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. When the fisticuffs ended, impressed by each other's performance, they made friends. 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. As a new documentary is set to air on ITV, the haunting words of Jon Venables' parents have resurfaced. He would steal objects that he neither needed nor wanted, then chuck them away in the street. Robert would give Jon presents of stolen objects: trolls, of course, toy terrapins, sweets. They saw it with their eyes. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. his mother was told that it was important that she stayed in his life and stood by him. Other parents came in to complain about attention seeking. Sitting in the new class was a chubby boy with a cherub's face - Robert Thompson. Jon's first year after he was moved was relatively successful. qu fy. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. These are the words of an officer who was in the police station when DCI Geoff MacDonald of Merseyside Police broke the news to Denise that James was dead. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He always had plenty of friends. Thompson got better opportunities there than if hed been walking the streets in Walton, says the author. Instead, she was involved in an ITV documentary with Sir Trevor McDonald that will air on Thursday. After a while the 10-year-olds began to charge - a tenner an interview. Natural Landmarks. But he is not a murderer. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013. 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. It is just heartbreaking.". 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. fn ye vw la. kl. But they shouldn't have been tried in an adult court because they were still children. 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. The couple fought frequently as to their eldest sons troubles, which they later learned included mild learning difficulties, and Susan, at times becoming so exasperated by the situation, began to resent her sons presence. Meanwhile, A petition demanding a public inquiry into James Bulger's murder case has got nearly 15,000 signatures in one day. It was so stressful trying to contain him. What a horror it all was. He has had security with loving parents and a loving brother and sister.". In all, they played truant four times. "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. The best instincts led hundreds, including me, to lay flowers a few days later at the site of James horrific end. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked," she said. Eventually, Bobby walked out on his family, but not before beating his wife one final time. 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. Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. They played a double act towards the children: his mother, Susan, aged 36, a sharp woman with a hawkish look, was the hard one. 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. That was in September 1991, 17 months before they killed James Bulger. 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. 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. 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. During the Bulger investigation, police checked the details of 50 videos Mr Venables had hired in recent months. Extraordinarily, she even shouted up to the railway tracks at Walton where she knew Robert had a den. Behind them eyes bore into them - from everyone on all sides, journalists, their parents, members of the public, and of course, theBulgerfamily. DAVID James Smith, who visited Mrs Thompson at one of her secret homes, reveals that it was a sad existence. Usually, they were slung out. 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. 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. I would say he was provoked. Ann denied the physical abuse, but later admitted to being cruel to the boys at times. David James Smith, who wrote a book about the Bulger case, The Sleep Of Reason, and stayed in touch with Ann Thompson afterwards. 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. He has had Christmas presents. ", Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. March 10, 2021 - 20:29 GMT Eve Crosbie. Such a childish voice. 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 is easily led. But after a year they let Ian out again. On the walls hung oil paintings of local judges and magistrates, their surfaces crinkled with age. 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. 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. Hope. si fs. Haunting CCTV footage shows the pair leading the tiny, trusting boy . However, you will find some great articles which you can comment on right now in our Comment section. Left to his own devices Jon liked to spend his playtime in fairly sedentary ways. Something went wrong, please try again later. I couldnt make any sense of it, Robert later recalled, desolately, when asked about his fathers unexpected departure. 'America is the land of shopping malls. 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. He did like to be liked, and loved to have friends, and he has got involved with the wrong person.". The case is doomed to be picked over by every faction within the caring professionals and politics. Susan opted to remove him from the school then, and some months later, she reenrolled him in St. Marys in Walton. 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. Her family were dignified throughout, but on that day one of theBulgerfamily supporters allowed themselvesa loud 'YES' as the verdicts came in. Architect Shahed Saleem in the Ramadan Pavilion 2023 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It is here, of course, that Jon met and made friends with fellow eccentric, Robert Thompson. 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. Their. I have cried for JamesBulgermany times, so God only knows the tears his parents and family have shed. In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. Then, one Friday in February, they discovered a new rule to break: they murdered a two-year-old. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. "Just to let you know that even though footage was used of me on the CH4 programme, I had no part in it," she tweeted. re bz. Absence of a male role model is increasingly being explored - by both left and right - as one of the main reasons why today's boys and young men are going wrong; why 90 per cent of indictable offences are committed by men. gl. 'I thought he was all right,' said Boy B, as he was known in court - Jon Venables. She said an educational psychologist had diagnosed hyperactivity in her son, who was bullied at his previous school. Unemployment levels were more than twice the national average in Walton. So he came home. Join Facebook to connect with Susan Venables and others you may know. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013.. The couple, who are living together again after a partial separation, said their feelings towards Jon had not changed despite the terrible crime. We feel so sorry for him because he must be going through so much torment. Her warnings arent being heeded, but 25 years on, I think she is probably right. Denise Bulger believes her son's murderers - men now - should be in prison for ever. The attitude when you live where we live is that you have to be tough or else you dont survive, she said. On one occasion, he said, Robert ran off down the street laughing, "You can't catch me". Ian was clever enough to know that to survive he had to get out. 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. It was the kind of family neighbours compare themselves against and then feel better. Get out and get into Dyson Hall children's centre, the only residential care school in the country just outside Liverpool. sons, were settled in council houses within easy reach of the institutions where their sons were being held. He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security . Witness after witness who had seen them, or stopped and asked them what was going on, took the stand. Venables and Thompson abducted, tortured and killed two-year-old James in Liverpool in 1993 when they were both aged just 10. Forensic and pathology evidence was a huge challenge for everyone, not least the jury who were shown pictures of James injuries. 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. I don't think so. Constantly restless, his workbooks were empty, and he would often be denied recess because he was so far behind. Not for long though. . He gets upset. "He is easily led. Scores more watched proceedings from a neighbouring office block which, for the duration of the trial, came under court jurisdiction. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' This happened, more often than not, at night, when they refused to go to bed when told. "It is hard to take in really. She visited regularly and they would hold family anniversaries in the, place where he was held. They looked, moved, fidgeted, scratched, cried - even sucked their thumbs - just like any 11-year-olds. Following the arrest of their sons it was reported that the mothers of the boys had been attacked and vilified in. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. ', They sagged off in the afternoon and walked around the shops in County Road, near Walton. Maybe it was that incident that put the idea into Jon or Robbie's head to 'get a little boy lost'. It would be a week before we heard their voices, in hours of taped police interviews, They stopped us all in our tracks. Both of them struggled at school and had been lumped into the year below their age. . 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. That means he is currently 35-years-old. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, . He had an elder brother, aged 13, and a nine-year-old sister. On Sundays he used to watch Thunderbirds. Trauma? The couple was financially strained from the start, but Ann did what she could to make it work. 'It's always our family that gets the blame,' Robert said to police after he was arrested for James's murder. Three days later his body was found, and three days after that a tip-off came from a shopkeeper who had seen two boys playing truant on the day James went missing and gave police two names - Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. 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. It was their sons picked up by detectives. In the years between Venabless first return to prison and this latest conviction he was deemed to be living successfully in the community, when in fact he was working out ways to dodge his internet ban and hiding a computer in his headboard in order to download abusive images of children, including what the judge described this week as serious crimes inflicted on male toddlers. In the business world, too many people think it's all about being hard, tough, ambitious, or having grit. 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. Bird Pictures. ", 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.".