The Radio Merseyside newsroom, where I was working at the time, was full and everyone was on this story one way or another. what is the bite force of a baboon. Shortly after the breakup, an accidental fire destroyed the Thompsons home, leaving Ann homeless, jobless, and with little money to support her kids. Friday 12th February 1993. On the days he was at school he had a knack for stirring things up. "Youngsters are usually tried in a youth court, [Thompson and Venables] were tried in an adult court. 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. Birds. He was too scared to be naughty on his own. Their parents entered the courtroom; The Venables arrived together, Ann Thompson came with supporters but no sign of Robert's father. The shocking murder that shook the nation, Both Venables and Robert Thompson were 10 years-old when they tortured and killed 2 year-old James Bulger, Thompson and Venables were tried as adults, James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in a shopping centre in Liverpool, Denise Fergus denied having anything to do with the Channel 4 documentary about her son, James Bulger's murder case could now be investigated, The petition is on nearly 15,000 signatures, James Bulger was just two when he was brutally murdered, He had been out shopping with his mum Denise, James was made to walk two miles before being left for dead on a disused rail line, Denise tirelessly campaigned to have their sentence increased, Denise once admitted she's lived 'in fear' since the trial. Now we waited. and things like that is that he was frightened. The prosecution, led by Richard Henriques QC, made its case quite simply really, using the journey they took James on to tell the story. sons, were settled in council houses within easy reach of the institutions where their sons were being held. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. She said that Jon was always "loving, caring, thoughtful and considerate . That was in September 1991, 17 months before they killed James Bulger. Who knows. It should certainly be moved up to 12; in some European countries it is 14," she said. By now the Venables were reunited as a result of the court case. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. He used to be bullied by other children for being so behind, and would return home at night visibly upset. You know, we just try and help him as best we can to try to come to terms with things. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously, where I was standing poor little James must have been not far . The beginnings of the friendship were inauspicious enough. ", 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.". Susan, aged 36, a sharp woman . A day later she would face much worse. It emerged that the Venables family had suffered the same fate in another area. Thompson, who gained five GCSEs and A-levels in design and technology, is said to have developed an interest in theatre. It set the tone for the years ahead in which there was to be no respite from the hatred. When Jon left home on the morning of Friday, February 12 he was happy because it was the last day of school before a week's holiday and he was going to take some pet gerbils home. Susan Venables agreed but on condition that she saw her son first. 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. 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. Their kids have got everything, she added, bitterly. As his killers began their sentences, such was the revulsion that it was already clear their families could not. The guilty verdicts came quickly - within five hours. 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. Toddler James Bulger disappeared on February 12 1993. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. Usually, they were slung out. He always had plenty of friends. The days James was abducted, February 12 1993, I was a young reporter in my home city of Liverpool. 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. . She acknowledged her son had committed a terrible crime but claimed that her innocent younger children were being denied a proper education because of having to abandon their homes to escape attacks. March 10, 2021 - 20:29 GMT Eve Crosbie. Both had parents who had separated. Gillespie, McNeilly, and Powell were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years. At Preston Crown Court Thompsons mother Ann and Venables parents Neil and Sue sat side by side. Nature. Behind them eyes bore into them - from everyone on all sides, journalists, their parents, members of the public, and of course, theBulgerfamily. Ironically, Jon was the child who caused his parents least anxiety. In the autumn term of 1992, Robert played truant for 49 half days and Jon for 40. His parents, Susan and Neil, accompanied him during the interview process. What doing well means is anybodys guess. The pair were handed new identities after being released from prison. .". gk. On Sundays he used to watch Thunderbirds. Everyone called him Chubby, because of his round, cherub's face. There was a pattern of bullying, with the older boys picking on their younger brothers down the line. Jon's first year after he was moved was relatively successful. "He tends to be a bit hyperactive so his concentration did go a bit, but apart from that he is quite bright, no worries.". Superintendent Albert Kirby, who headed the investigation, doesn't believe in the under-belly of Liverpool nonsense or stuff about the disintegration of modern society, the collapse of the nineties cities. 