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. The appearance in court this week of Venables, now a 35-year-old man, on charges of possessing indecent images of children, was a jarring reminder that, still a quarter of a century on, his rehabilitation is more an ambition than a reality. There is, like, a little paint factory. "I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. 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. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously, where I was standing poor little James must have been not far . Two boys who forged a friendship out of breaking the rules. Denise was in court that day. Just something to do.'. Susan Venables has blamed weakness for her sons role in the killing of James Bulger, claiming that he got involved with the wrong person. I don't think they understood he was hyperactive. Depressed, Ann began drinking heavily and was taking narcotics which caused her to hallucinate. They fled the city, never to return. What a horror it all was. "Youngsters are usually tried in a youth court, [Thompson and Venables] were tried in an adult court. I just think of James and his Dad and about all that fun with his little boy, like I had with Jon.". It seems likely that he was bullied. Following the arrest of their sons it was reported that the mothers of the boys had been attacked and vilified in. David James Smith, who wrote a book about the Bulger case, The Sleep Of Reason, and stayed in touch with Ann Thompson afterwards. Ironically, Jon was the child who caused his parents least anxiety. One police officer described how Jon Venables was so small, his legs were swinging in the air as he sat in the custody office. Channel 5 is set to air a new two-part documentary that tells the definitive story of . This story has no borders,' NBC correspondent Denis Murphy said. 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. We have found 88 people in the UK with the name Susan Venables. 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. Our feelings haven't changed towards him. ', 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. xf fy. Online Marketing For Your Business His body, defiled and broken in two by a train, two miles from where hed been taken, was foundtwo days later. Only two people can answer the question, and even their ability is doubtful. He would often have to stay in class at break times to catch up. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. 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. Although he appeared to have the more stable upbringing of the two boys, there was a history of family problems. I am providing this page for those who are interested in learning more about the lives of these boys prior to their offense. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both 10, murdered him in cold blood. One neighbour said she always let him into her home whenever his mother was out. Grainy CCTV footage shows them walking James away from the Strand . The only sign he was discomforted by hearing it was a near constant pulling of his tongue in his hands. For me, though, it is Susan and Neil Venables who stay most in my memory of that day. IN their interviews with the two boys, psychiatrists could find no clues to why the boys acted so violently. But after a year they let Ian out again. He would go to bed. Why would I want to kill him? he said, referring to the slain toddler. 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. 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. Its beyond me," one viewer tweeted. 2023 BBC. 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. Sitting in the new class was a chubby boy with a cherub's face - Robert Thompson. wo. When she turned around moments later, her son was gone. At 2:30 they went to the two-story shopping centre. "He fell over," was the response. At the time Ann Thompson pleaded for her son to be left alone and revealed that she and her other children had been forced to move house nine times in eight years. They would sneak out during the morning break, hiding behind a wall before the coast was clear. James Bulgers mother Denise claims that she managed to track down Thompson six years ago, planning to confront him but instead stared at him from the opposite side of the street, full of rage but unable to act. To be absolutely accurate, she had only one illusion. 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. ', 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.' Regrettably, yet perhaps not entirely unforeseen, the cycle of abuse continued. View the profiles of people named Susan Venables. On the walls hung oil paintings of local judges and magistrates, their surfaces crinkled with age. They had to report him missing at the security office before he was found, and Jon's mother was very angry. cl gz. ', They sagged off in the afternoon and walked around the shops in County Road, near Walton. Jon, who had the most trouble sleeping, appeared fearful of Susan, and was terrified, above all, of her condemnation. 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. "An awful mistake for 10 year olds is shoplifting not murdering a 2 year old FFS," another angry viewer tweeted. His parents, Susan and Neil, accompanied him during the interview process. In March 2010, Venables was recalled to prison for downloading and distributing more than 100 images of child abuse. The teacher had a different perspective, saying that Susan was in fact aware of the issue, and had expressed deep concern. His mother gave him pocket money to buy them. She got her drinking under control and began giving her murderer son the attention he. so they were put in a lower year. He wanted a Rovers strip for his birthday present. Ian was clever enough to know that to survive he had to get out. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. On Sundays he used to watch Thunderbirds. ', A psychoanalyst and child psychotherapist comes up with yet another possible explanation. School had no hold on him - there was no corporal punishment or other form of penalty that touched him. He also liked to scare old ladies by jumping out in front of their noses. She said an educational psychologist had diagnosed hyperactivity in her son, who was bullied at his previous school. He is an old-fashioned crime and punishment man. Other parents came in to complain about attention seeking. I came back and then (Mrs Venables) went out. