer. 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. Get out and get into Dyson Hall children's centre, the only residential care school in the country just outside Liverpool. yet, as Venables is back behind bars. 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. Jon had to be pulled off the boy, who had gone red in the face, by a teacher who described the incident as the worst case of school violence she had witnessed. 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. 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. In Jon's case, 'hyperactivity' went beyond mere fidgeting into outbursts of sudden anger and violence. James' mother Denise believes they should have remained in jail for life and has tirelessly campaigned against their rights to anonymity. The James Bulger murder View gallery Venables was born on August 12, 1982. Regrettably, yet perhaps not entirely unforeseen, the cycle of abuse continued. 'In this state it is quite painful to see a normal relationship between mother and child. She also had to stay strong for the remaining children. Ironically, the relationship between mother and son improved when he, was behind bars. 'When the fisticuffs ended, they made friends.' 'I don't know,' he replied. They said their son met Robert Thompson in September 1991, when Jon was transferred from another school. "We are committed to driving sustainability in the leather industry, through the commitment of. 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. "BULL**** about 'two frightened kids whod made a terrible mistake' The tapes said they kept stoning him, even when he kept getting up. And in Lower Lane police station when he was being questioned about the murder she had to be told that her harsh words were inhibiting him from confessing. 'His mum was more strict. There is, like, a little paint factory. They would sneak out during the morning break, hiding behind a wall before the coast was clear. she said. He also liked to scare old ladies by jumping out in front of their noses. "He tends to be a bit hyperactive so his concentration did go a bit, but apart from that he is quite bright, no worries.". It was high- lighted by the trial judge Mr Justice Morland who said they must take moral responsibility for the terrible actions of the young killers. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. One police officer described how Jon Venables was so small, his legs were swinging in the air as he sat in the custody office. They went on family outings together, slept together, and when Susan did find a place, virtually coexisted between the two homes. But talking in 1993, his mother tried to explain how her child turned into a murderer. . Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. Their faces affected me deeply. There was almost total silence there apart from the sound of shoes on the ground. I would say he was provoked. I just heard an almighty screech. He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security . We still dont know why. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. UK news in pictures 15 February 2023. The taunts upset Jons already volatile temper, and he began coming home in increasingly low spirits and crying. At school Jon was considered bright enough, though he had trouble keeping up with lessons. 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. "What he's done is wrong so he needs to be punished. One neighbour said she always let him into her home whenever his mother was out. They saw it with their eyes. Unemployment levels were more than twice the national average in Walton. Not their punishmentand exclusion from society for the rest of their childhood. Mr Venables said: "He wouldn't watch horror. 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. Jon Venables arrived at Walton St. Marys Church of England School a disrupted and attention-seeking boy, whose behavior was so bizarre at times that one of his teachers considered him to be emotionally unstable. everyone blamed Thompson and. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. Truanting, or 'sagging off', had become a way of life for Robert. 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. "The report of the Prison Service into an incident at Red Bank secure unit has not been published. While both boys may have felt helpless and inferior in their own settings, together they were fearless, a portrait of machismo, each playing on the others strong points. 'They would say 'take your son home'. She claimed, however, that she was completely unaware of Jons erratic behaviors at school, had never seen any evidence to support them (such as cuts on his arms or holes in his socks), and dismissed the possibility that many of the occurrences cited by the teacher had ever taken place. After a while the 10-year-olds began to charge - a tenner an interview. ", 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.". Only a handful of officials and close family members know their true identities. They sat just feet from me, perched on the edge of their wooden seat, smartly dressed and hunched in shame just below their son, Jon. Venables and Thompson were seen on CCTV calmly leading the toddler out of the shopping centre by his hand. 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. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. The living versions on the floor of the court looked equally wrinkled and austere. As a result of the incident, Jon's mother decided to move him to another school. I suspect she still feels that., In 2001 there was a renewed uproar over the case when it emerged that the killers were to be freed, despite a. recommendation by the trial judge that they should remain behind bars for a very long time. Best of all, they would spend time on the Walton railway line where Robert had built a den close to the bridge. She found it hard bringing the kids up in the neighbourhood. 'I even went up to the railway line because I knew the other boy had a den up there and was on the railway nearly all the time.'. He frequented local cinemas and regularly hired videos for the night. 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. Less thanfive hours laterthe verdicts were in. Jon was slim in build and taller than Robert, just over five feet. 