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. He took a jar of paracetamol. The James Bulger murder View gallery Venables was born on August 12, 1982. "In terms of knowing what the full consequences of your actions are, you are into older childhood or adolescence. He also liked to scare old ladies by jumping out in front of their noses. Not that he had any need to borrow his dad's. He once came to me crying saying the other boys were picking on him, trying to steal his bike.'. ANN THOMPSON, the mother of Robert Thompson, child A, says her son is a thief, a liar, is devious and plays truant. UK news in pictures 15 February 2023. Spidery and messy. 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. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? . Robert was number five of seven. Constantly fighting and battering one another, and possibly, too, being hit by their emotionally drained mother, the Thompson brothers often looked scruffy, and, on more than one occasion, were seen bearing bruises and bite marks. His mother gave him pocket money to buy them. 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. Jon, who had the most trouble sleeping, appeared fearful of Susan, and was terrified, above all, of her condemnation. There, he is terrorising a girl. A parole board ruled that Thompson and Venables were no longer a threat. 'I walked round for a couple of hours trying to find them. 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. The primary concern among the faculty was Roberts growing amount of absences. Venables and Thompson were seen on CCTV calmly leading the toddler out of the shopping centre by his hand. Something went wrong, please try again later. In court, he hid his face again. JON Venables's family was far from affluent, but it was not as close to the breadline as Robert's. By then, Robert and Jon had abducted James Bulger from the Strand and attempted to drown him in the nearby canal. A video still of James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in the 'New Strand' shopping centre. The documentary last night featured interviews with those involved in the 1993 trial, including James dad Ralph Bulger, Jon Venables solicitor Laurence Lee and detective sergeant Phil Roberts, who interviewed Robert Thompson. 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. Neither gave evidence to the court, but were found guilty after an officer told how Venables admitted the murder, saying, "We did it. Counsel for the prosecution, Richard Henriques QC, made it clear all three elements needed to be proved for a murder conviction. He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. I wish we could turn the clocks back,' Mrs Venables, 36, said. re bz. Anne Thompson could hold her drink and no one ever saw her staggering home. '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. "Throughout the conduct of the case there have been a number of issues that have been swept under the carpet. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. "Contrary to what the papers will tell you, he is not a little urchin boy. 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. 2023 BBC. This would have made little Robert the target of the fourth Thompson brother, who, in less than a years time, had confessed to arson, tried to stab his elder brother in a fit of rage, and had allegedly committed a lewd act against two small children (this incident was overlooked due to lack of evidence; however, because it was always considered a likely possibility that little Robert had been the victim of sexual abuse himself, and since Robert reportedly confirmed this years later, this occurrence involving his elder brother might be thought particularly revealing). Such pleasantries were not for Robbie. There is, like, a little paint factory. It was on his way back to the interview room when Venables finally admitted it: "We did it. 'The attitude when you live where we live is that you have to be tough or else you don't survive,' she said. Lawyers for the pair argued that the adult court venue and publicity made it impossible for the schoolboys to be given a fair trial. Teachers hold placards as they shout slogans while taking part in a protest organised in Manchester as part of a national strike day. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. 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. He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security . Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. Child killer Mary Bell and Maxine Carr, the former girlfriend of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, are the others. It worked. The first time he asked Jon to play truant with him was last September, only weeks after they had become friends. Grey seal pups on the beach at Horsey in Norfolk, as the pupping season draws to a close at one the UK's most important sites for the mammals. One of Anns sons claimed that Ann, too, had beaten them with sticks, and had struck one of the boys with a cane. On one occasion one of Anns sons let his real name slip at school and they had to move almost at once, says. He would throw things at other children, cut himself deliberately with scissors and stick paper all over his face. The Liverpool Echo boasted that their man had one of 'just 34 seats' allocated to the international press. The week after he walked out the family's home burned down in an accidental fire. His mother cared about him. Susan Venables, mother of Jon, blamed her son's "weakness" for the killing and said he was "fearful" and "provoked" by his accomplice Robert Thompson. The judge, in sentencing the boys yesterday, voiced his strong suspicion that exposure to violent videos had played a strong part in corrupting them. Architect Shahed Saleem in the Ramadan Pavilion 2023 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Susan Venables's bent body shrank deeper into itself. "My heart really goes out to them. Both boys had been held back a year, and they were put in the same class. It is about a Good Guy doll invaded by the spirit of a mass murderer who kills people in gruesome ways. But curiosity drew him towards Robert in equal measure. She was living in secrecy but always felt that she was walking around with a huge sign: mother of Bulger killer, above her head. "He is easily led. The couple, who are living together again after a partial separation, said their feelings towards Jon had not changed despite the terrible crime. 