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. The breaking point came when Jon was suspended from Broad Square after attempting to choke a classmate with a twelve-inch wooden ruler. She also had to stay strong for the remaining children. Ironically, the relationship between mother and son improved when he, was behind bars. It is about a Good Guy doll invaded by the spirit of a mass murderer who kills people in gruesome ways. He's quite bright and clever. 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. The best photos of birds and other wildlife from around the world. Not that he had any need to borrow his dad's. "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. "BULL**** about 'two frightened kids whod made a terrible mistake' The tapes said they kept stoning him, even when he kept getting up. 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. And there were rewards for breaking rules. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. 'Sometimes I told Robbie to do things so he does,' he told a police officer, with pride in his voice. The bird was taken to the vets where they are nursing it back to health. Witness after witness who had seen them, or stopped and asked them what was going on, took the stand. Look at mine. One day they stayed out until 10.30pm and Jon received a severe reprimand from his mother. Another time they were saucy and asked a sales girl if she stocked 'fishy nickers'. Hes your son., Unhappily, it was during this critical time that Ann became pregnant with her seventh child, the product of another failed relationship. 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. Yes, these things are important, but trust. - a grey heron in Asawn, Southern Egypt. portrayed him as the leader and evil one, says James Smith. Once he stole decorating borders from a DIY shop which he discarded at regular intervals to mark his way home. Robert is not believed to have reoffended - Venables has been convicted twice since being set free. He has had Christmas presents. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously where I was standing poor little James must have been not. The sunrises through the sea mist over the sculpture The Couple by Sean Henry at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on the Northumberland coast. 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. . He has never really been what you would call a sagger off school (a truant). After spending just eight years in custody, Britain's youngest killers were released and given lifetime anonymity in the UK. They were drawn to one another quickly. Jon Venables said the class teacher tried to entice Robert by offering him a prize for a week's continual attendance - he did, but the prize never came. 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. 'I think it has something to do with a hatred of vulnerability and babyness in themselves which they projected on to this toddler.'. A torrent of questions erupted from the moment the grim news came out that James Bulger's body had been found on a railway line in Liverpool and the last people seen with him were two ten-year-olds, captured on grainy CCTV footage. They had much in common. The details of Jamess death were sickening. I feel so sorry for them. From their point of view it makes perfect sense. 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. Twenty-five years on, Im still prone to hot tears at the memory of it all and I do question the trial. . 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. Get the biggest TV headlines, recaps and insider knowledge straight to your inbox. 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. Just having a bit of shade!! As his killers began their sentences, such was the revulsion that it was already clear their families could not. Susan opted to remove him from the school then, and some months later, she reenrolled him in St. Marys in Walton. We feel so sorry for him because he must be going through so much torment. At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. what is the bite force of a baboon. Ann denied the physical abuse, but later admitted to being cruel to the boys at times. The judge, in sentencing the boys yesterday, voiced his strong suspicion that exposure to violent videos had played a strong part in corrupting them. On many occasions, Susan was observed physically and verbally assaulting Jon. He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security . 'I don't know,' he replied. . Southern. 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. March 10, 2021 - 20:29 GMT Eve Crosbie. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013.. He is broken- hearted over it. Ann, desperate to escape the physical and emotional torment of living with her drunken father, was married to Robert, Sr. in December 1971, on the day of her eighteenth birthday. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' Jon spent Sunday to Thursday with his mum and the rest of every week with his dad. kl. In some families this was the third generation to be unemployed. The James Bulger murder View gallery Venables was born on August 12, 1982. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. The right will draw attention to the broken homes, the single parents, the persistent truancy. . 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 said they talked to their son about James after he was arrested, but had to stop. '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. James Bulger would now be weeks away from his 23rd birthday. 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. Once Robert shared with him a tin of Roses chocolates which he had poured surreptitiously into his coat pocket. Naturaleza. . Venables was a different creature. But they shouldn't have been tried in an adult court because they were still children. The two had an aberrant relationship with one another, in the sense that it was almost as though they had never divorced. Thompson was inscrutable in the dock as we heard his voice for the first time. In the autumn term of 1992, Robert played truant for 49 half days and Jon for 40. 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. . qu fy. 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. "In order that justice can be done, no further details are being released at this stage and the proceedings are subject to reporting restrictions.". The fathers of both Robert and Jon were without work. Meanwhile, Thompson has not re-offended since his release, and is believed to be in a long-term relationship with a man who knows who he really is. I barely need to refer to my notes to remember in great detail the events that would dominate British news for years. Some people thought they were as old as 12 or 13, but when they met they were both only 10 years old.
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