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. I barely need to refer to my notes to remember in great detail the events that would dominate British news for years. ", 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.". As a new documentary is set to air on ITV, the haunting words of Jon Venables' parents have resurfaced. . 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. 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. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously, where I was standing poor little James must have been not far . The details of Jamess death were sickening. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. 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. 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. God knows how they must be feeling now.. Jon was also mad on computers. A police officer remembered Venables being so small that his legs didn't touch the floor as he sat in the custody office after his arrest. This time, curiosity took the upper hand: 'I wanted to see what it was like,' he said. Will you tell his mum I'm sorry?". sons, were settled in council houses within easy reach of the institutions where their sons were being held. The right will draw attention to the broken homes, the single parents, the persistent truancy. 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School had no hold on him - there was no corporal punishment or other form of penalty that touched him. 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. He didn't want to hurt James. Lady Penelope was his favourite character because she was rich, followed by Brains with the glasses. If I wanted to kill a baby, Id kill Id kill me own, wouldnt I?. Robert is not believed to have reoffended - Venables has been convicted twice since being set free. When Jon's parents gave a recent press interview, it was Mrs Venables who did most of the talking; the father just sat and cried. At Preston Crown Court a few months later, I was one of a handful of journalists given full access to the small courtroom for the trial of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, both now 11-years-old. In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. We still think the same of him as we always have. 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 feel so sorry for them. At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. It is time to examine all this.". "You look at him and you say to yourself, 'How could you be involved in anything like this?'" Behind them eyes bore into them - from everyone on all sides, journalists, their parents, members of the public, and of course, theBulgerfamily. Some of the red brick houses were well-kept, others had torn net curtains and grubby windows. He always had plenty of friends. Will you tell his Mum Im sorry?. I didnt, did I? she said to Neil during their interview with Gitta Sereny. 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. Jon breaks into hysteria whenever the subject is mentioned. 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. He did like to be liked, and loved to have friends, and he has got involved with the wrong person.". James Bulger would now be weeks away from his 23rd birthday. kl. 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. 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. Following the arrest of their sons it was reported that the mothers of the boys had been attacked and vilified in. He has had security with loving parents and a loving brother and sister.". Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. They passed 36 people, with one recalling how they urged the boys to take their 'little brother' home because he was 'crying for his mummy'. Birds. The first time he asked Jon to play truant with him was last September, only weeks after they had become friends. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt. Ann and Bobby fought regularly in front of the children, with virtually all of the fights leading to physical violence. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously where I was standing poor little James must have been not. He didn't want to hurt James. But curiosity drew him towards Robert in equal measure. A video still of James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in the 'New Strand' shopping centre. Just four years earlier, we had all covered the Hillsborough disaster and come together in grief. 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. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (second left) and Scottish Secretary Alister Jack (second right) during a visit to the Port of Cromarty Firth, Invergordon, during a two day visit to Scotland to highlight the benefits of remaining in the United Kingdom as he seeks to counter Nicola Sturgeon's push for independence, King Charles reacts as he visits the Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed in Scotland, There are only a handful of images of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, 'Jon was weak and was provoked': Parents of Jamie Bulger killers speak, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected orders over 100 - eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. By chance, the rest of Jon's family was driving past and spotted them. When you have got people in the area threatening to blow your kneecaps off every moment of the daythats just the way they are. 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. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why half of India's urban women stay at home. Words with the drawing, full of spelling mistakes and grammatical. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. 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. 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. 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. Verdict day came. The boys at Dyson Hall were the object of some envy among their mates because they were given tracksuits and trainers upon arrival and went on trips to Alton Towers. But viewers were shocked when experts "defended" the 10-year-old murderers saying they made "an awful mistake".

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