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. Seeing at first hand the pain of a family who have lost a toddler to an act of brutal violence is almost unbearably moving. 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. Nine months later, I was one of 30 or so journalists inside Preston Crown Court when the trial began. Her family were dignified throughout, but on that day one of theBulgerfamily supporters allowed themselvesa loud 'YES' as the verdicts came in. ", Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. View the profiles of people named Susan Venables. In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. everyone blamed Thompson and. I barely need to refer to my notes to remember in great detail the events that would dominate British news for years. The detective explained how, before she left, she soothed him, told him his parents would love him whatever he told the police, reminding him that Denise neededto know what had happened to her baby. 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. 'It's always our family that gets the blame,' Robert said to police after he was arrested for James's murder. He has been educated. 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. Robert had eaten too many and felt sick. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously where I was standing poor little James must have been not. Yes, these things are important, but trust. 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. 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. 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. Regrettably, yet perhaps not entirely unforeseen, the cycle of abuse continued. 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. Thompson admitted nothing. "The report of the Prison Service into an incident at Red Bank secure unit has not been published. However, you will find some great articles which you can comment on right now in our Comment section. But viewers were shocked when experts "defended" the 10-year-old murderers saying they made "an awful mistake". 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. 'America is the land of shopping malls. Grey Heron. "Just TV programmes and little things remind me of the good times we had together . 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. It was their sons picked up by detectives. . The Royal Mint of a 50p coin featuring Professor Albus Dumbledore as part of a Harry Potter-themed collection. Their. 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. IN A letter to her son written soon after he was sentenced, Ann Thompson wrote: no matter what you did or didnt do, Im your mother and I will stay with you no matter what happens.. Robert would give Jon presents of stolen objects: trolls, of course, toy terrapins, sweets. Ultimately, however, the couples indifferences led to separation, and they were eventually divorced in 1986. He has had more love and attention than a lot of children I know. After a while he tried to commit suicide to get back in. 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. 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. eb. ", 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.". Pictures; Inside the Guardian; Guardian Weekly . Witness after witness who had seen them, or stopped and asked them what was going on, took the stand. I don't think so. He was pale in complexion and had watery brown, listless eyes. Weeping, she said: 'I wasn't actually on the railway track because there is a fence, but I went up the side. 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. Just four years earlier, we had all covered the Hillsborough disaster and come together in grief. . He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. I thought he was all right, Jon said of Robert during his police interviews. ', They sagged off in the afternoon and walked around the shops in County Road, near Walton. He wanted a Rovers strip for his birthday present. Are they mad? How could two small boys savage and leave a toddler for dead? She got her drinking under control and began giving her murderer son the attention he. Words with the drawing, full of spelling mistakes and grammatical. But they shouldn't have been tried in an adult court because they were still children. Once Robert shared with him a tin of Roses chocolates which he had poured surreptitiously into his coat pocket. Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. . Susan and neil venables. He disliked Thunderbirds because of the puppets' 'stringy thingies'. Express. 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. In the business world, too many people think it's all about being hard, tough, ambitious, or having grit. Born 10 days apart in August 1982 in Liverpool. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. Join Facebook to connect with Susan Venables and others you may know. Few will ever forget the chilling footage of two 10-year-old boys holding a toddler's hand as they led him to his death. Robert's feelings towards his half-brother also appear to have been ambivalent - he told police he would not have murdered James Bulger because 'if I wanted to kill a baby, I'd kill my own, wouldn't I?'. 'I couldn't be arsed talking about them,' said one. The police have uncovered no evidence of any abuse within either family. . Mr Venables said that the two boys had played truant together four times before, adding that he caught them twice. 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. He had an elder brother, aged 13, and a nine-year-old sister. xf fy. Both of them struggled at school and had been lumped into the year below their age. 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. . as he was known in court - Jon Venables. The case is doomed to be picked over by every faction within the caring professionals and politics. Although not officially entered into a witness protection programme they were given help by the authorities in finding new homes and taking on new identities. Shed never been back but she clearly missed Liverpool and had tried to recreate the city in her new home, he recalls. On many occasions, Susan was observed physically and verbally assaulting Jon. 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'. 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 newsroom reporter who was not working on the case fended off transatlantic interview demands, saying that it was not enough that he had a Liverpool accent. Sorry, we are unable to accept comments about this article at the moment. . I made notes of the pathologists evidence. Egypt. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked," she said. Any anxiety or animosity he might have felt was manifested largely through his school-aged thumb-sucking, a habit which elicited titters and taunts from the neighborhood children. We have found 88 people in the UK with the name Susan Venables. He denied having had any films that were not mainstream, or that were pornographic, in the house. Mrs Thompson claimed she had been the victim of revenge attacks after her identity became known. I just burst into tears because you just knew what that meanther heart was broken. Another time they were saucy and asked a sales girl if she stocked 'fishy nickers'. Ann tried to discourage this by hiding his shoes, or by taking him down to the Walton Lane police station and having the officer on duty frighten him into compliance, but to no avail. - a grey heron in Asawn, Southern Egypt. But just as he was entering the school gates he met Jon and they decided to sag off together for the fourth - and final - time. His grip was so strong that it took two people to pry Jon off of the boy. 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. When you have got people in the area threatening to blow your kneecaps off every moment of the daythats just the way they are. Will you tell his Mum Im sorry?. Susan was known as the town " whore". Susan opted to remove him from the school then, and some months later, she reenrolled him in St. Marys in Walton. 'I thought he was all right,' said Boy B, as he was known in court - Jon Venables. "He fell over," was the response. 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. Depressed, Ann began drinking heavily and was taking narcotics which caused her to hallucinate. 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. 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. They looked, moved, fidgeted, scratched, cried - even sucked their thumbs - just like any 11-year-olds. He would call people names and get them to chase him. Venables received a 40-month prison sentence after appearing via video link at the Old Bailey. He was repulsed because he found Robert's disdain for authority scary. At Radio City in Liverpool the calls were coming through from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It would be a week before we heard their voices, in hours of taped police interviews, They stopped us all in our tracks. Jon Venables is demonstrably no such thing. See that cell. They played truant, they pinched sweets, they terrorised old ladies. 'We have never really been apart,' Mrs Venables said. During the Bulger investigation, police checked the details of 50 videos Mr Venables had hired in recent months. NEIL Venables was warned by friends not to let his son play with the other boy. the street. 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. Once they went into a home decoration shop and hid under a pile of carpets. I couldnt make any sense of it, Robert later recalled, desolately, when asked about his fathers unexpected departure. 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. The right will draw attention to the broken homes, the single parents, the persistent truancy. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. It was a sign of such restlessness that he was unable to hang on to a football team for long - he kept shifting his allegiance like a floating voter. The old wood panelled courtroom is small. He believes these were evil boys. Jon spent Sunday to Thursday with his mum and the rest of every week with his dad. cl gz. Her husband came back to Walton now and again to see his mother, but he never came to see the boys. "We are committed to driving sustainability in the leather industry, through the commitment of. A day later, when James still hadnt been found, it was clear from CCTV footage that he had been taken by children. He wore his dark hair short, almost a crew cut, which accentuated his ample forehead and blunt nose. He would steal objects that he neither needed nor wanted, then chuck them away in the street. 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. They would hang around the video shop in Walton Village where the shop girl was pleased to have their company. Resentful of her husbands lack of involvement with the children, Susan conceded that the couple fought constantly, especially throughout 1983, but maintained that Neil had never been aggressive towards her, nor had she hit him.

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